Schools Endorse Good Manners as Basic Education

Hoping to teach children more than just the basics, Conejo Valley school officials Thursday approved a character education program aimed at teaching children, among other things, good manners.

Trustees approved the plan unanimously and with no discussion, saying that a committee of parents, teachers and administrators had long ago resolved any questions they might have over the five character themes to be taught in classrooms starting this fall.

The themes--respect, kindness, integrity, responsibility and perseverance--were agreed upon by the committee and shared with every Parent Teacher Assn. in the district, according to Richard W. Simpson, assistant superintendent of instructional services.

“I think we have something that the vast majority of parents and staff can buy into and believe in,” he said.

The goal of the program, which will incorporate the themes into everyday class lessons, is to teach students to become “model citizens,” Simpson said.

Although most teachers already emphasize such traits in the classroom, trustee Mildred Lynch said she hopes the program will reintroduce ideals that have lost their importance in today’s society.

“There is not as much an emphasis on these things as there was 20 to 30 years ago,” Lynch said. “This might help.”

Alice Humbertson, president of the Conejo Valley PTA council, a consortium representing 17 schools in the district, agreed. “I think it’s going to be an excellent program,” she said.

“One of the pluses is that it will not be an add-on to what teachers are doing. It is what they are already doing, but they will be emphasizing these things in literature, social studies or with different historical figures.”

Under the new program, teachers of all grades will be instructed to incorporate the ideals into regular class lessons and reward children for displaying any of the five traits, such as kindness to other students.

Two teachers this summer will develop a list of texts that may be used to teach the character themes.

“For instance, if they are working on the theme of integrity, there might be a passage in ‘Charlotte’s Web’ for third-graders that illustrates that theme,” Simpson said.

Staff members will also make recommendations on how to reward the students for good behavior, Simpson said.

One suggestion is to base students’ citizenship grades on how well they incorporate the five themes into their behavior.

Officials hope the program will have the same effect in the Conejo Valley schools as it seems to have in the Ventura Unified School District.

Debra Stowe, an educational service assistant, said that since implementing a similar character education program in 1994, Ventura schools have seen a decrease in behavioral problems.

“Teachers are noticing it,” she said.