What is Character Education – You know, one of the most important plans and is always improving in education is character education. This is also proven in the text of the National Action Plan for Character Education published by the Ministry of Education in 2010.
The text reads, "Character education is the most important element in achieving the vision and mission of national development, which is included in the RPJP 2005–2025."
As students or educators, we are often expected to hold onto the principles of applying character abilities. However, many of us still don't understand the meaning of the character itself.
Therefore, Whiz will explain what character education is, the goals, and the examples. Come on, don't miss it, okay!
Read also: How to Manage Stress and Negative Emotions
What is Character Education?
According to Suyanto (2009), a character is a way of thinking and behaving, characteristic of living and working with others within the family, school, work, nation, and state.
Meanwhile, according to Lickona, character education is all efforts to influence student character. Thus, students are expected to understand and carry out ethical values.
Furthermore, according to the psychology dictionary, the character is a personality in terms of one's morals. For example, honesty and traits that are inherent and relatively fixed in a person.
You know, there are 18 values of character education. Those 18 are tolerance, religiousness, honesty, creativity, discipline, independence, hard work, loyalty and devotion to a nation, democracy, curiosity, love of the motherland, love of peace, respect, friendship, care for the environment, social care, love to read, and responsibility.
Character education can also be called ethical education, which involves three aspects, namely knowledge, feelings, and actions. Lickona explained that with these three aspects, character education would have an impact and would be effective.
With these three aspects being taught carefully, character education will greatly impact a child's emotional intelligence. In dealing with problems and everyday life in the future, emotional intelligence can influence how a child deals with them.
So, therefore, character education is very important. Besides this explanation, let's look at the purpose of character education.
Character Education Objectives
After understanding the explanation above, you certainly know more about the meaning of character and character education, right? If you understand, do you know the purpose of this character education?
Even though the purpose was briefly mentioned, namely to educate children's emotions, there are more goals of teaching children about character education. Here they are.
- Making the surrounding environment a safe, creative, honest, and peace-loving.
- Teach children to always be commendable and in accordance with the universal values of the nation and the nation's religious traditions.
- Increasing the affective potential of children as citizens of a nation that has the character values of the nation and also the cultural values.
- Teach children to become creative, active, innovative, independent, and have sufficient national insight.
- Instilling responsibility and a spirit of leadership in children as the nation's successor.
- Forming a patriotic nation, oriented towards science and technology, and believes in God Almighty.
- Forming a nation that is strong, moral, and upholds the value of tolerance among human beings.
Examples of Character Education at Home
1. Independence
There are so many things that can train children's independence, such as doing school work independently without the help of parents. However, if the child has tried but is still having trouble and can't find a way out, parents can help them right away.
For children who are two years old and older, train them to eat on their own. Then, train them to bathe themselves and make their habits. Let them try first. Then parents can help them if they can't do it.
2. Discipline
Character education on this one is also critical. If you have the nature of the discipline, you will not harm the people around you. In this case, parents can teach children to wake up on time and be disciplined in doing homework or other things.
3. Religiousness
In this case, parents can teach children to do religious things. Parents can always remind children and can set some rewards and punishments.
Instilling religious traits in yourself can also train you to be responsible and disciplined, you know.
4. Mutual Cooperation
Remember always to help your parents at home, OK? You can do things, for example, washing dishes, cutting plants in the garden, cleaning the house, and many more.
Examples of Character Education at School
1. Determination of School Rules
There are so many benefits to the establishment of rules in schools. In addition to making students or teachers orderly, the discipline also trains children to be honest, disciplined, responsible, independent, and much more.
With school rules, schools can also create a reward and punishment model. This aims to form students to respect the rules that apply.
2. Extracurriculars
Do you often hear that extracurricular activities at school are only complementary activities? But wait, if you usually listen to it doesn't let you think like that too, OK?
Extracurricular activities at school are integration activities to facilitate students' interests, talents and potential. For this reason, extracurricular activities at school are important. With these activities, students can also get encouragement to find their identity.
So, don't take this extracurricular activity for granted anymore, okay.
3. Literacy Activities
This literacy activity aims to build interest in reading in schools. Not only for students, but also the entire academic community of the school.
Therefore, this activity needs to be scheduled and held regularly. Schools also need to support this activity by providing adequate facilities, for example various reading materials, discussion forums among academics, and much more.
4. Habituation
Effective character education is also supported by habituation in schools. Therefore, it is necessary to have a concept launched by the school to build these character values.
For example, giving assignments in groups and determining group leaders in rotation. It aims to familiarize students to be responsible and work together in a group.
Reading prayers together according to each religion and belief when starting and ending learning is also a character value to increase religious values in students.
5. Beginning and End of Learning Activities
The activities at the beginning and end of learning are actually almost similar to habituation. However, the difference is that habituation is more to the rules set by the school. Then, it was carried out simultaneously by all students.
Meanwhile, the activities at the beginning and end of learning tend to be determined by each teacher for each lesson. Usually, character education is done by apperception (understanding to find new ideas) and praying when you want to start learning.
In addition, doing reflection at the end of learning to train students' critical thinking.
Read also: What is Learning Motivation? Take a Peek at How to Build it!
Thus, that is the explanation of what character education is, goals, and examples. Don't forget to apply the activities above to train your character to become a better person, OK?
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