How Can Character Building Through Education Help Your Teen Succeed?
Character building through education is an intricate piece of your teen’s future. Values such as respect, kindness, and responsibility are all skills that will mold their behavior in and out of the classroom.
Character development should begin early in their education. At Olney Friends School, we believe educators should weave character development into all aspects of their curriculum. While academics are a priority, character building is an aspect that will affect every part of your teen’s life and is an invaluable asset that needs to be built over time.
Why Does Character Building Through Education Matter?
Character building is the process by which your teen will learn values and behaviors. These skills will mold them into amazing humans who will go on to do big things with their lives. After all, you want to build a strong foundation for your teen to grow, which goes beyond academics.
Fundamental traits like responsibility and empathy are learned through modeling and teaching. When students learn these traits early on, they strengthen their academic achievements and social interaction.
Character development for students equips them with the fundamentals that they require to succeed in all aspects of their lives. Students who practice these skills handle friendship drama without a facilitator’s help, organize group projects effectively, and can bounce back when they face setbacks.
Individuals who practice their values will be able to manage stress, resolve conflicts, and establish healthy relationships. If students acquire these values during their education, they will grow up to be mature and compassionate adults. Upon facing challenges in their advanced age, these characteristics will guide them to make conscious and purposeful decisions.
How to Integrate Character Development For Students Into the Curriculum?
Here at Olney Friends School, we believe in weaving character building through education. During history class, students might debate what they would’ve done during the civil rights movement. In science, they discuss environmental responsibility when studying ecosystems. Math classes involve students coaching peers who struggle, rather than racing ahead.
These everyday moments build character naturally. Our Quaker approach means lots of quiet reflection time and group decisions where everyone’s voice matters. Students learn patience because we actually slow down to listen to the quiet kids. They learn cooperation because sometimes we spend an extra day on a topic until everyone understands. Nothing fancy—just consistent practice at being good humans while learning regular subjects.
Our approach to character development in education integrates lessons with Quaker values and principles. Students will learn the important traits that they will need throughout their lives, including patience, cooperation, and kindness.
These characteristics are woven into each subject, including literature, history, and science. This allows students to witness how these characteristics play out in real-life scenarios. A great example is providing stories that encompass moral lessons or studying historical events while looking at the event through an empathetic lens. This allows students to study and learn ethical behaviors while developing their morals.
According to research, “Non-cognitive skills and character strengths significantly impact success.” Our diverse student body at Olney allows students to learn about other cultures while building characteristics that will make them empathetic to cultural differences.
How Can Character Development Enhance Academics?
Learning valuable characteristics along with academics can help students understand what they are being taught. They can look at situations that are being studied and see why specific decisions were made and decide if they would have done things differently.
Character building through education allows students to become more involved in the lessons that they are being taught. It helps open discussions that may otherwise be ignored.
Character development through academics can enhance:
- Holistic Growth –Ethics, social skills, empathy, and social intelligence.
- Valuable Qualities –Responsibility, empathy, and respect.
- Successful Life – Beyond grades, students develop critical thinking, independence, and leadership skills that open doors to meaningful college and career opportunities while building the confidence to navigate life’s challenges.
- Becoming Leaders – Character development in education shapes students to become future leaders. Students will not only be skilled academically but also be able to adapt to life changes quickly, be more team-oriented, and understand the importance of ethical choices.
- Building Global Citizens – Our Quaker values and diverse, international student body help teens develop empathy and become better global citizens.
- Personal Growth – Developing these traits can help students mature while growing a deeper understanding of themselves and others. As a result, your teen will have a sense of purpose and self-worth.
- Excel Academically – It has been proven that there is a strong connection between positive character traits and academic achievements.
- Decrease Behavior Issues – The development of character will help deter bad behavior and reward good behavior.
- Moral Compass – Learning these values early in life will allow students to have a strong moral compass that will never leave them. They will revert to their morals and values when life gets hard and make their decisions accordingly.
- Life Skills – Character values and academics go hand in hand. When students learn positive characteristics through education, they can manage stress more efficiently, decrease conflict, and develop healthy relationships.
Help Your Teen Develop Positive Characteristics through Education
If you are ready to see what character building through education can do for your teen, contact us today for a campus tour. Olney is rich in character development and academics, and we have a diverse student body with which your teen can engage.
