Teaching Iowa’s Kids Solid Character

Chet Culver’s Plan to Promote Discipline in our Schools

Iowa’s public school system is struggling with discipline in the schools.  Teachers struggle to focus individualized attention on each student when there are disciplinary problems.  When Iowa’s young people have the benefit of a framework for character development, behavior in the classroom improves, disciplinary incidents decrease, and overall student achievement increases.

Chet Culver is a teacher and coach who taught social studies at Hoover High School in Des Moines before being elected Secretary of State.  He knows what it means to be on the front lines each day, teaching 150 students, and coaching basketball and football. 

I.          Promote Successful Character Development in Iowa Students

As a coach, Chet Culver demanded respect and discipline from his players.  As a teacher, he promoted responsibility in the completion of homework and enforced structure in the classroom.  As Secretary of State, he promoted citizenship through the Iowa Student Political Awareness Club and traveled to high schools in all 99 Iowa counties on the way to doubling voter turnout among 18-24 year-olds during his time in office.

Chet Culver will promote and advocate for our shared values as Governor, and use his office to send the message that all Iowa students are expected to understand and practice the elements of good character whether in the classroom, among peers, in the community, or in the work environment.

II.         Character Counts: Building Individual Character in Students

The Character Counts program is a private framework for character development that is in place in hundreds of Iowa schools.  Nationally the program is the most widely used education model for individual character development.  The program focuses student work on shared beliefs and consensus values referred to as the “Six Pillars of Character.”  Those pillars are Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

Through the Character Counts program, public schools form partnerships with the community, linking with businesses, organizations and families that share the goal of improving the quality of life in Iowa communities, and growing tighter, more lasting bonds in those communities.

One of the keys to success for the program is complete integration throughout the school day, whether in core classes such as math and social studies or in physical education and extracurricular activities.   The program produces a stronger learning environment and increases students’ sense of safety at school. 

Iowa Character Education Grants.  The goal is for every Iowa school to develop a local character education program.  As Governor, Chet Culver will create Iowa Character Education Grants for schools wishing to develop or expand existing Character Counts or other individual character development programs at the local level.  Culver will make available new funding of up to $5,000 annually per school district, for up to 100 school districts.  Those grants will be evaluated for effectiveness and a task force will be assigned to design a model statewide program based on individual grant projects that demonstrate results.    

Iowa Character Outreach Network (ICON) has the goal of enhancing communication between Iowa’s Institute for Character Development, a nonprofit organization, and schools, organizations and communities who are participating in character development initiatives by sharing implementation strategies and activities.   The Outreach Network is a method for participating schools/organizations to build contacts with each other.  It is a laudable effort, and Culver will provide state support to grow this important existing network.

III.        Getting Parents Involved in Schools

No program of character education can work without the active and ongoing support of parents who support their children’s positive character development as part of the educational process.   Chet Culver believes there is perhaps no function more important in our schools than building the kinds of partnerships between parents and educators that will reinforce the building of strong character in each individual student.  Parental involvement is as critical a component to education as the school building itself, and Chet Culver will make sure Iowa’s schools have a strong parent-educator foundation.  As Governor, Culver will promote the three A’s parents should use to ensure their child’s success in school:

ATTEND:  Make sure that your child is attending school and that he or she is arriving on time each morning.  Attend as many parent-teacher conferences as you can to learn how your child is performing and whether there is anything you can do at home to help assist your child’s educational needs.  Attend orientation activities at the beginning of each school year and all other family-related activities.

ASK:  Ask your child every night what he or she learned that day.  Ask the teacher, principal, and school board about your child’s progress at school, and if your child is struggling, ask the teacher how you can help at home.

ASSIST:  Assist your child with everything from scheduling to attitude to make school a priority.

When schools partner with parents and encourage daily parental involvement in education, student performance increases, discipline issues decrease and students have a safer and higher quality experience in the classroom.

IV.        Restoring a Sense of Sportsmanship in Competition

Hardly a week goes by without some new outburst of poor sportsmanship by a professional athlete or a story of a parent demonstrating poor judgement at a son or daughter’s sports competition.  Too often the playing field can offer students less-than-exemplary models of solid character.

In Iowa, participation in sports is often a critical part of the character development process, whether the skills gained by students involve cooperation and teamwork or individual self-discipline. Iowa coaches know there is an extraordinary growth opportunity for students on the field and on the court.

The sports-related component of the Character Counts program, called Pursuing Victory with Honor, is a growing and popular teaching tool that helps take the principles of character into the world of competition and focuses on a restoration of sportsmanship as a component of citizenship.  The program teaches something that Chet Culver taught his players – there is no real victory without honor. 

A portion of Iowa Character Education Grants each year will be set aside for programs at the local level that are designed to teach athletic participants the principles of good sportsmanship and appropriate conduct on and off the field.