Page 37 - CARING and SAFE SCHOOLS in ONTARIO

Character Development Programs
There are universal attributes that schools and communities value. Character
development is the deliberate effort to nurture these attributes and use them as
a standard against which we hold ourselves accountable. They are key aspects
of school life. They bind us together and form the basis of responsible citizenship.
They are a foundation for excellence and equity in education and for school
communities that are respectful, safe, caring, and inclusive.
(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2008a, p. 3)
▪ The ministry’s character development initiative is part of its multifaceted strategy for building and maintaining caring, safe, healthy, and orderly school environments that are favourable to learning. School boards and schools are expected to work collaboratively with stakeholders representing the diversity in the community to identify attributes that reflect the shared values of the commu- nity and to promote their school-wide and community-wide development. At the level of the individual school, school staff can implement character development by modelling and teaching the identified attributes in all school, classroom, and co-curricular activities, and by incorporating them into their expectations for student behaviour.
A variety of character development initiatives that foster attributes such as respect for and inclusion of diversity, commitment, caring, courage, persistence, self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, and loyalty are already being implemented in many schools. Examples of such initiatives are described in the document Character Development in Action, K–12: Successful Practices in Ontario Schools (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2008b).
STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR
A Problem-Solving Approach
▪ A problem-solving approach to dealing with inappropriate behaviour is aimed at preventing the behaviour from occurring again by helping the student learn a positive behaviour, by empowering the student to take responsibility for solving the problem he or she caused, and by leaving the student with his or her dignity intact and a positive sense of accomplishment. It is the sense of accomplishment that motivates the student to repeat the appropriate behaviour (Mather, 2001). More detailed information about the steps in problem solving may be found in
Strategies, Tools, Resources
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