ABSTRACT
Teaching about character must go beyond simply explaining our own behavior or that of others to include explanations of all character. Throughout the history of educating for character, didactic teaching has been front and center. It has an important place. Children need to be taught what is right and wrong. They need to understand the character concepts that may be core to a school’s vision and character education initiative. If a school is committed to educating for character development, then it is likely that it has a set of prominent concepts (words, values, virtues, character strengths). They are a Priority. Implementing pedagogical strategies that help children recognize and understand them is a good foundational practice. Being sure they understand them deeply is just as important. The best locus of practices, structures, and supports for teaching character skills is the field of social-emotional learning or SEL.
