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Character
Education Bank manager says questions of integrity will be relevant throughout life PETERBOROUGH A Peterborough bank manager says the ability to draw upon integrity is something that a student will use throughout his or her life. Brian O’Toole says he’s pleased the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has embarked on a character education focus in its curriculum because it will have far-reaching ramifications in all sectors. “Integrity is always needed. In our case, in the banking industry, if stakeholders don’t perceive we live by integrity, confidentiality and trust, then we’ve got nothing. So the successful kids will integrate this and then, when faced with a difficult choice in life when no one is looking, will hopefully make the correct choice,” says O’Toole. As for just who is responsible for character education, O’Toole believes the responsibility lies first and foremost with the individual. He says early on a young person has to be responsible for his or her own actions. “Then come the parents, educators and community members, whether that’s soccer or hockey coaches or other people who have a significant amount of contact with children. This is a holistic approach so we can’t dump it all on educators,” he says. O’Toole sees character education as a continuum. His personal contribution to the idea of character education centres on his community involvement, such as his work with the Rotary Club. “As a community member on Rotary, I can contribute this way. My kids know what I do with Rotary, so I guess I see that as setting an example,” he explains. As someone from the financial services sector, O’Toole says he has also had the opportunity in the past to speak to classrooms on the issue of integrity and character. Just in the past week, O’Toole’s involvement with Rotary included a “citizen reaffirmation ceremony” at Armour Heights Public School. This duplicated a new Canadians ceremony, complete with a real judge, the legion, Mayor Sylvia Sutherland, MP Peter Adams and many others, says O’Toole. “It really ties into the anti-bullying and citizen responsibility component of the board (of education),” notes O’Toole. O’Toole isn’t sure if there is a complete, measurable way to find out if character education has worked down the road. “Perhaps some form of limited testing, with creating scenarios as part of the test,” he offers. “Or perhaps we look at the number of times students are in the principal’s office for bullying or the stats for young offenders,” he says. O’Toole says one thing is for certain. “Character cannot be simply lifted from a textbook and transplanted into minds. It has to be an integrated process, along with the community, the school and parents.” |
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