Chip Wood, co-creator of the Responsive Class-room gave the June 25,

1996 keynote at the Center’s Second Annual Summer Institute in Character

Education at SUNY Cortland. In his concluding remarks, he outlined seven

promises he believes we must make to our children schools, and each

other if we are to move our beliefs about character education into sound

daily practice.

1.Let us promise not to ignore the behavior of boys when it is

deliberately mean and

cruel and physically or verbally abusive to girls. In order to stem the

tide of abusive treatment of women in our society, we must promise not

to look the other way in the halls of our elementary, middle and high

schools. We must teach young boys to express empathy and make it

normative to be respectful and caring in our schools.

This is the promise of respect — to the boy on the bicycle and the girl

in the schoolyard. (Wood had recounted a disturbing newspaper report of

a 10-year-old boy’s assault on an 8-year-old girl with broken glass in a

schoolyard after school.)

2.Let us promise to ask parents what they want their children to

learn in school this

year. At the very least, send a letter home before school starts that

asks this question. If possible, move the first parent conference to the

beginning of the school

year and make it a goal-setting conference. This is the promise of

parental involvement for all moms and dads.

3.Promise your students real responsibility in the classroom and

school by generating classroom rules that begin with their hopes and

dreams, aspirations and goals. Then give them real jobs to do. This is

the promise of responsibility in action.

4.Promise yourself, your administration, parents and students, a

clear set of

school-wide rules and procedures that let everyone know that the vast

majority of

students the ones who follow the rules will, from this point forward,

be the ones

who get most of the teacher’s attention, rather than the other way

around. Make sure

the school board approves this policy. This is the promise to

recognize responsibility.

5.Promise yourselves that you will work together to create

classroom and school

ceremonies, rituals, structures and routines that provide for teaching

and practicing

the internalization of rules and for the building of greater trust

among all members of

the school community. To accomplish this, find as many ways as possible

to

increase meaningful, prosocial contact between younger and older

students in the

school, such as cross-age tutoring and “buddies” programs. This is the

promise

of apprenticeship.

6.Promise to teach recess and lunch with the same intentionality as

reading and math. Share the lunchroom and playground with your students

as often as possible. This is the promise of safety and civility.

7.Promise to use every available avenue to strengthen and support

your adult

community in its work together and with children, especially through

the provision

of time to meet, dialogue and create stronger bonds among adults. I

recommend the

notion that every teacher needs a “buddy teacher.” In order to model

good character

for children, they must see us interact with each other, not just with

them. We must

be in each other’s rooms, on the playground together modeling for

children. This

is the promise to “raise the village”the community of adults.

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