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Church of England
UK News

Church of England report urges "character education" alongside academic one

by Aaron James

Entitled Fruits of the Spirit, it calls for children to be taught civic, moral and performance character virtues while they learn their academic subjects like Maths and English. Examples include volunteering, gratitude and resilience.

The report said these would encourage students to develop "good sense", which it defines as "knowing what to want and what not to want when the demands of two or more virtues collide".

It cited several examples, for example a Maths teacher who uses Fairtrade bananas to teach pupils not only about percentages and adding up, but also about injustice and inequality in the world.

Other examples include praising pupils who get their work wrong, if it is clear they have tried hard or improved since last time, and giving out "badges of awesomeness" if pupils complete certain activities such as writing a thank-you note, or keeping a journal of all the good things happening in their life.

The Bishop of Ely Rt Revd Stephen Conway said in the report: "In recent years, public discussion about education in England has increasingly highlighted the importance of character education, and its central place in ensuring that our schools prepare children to flourish in the complex world around them.

"For that reason, we are delighted to present this discussion paper on the Church of England's approach to character education. This paper is offered as a stimulus for reflection, and as a contribution to the national discussion about one of the most important purposes of education - the development of the character of children and young people."

However Chris McGovern, from the Campaign for Real Education, told the Daily Mail: "This is rubbish, of course. It is the same idea that was current in Nazi Germany, where maths lessons used to ask pupils to work out things like how many bombs it would take to destroy Warsaw.

"The curriculum should not be about promoting political correctness, in the way history is sometimes used to attack the British Empire, or geography to promote climate change campaigns."

"Maths should be taught as maths, not a means to spread a particular political view. If you do this it distorts the curriculum."

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