Character education in schools is where most children will probably develop their character
. To paraphrase one educator, character education in schools is making a concentrated effort to advance beneficial qualities that are both good for the person or child and also for society in general. So if the child cannot get these qualities in the home then they will have to acquire them elsewhere.
Most schools do not have a class that specifically addresses a developing character education in schools. Of course there are books that can be assigned that suggest character development or where the story line is about a child or children who overcome all odds and due to their implicit character of perseverance or courage make it through a rough patch of life. These types of childrens books used to be quite normal but this has changed just as a childs life has changed.
It seems that a childs life used to be simple. They had to go to school during the week and to church on Sunday. But they were expected to respect their parents no matter what. They were also expected to respect their teachers and any other person in a position of authority. Television before MTV had a lot of shows that also were about family values. So a child watching television would see what is expected of them. They would be able to view other values on the television. But today there is so much violence both on the television and also on the computer in the form of computer games or games on other hand held devices that a child sees a different reality then children did decades ago. Sometimes this other reality is what the child then chooses to use as their own personal reality. Unless they have somewhere else to change this view of reality they may not ever develop true character. The type of character most parents would be proud to say that their children had developed.
This is the type of character that will affirm the human dignity. It will make the person feel they are a happy individual that will also be willing and able to serve a common good of all people. They will also understand that they want to be treated fairly and they will want to treat all others fairly also.
So where does this child learn these things? Hopefully at home but generally this will not be the case. So it is left up to teacher to teach these children about character. There are many curriculums that are available as resources online that would assist a teacher in preparing lessons. However few teachers are equipped to teach character development because they are not taught how to do so when they received their teaching credentials. They will have to reach out to other schools or educators to try to learn this new skill that is required of them. There are the resources available to them and if they want their students to succeed they will find them.