[VALUES] The Power of Integrated Character Education

One of YCIS Beijing’s signature calling cards is its commitment to providing students with moral education that will help to guide their actions in their adult lives. Spearheading this project is YCIS Beijing’s Character and Moral Education Officer John Hardt. Mr. Hardt serves a variety of roles with the school, from leading Character Education-themed assemblies for all age levels to hosting Character Education workshops to running the school's Character, Education, and Service programmes. But just what exactly is Character Education?

An Inner Moral Compass

As Mr. Hardt describes it, Character Education is the development of “an inner compass.” Mr. Hardt is the main facilitator of this development, hosting a myriad of activities for students during each step of their YCIS Beijing career: “In our Primary School, character traits are emphasized in all daily classroom activities and implemented by our teachers throughout all of our lessons. In Secondary School, we have a full-time Character Education teacher.  Students are exposed to weekly character lessons where skills are learned and put into practice. Finally, character traits are the focus of weekly assemblies throughout the year.”

Ten character traits, such as kindness and respect, are chosen every year by the school (one for each month of the school year). Each of these traits is utilized by teachers across the school in daily lessons and activities, ensuring that these traits are not simply paid lip service but are actually fully intertwined with a student’s learning.

Read Mr. Hardt's full piece on how Character Education positively influences our students by tapping Read More below!