CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT ROCKY POINT

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Children are most likely to become persons of character when they grow up in communities of character, where there is an effort on the part of families, schools, religious organization, sports leagues, the chamber of commerce - everyone who has the opportunity to influence the values of young people - to both model and teach these character qualities. That's a huge challenge. Graduating seniors ought to be able to enhance the community in which they live by realizing their very best intellectual, creative, and social potential.

Our classroom components include the teacher as model, developing a moral classroom community, positive peer relationships, using discipline as a tool for character development, and building a democratic classroom so the children are involved in helping to make decisions to solve real classroom problems.

The Rocky Point School District focuses on the major domains: Character Education, Social Skills Development, and Positive Decision Making. These interconnecting domains are the building blocks used to develop positive and productive citizens.

Goals of Character Education

Character Education is the process of learning common attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are important for people to have as responsible citizens. In addition, Character education is about enabling our students to develop knowledge and life skills for enhancing ethical and responsible behavior.

• Social Skills Development: Social Skills Development is the ability of children to manage their emotions and behaviors and to make meaningful friendships. Positive social skills are an important prerequisite for school readiness and academic success. The Social Skills programs are designed to teach skills such as emotional literacy, empathy or perspective taking, friendship and communication skills, anger management, interpersonal problem solving, and how to be successful at school and beyond.
• Positive Decision Making: Positive Decision Making Good decision making is a complex process that takes years to master. The first step is to teach our children to stop and think before they make a decision or take an action. We want the students to understand what motivates their decisions and that all actions have consequences; some are positive while other could be negative. In addition, we need our children to consider how their decisions affects themselves and others.