The Importance of Character Education

The Importance of Character Education

Education applied in schools and colleges requires maximizing skills and cognitive abilities. With such understanding, there are actually other things of a child or student that is equally important unknowingly neglected. That is providing character education to students.

Character education is important as counterweight of cognitive skill. Some facts that we often found, a wealthy businessman is not generous, a politician or state official does not care about the poor, or a teacher is not concerned about the street children who do not get a chance to learn in school. It is the evidence that there is no balance between cognitive education and character education.

Character education is education that emphasizes on the formation of character values ??in children or students.

Basic characteristics of character education are formulated by an originator of character education from German named FW Foerster:

1. Character education emphasizes on every action that guides on normative values. A child or student respects the existing norms and guide on the norms.

2. The existence of coherence or building confidence and courage, so a child will be a firm stance personal and not be easily swayed and afraid of risk every facing new situation.

3. The existence of autonomy: students understand and practice the outside rules to be values for them. By doing so, the students are able to make decisions independently without being influenced by pressure from outside parties.

4. Firmness and loyalty. Firmness is students� durability in realizing what is considered good. Loyalty is basic respect for the commitment chosen.

Character education will make superior personal that not only has cognitive ability but also character that is able to realize success. Based on research at Harvard University in United States, a person's success is not solely determined by knowledge and technical abilities and the cognition (hard skill), but the ability to manage himself and others (soft skill).

The research reveals that success is only determined about 20 percent by hard skill and 80 percent by the soft skill. Furthermore, soft skill is formed through the implementation of character education in children.

Process of Character Formation in Children

Process of Character Formation in Children

Character formation of a child takes time and commitment of the parents and schools or teachers to educate the child to become characterized personal. It takes effort, time and love of the environment where he grows up, love here does not mean featherbed.

The character of a nation is an important aspect that affects socio-economic development. High quality character of the community will surely grow a strong desire to improve the quality of a nation. This best character development is when it is started at an early age.

Thomas Lickona said, "A child is just a place in which a responsible adult can be created". Therefore, preparing the child is felicitous human investment strategy. A famous statement revealed, "Children are only about 25% of the total population, but they determine 100% of the future". It has been proven that the most effective period to form the character of children is before 10 years old. It is expected that character formation in this period will have impact that will last long for the moral formation of children.

It is normal if we expect the family as the main actors in educating basic morals in children. However, there are many children, particularly children who live in poor areas, do not get moral education of their parents.

Low socio-economic condition is related to various issues, such as poverty, jobless, low education levels, low socialized life, and usually it is also associated with high stress levels and further affecting the parenting. A study showed that children who live in poor areas 11 times higher in accepting negative behaviors (such as physical and mental violence, and neglected) than children from higher-income families.

Dorothy Law Nolte has stated that children learn from the life environment. The complete statement is:

If a child lives with reproach, he learns cursing

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns inferiority

If a child lives with humiliation, he learns self-sorry

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns restraint

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate

If a child lives with the best handling, he learns justice

If a child lives with security, he learns to trust

If a child lives with support, he learns to please himself

If a child lives with love and friendship, he learns to find love in life