Character Counts

Service learning is emerging as an important area of youth development work, and has potential for providing young Iowans with incentives to stay in the state. Service learning is connected with excellence in education from the early grades through college and beyond, and it is at the heart of the Keep Iowa Beautiful philosophy of education. The lesson plans for Second Grade help teachers involve children in planning, carrying out and reflecting on their community projects. Clean and Green will help schools and youth organizations develop strong citizens of tomorrow.

Citizenship is the sixth pillar of character, and is the core value of Clean and Green. It combines the other pillars of—

• Responsibility for keeping our space clean and green
• Respect for the environment
• Caring for our peers and the planet

The pillars of trustworthiness and fairness are built into the program through an emphasis on working with others. Each lesson provides questions for teachers to help children understand and apply one pillar of character.

Besides the pillars, character education research contributes the Four Keys of Character Education—safe, challenging community, self-study, other study and public performance. These four standards from the Smart and Good High School Report, published in 2005, document that to provide a well-rounded education; children must study in an environment that challenges them to do their best while it provides a community where they are safe from physical and emotional fear. Once that environment is established, children must have opportunities to gain insight into their own learning styles and focus on their relationships with others in the classroom and beyond. Finally, each child needs age-appropriate opportunities to present their views and their knowledge publicly.