CHARACTER MATTERS

by Thomas Lickona, Touchstone Books, 2004 336 pages, $14 Available in bookstores

Here's a book that delivers on what its subtitle promises: “How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity and Other Essential Virtues.”

Thomas Lickona, a developmental psychologist and professor of education at the State University of New York and a recipient of a lifetime-achievement award from the Character Education Partnership, explains early on why he set out to produce not a think piece but a ready-to-use tool for parents.

“The job [of parenting] is harder than ever because the family has fewer allies (such as the extended family and cohesive neighborhoods) and more enemies (such as a toxic media culture, other parents who are over-permissive and an economy that doesn't pay a living wage),” he writes. “Because families are more stressed than ever, and because there are many more negative forces in our children's lives, parents need to be much more intentional than in past generations about creating a family life and more vigilant about raising a moral child. Good character will not be absorbed from our current moral environment.”

How parents and teachers can be “more intentional” about raising a moral child is what this book is all about. What makes it so valuable is that, despite Lick-ona's impressive credentials as a scholar and researcher, he has no difficulty writing at a practical level. The book is loaded with concrete ideas and advice for parents and teachers.

In a refreshing chapter on teaching manners, Lickona writes: “Manners are minor morals. They are everyday ways we respect other people and facilitate social relations. They make up the moral fabric of our shared lives.”

Many parents will be especially appreciative of the chapter on how to talk to young people about sex. It is full of wisdom, prudence, facts and advice. Though I was already convinced of the immorality of birth control, a single paragraph about condoms was eye opening, and I'll probably be reading it aloud to our 12-year-old daughter sometime soon.

There is plenty here for teachers and school administrators as well. Lickona offers suggestions for homework assignments, advice on classroom discipline, and guidance on how to develop character-building programs at the classroom, school or district level. He makes an excellent case that education needs to be about developing our children's character as well as their intellect while insisting the primary role falls to parents.

Though not a religious book, Character Matters clearly regards faith and Bible-based teaching with respect. Prominent Catholics, including Father Benedict Groeshel and Peter Kreeft, are among the sources he cites. Lick-ona even explains why teachers can legitimately (and legally) include the age-old insights of religious faith in public-school discussions of sex.

As the culture war rages on, resources such as Character Matters are like powerful weapons parents can wield to protect and arm their kids for the battles they will inevitably face.

Barry Michaels writes from Blairsville, Pennsylvania.