Character Compass

In this lively and engaging book, Scott Seider offers portraits of three high-performing urban schools that have made character development central to their mission. Character Compass highlights each school's unique approach to character development and shows how qualities like empathy, integrity, perseverance, and daring can nurture student success. "In this timely and solidly researched book, Scott Seider makes the case that a school's efforts to foster character do not come at the expense of academic achievement--rather, they enhance it. This book will be an important read for educators, policy makers, and citizens who care about the full character development of the young." -- William Damon, professor of education and director of the Center on Adolescence, Stanford University "Scott Seider, a rising star in the field of education, has crafted an eloquent presentation that highlights the importance of process, context, diversity, and commitment to a vision. This is a valuable addition to the body of knowledge informing best practices in character education." -- Marvin W. Berkowitz, Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis "Character Compass challenges me to reflect on our school's curriculum, programming, practices, and messages. In what ways are we influencing our students' character development, and in what ways are we missing opportunities to explicitly define and reinforce attitudes, beliefs, and actions that will positively shape their character?" -- Peggy Kemp, headmaster, Fenway High School, Boston "If you are interested in character education across a district, within a school, or in a single classroom, Character Compass is for you. Seider not only offers a strong theoretical framework to help guide big-picture decision making, he also provides rich, nuanced descriptions of how the character programs actually play out in schools. I can't wait to share these portraits with my graduate students." -- Brent Maddin, provost and professor, Relay Graduate School of Education Scott Seider, forward by Howard Gardner