The Child Development Project: Building Character by Building Community

Abstract

When a teacher focuses on creating a caring community in the classroom he or she is not just providing the optimal context for character development. The processes involved in creating a caring community require far more than that the teacher be fair and caring, it requires teaching children the skills and attitudes they need to be fair and caring, and seeing to it that everyone in the community lives by these values. This article outlines the many skills and understandings that preservice teachers need in order to create caring classroom communities and the supportive conditions they need, both as student teachers and as teachers, if they are to succeed in making a positive contribution to the character development of their students.