МАОО «Международная федерация образования» ищет партнеров для перевода и издания книги Cultivating Heart and Character.
Educating for Life's Most Essential Goals.

Advance Reviews of Cultivating Heart and Character:

"A poignant character education message for everyone that has a comprehensive and respectful approach encompassing all aspects of life. This provocative dialogue encourages personal reflection."
Mary C. Aranha
Director, Maryland State Department of Education,
Character Education Office

"Cultivating Heart and Character is a beacon of hope, a blueprint for ethical living and decision making in confusing times. This book is a higher, expansive look at character, which offers hope for the people of the world IF we can open our eyes and hearts to the wisdom it contains. I commend the editors and authors for a helpful, inspirational guide to meaningful living."
Eleanore Childs, Esq.
President, Heartwood Ethics Institute

"Caring parents and educators will benefit enormously from this insightful, responsible, research-based analysis."
Stephen R. Covey, Ph.D.
Author, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

"At a time that youth, families and couples face so many challenges to build individual strengths and connect with love, this book offers practical ideas, solid facts, and a strength-based model... Schools, parents and community agencies too easily keep their own 'turf' and think they can work alone to build character, educate our youth, and support families. What is clear (supported by facts in this book) is that only our working together will make a difference for families in the 21st century. And this book offers a map of ways to do this and partnerships that already exist. A book for couples, families, educators and therapists."
George Doub, M. Div.f L.M.F.T.
Co-founder, Family Wellness Associates
Flo Creighton, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Partner, Family Wellness Associates

"Cultivating Heart and Character is one of the most comprehensive and practical guidebooks to renewing character and character-shaping institutions. No one can read this volume without concluding that the central challenge of our time is reviving the ethical foundations of freedom by encouraging the widest possible embrace of personal responsibility."
Don Eberly
Director, Civil Society Project

"Cultivating Heart and Character is a clear, concise, comprehensive review of what character education is, the benefits for youth and society and the resources available to teach it. It is critical reading for every school administrator who desires their graduates to succeed in life and love and contribute towards a saner, safer, more loving world."
Seth Eisenberg
President and CEO, PAIRS International, Inc.

"With an unusual a blend of East and West it comes down squarely on the side of the family and of the fundamental virtues while bringing the student through a very comprehensive overview of the themes of love, character, family and sexuality."
Patrick F. Pagan, Ph.D.
William H. G. FitzGerald Fellow in Family and Culture Issues
The Heritage Foundation

"For family educators and parents interested in values based education, Cultivating Heart and Character is a comprehensive, clear and articulate guide through the morass of complicated family issues facing our society."
Terry D. Hargrave, Ph.D.
West Texas A&M University
Author, The Essential Humility of Marriage:
Honoring the Third Identity in Couple Therapy

"Nothing is more important than character education for both personal and social good. Cultivating Heart and Character makes the case compellingly, with argument and statistics, and in addition offers practical guidance to parents, schools and the community. This book is an important contribution to a growing national consciousness. It should be read by everyone, for their own sake and for the love of children."
Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.
Author, Getting the Love You Want

"If you are a parent, educator or youth specialist concerned with character education (and you should be!), then buy this book. Filled with practical and insightful information, this book is sure to strengthen your ability to help children and youth develop the skills and knowledge they need to develop into persons of character."
Wade F. Horn, Ph.D.
President, The National Fatherhood Initiative

"Cultivating Heart and Character is an important contribution to the field. In addition to all its other virtues, it breaks new ground in at least three ways: It takes an international and cross-cultural perspective on character education; it places love at the center of character development, and it deepens our understanding of character development as a partnership between the home, school and community."
Howard Kirschenbaum
Frontier Professor of School, Family and Community
Relations, University of Rochester

"Of all the books on character education today, this book is clearly one of the most comprehensive in its approach. Drawing upon a wide range of scholarship, the authors make the case that character education must take place not only in the schools, but also in the home and community. The insightful analysis, well-researched rationale, and comprehensive approach to character education all make this an eminently useful contribution to the field. Teachers, parents and community members alike should find Cultivating Heart and Character to be an indispensable source for the development of thoughtful and effective character education programs."
James S. Leming, Ph.D.
Southern Illinois University

"The book does an excellent job of delineating the foundations of good character, and then explaining how schools, parents and communities must work together to develop good character. There is a wide range of information provided — including attention paid to the current topics of conflict resolution, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, abstinence, as well as a unique look at various levels of relationships. This book provides a much-needed framework for comprehensive character development that spans a lifetime."
Lynn Lisy-Macan
Assistant Superintendent, Niskayuna Central Schools,
Niskayuna, New York

"An excellent resource for parents, educators, members of the business community and anyone interested in overcoming our national crisis of character."
Sandy N. McDonnell
Chairman, The Character Education Partnership
Chairman Emeritus, McDonnell Douglas

"Cultivating Heart and Character is a rich compendium of state-of-the-art programs and research in abstinence education, character education, and marriage and family education; its analysis of the important interrelationship of these areas is particularly insightful.
"Healthy, loving relationships are key to happy and pro¬ductive lives — and to solving many of our most devastating social problems — but historically adults have dropped the ball when it comes to teaching our youth the essential social and emotional skills. It's a whole lot easier to teach children to walk and talk, to drive a car and even to use a computer than it is to teach them how to develop strong personal ideals and to love well. But we've got to get our priorities straight. Cultivating Heart and Character will be a very valuable resource for families, schools and communities as we collaborate in this movement. Let's get going!"
Nancy McLaren
Co-director, The Loving Well Project

"A well written and wide-ranging look at character education. Read it and you'll understand the status of the movement, its history and importance, and what many of its proponents have to say."
Ann Medlock
Founder and President, Giraffe Heroes Project

"Cultivating Heart and Character: Educating for Life's Most Essential Goals, edited by Tony Devine, Joon Ho Seuk and Andrew Wilson, is not 'Just another book on character education.' It is a book which makes a unique contribution to establishing the theoretical base of the field. Its emphasis on cultivating the heart as the core of character education and its main tenet that the source of all character education lies in the fundamental context of the family give new understanding to the life-long process of character formation. The theoretical principles of the book are clearly illustrated with moral stories of actual people and with examples from character-building schools both in the United States, Europe, Japan and China, giving a truly cross-cultural perspective to the field. Devine, Seuk and Wilson have found the true source of remedying today's moral problems by basing their answer in a renewed commitment to family values. I highly recommend this book for anyone seriously interested in character education and making our society more caring and loving."
Madonna Murphy, Ph.D.
University of St. Francis
Author, Character Education in America's Blue Ribbon Schools

"All of us who are invested in character education for the youth of this age owe a debt to Tony Devine, Joon Ho Seuk and Andrew Wilson for the compilation of information found in this book. Parents, educators and youth workers cannot afford to miss out on the wealth of knowledge that is waiting for them on these pages."
Les Parrott, Ph.D., and Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.
Seattle Pacific University
Authors, Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

"Cultivating Heart and Character: Educating for Life's Most Essential Goals represents a monumental move toward whole learning based upon character development. It provides a comprehensive set of methods and strategies linking teachers, families and communities to teach children the rich value and potential of moral, ethical and intellectual character development. Devine, Seuk and Wilson are to be commended for this great work."
Thomasina M. Portis
Founder and CEO, Portis and Associates, Inc.

"This book offers a comprehensive and carefully researched diagnosis of what our problems are and what parents and teachers can do to help children forge strong characters. The authors provide a mix of sound principles, practical solutions and vivid examples. It is a very impressive book and should be widely read."
Kevin Ryan, Ph.D.
Founding Director, Center for the Advancement
of Ethics and Character, Boston University
Author, Reclaiming Our Schools

"It made me think of the song, MacArthur Park: 'Someone left the cake out in the rain... and we'll never find that recipe again.' Marriage and family seem to be melting down around us, but this book gives us the recipe. It gives step-by-step instructions about what to do, how to do it and the research about why to do it. A guide for parents, teachers, kids, clergy, all of us who care, about how to rebuild trust, love, commitment, intergenerational loyalties, responsibility, character and confidence. We can remake the cake, and decorate it with renewed hope in ourselves and our institutions. A great contribution. A workhorse of a book. Beautifully written."
Diane Sollee, M.S.W.
Founder and Director, Coalition for Marriage,
Family and Couples Education

"This is a terrific resource in character education — valuable for teachers, families and individuals. It's thorough and well researched, yet practical and easy to read. It's also full of useful ideas. You'll find yourself turning to it again and again."
Hal Urban
Author, Life's Greatest Lessons

"Cultivating Heart and Character represents the best effort in presenting a comprehensive approach to character education and a well written call to action on the important role that schools, communities and families can have in positively shaping the lives of our children. It also offers a blueprint on how we as educators, community representatives and parents can begin taking the needed steps in helping children develop habits of the heart and mind. Every page is informative and perhaps best of all, appealing to our common sense. If I could recommend one book of common reading for parents, educators and youth workers, this would be it. It will remain a valuable resource for years to come."
Philip Vincent, Ph.D.
President, Character Development Group

"I give my highest endorsement to Cultivating Heart and Character. The authors present a well-developed comprehensive approach to character education, and provide practical examples for effective home/community/school approaches only briefly mentioned by other authors. I've put it on my shortlist of recommended readings to educators, parents and graduate students!"
Mary Williams, Ed.D.
Co-founder and Co-director, International Center for
Character Education, University of San Diego

To the Reader

IF YOU HAVE PICKED UP THIS BOOK, YOU ARE PROBABLY CONCERNED about character, youth, family life and society. So are we — that is why we wrote this book. Here you will find stories, thoughts and the shared desires of many individuals, including teachers, parents and students searching for a more integrated education that nourishes not just the intellect but the heart as well — an education that equips people to live fulfilling and useful lives. The content reflects extensive research and dialogue as well as the assistance of educators and experts from a variety of backgrounds and from all around the world. These ideas have been presented and discussed in hundreds of national and international conferences, schools, and meetings involving practitioners in education, youth development and family issues as well as community leaders and social workers.

Our views rely on three simple premises. First, the natural desire to love and be loved is a central motivating force in the development of character. Loving relationships create an optimal environment for human fulfillment. Hence, the cultivation of the heart is central to human fulfillment and a necessary part of education. An education in the ideals, norms, relational capacities and character traits required for altruistic love helps people live lives of moral integrity, spontaneity and beauty. It enables them to live a good life in community with others.

A second premise is that character development is integrally linked with the search for meaning in life. Young people learn and retain values in light of their sense of identity and purpose in life. When exhorted to be respectful, responsible, caring, etc., they ask, "Why?" We address this need for larger meaning by focusing on three life aspirations or goals: 1) individual maturity, 2) competence and satisfaction in personal relationships (especially familial ones) and 3) to make a valuable and lasting contribution beyond oneself to society. These life goals are universal and self-evident. Achieving them epitomizes a life well lived and provides great satisfaction to oneself and others.

The realization of life goals takes place in the family, school and community, and requires the continual cultivation of the heart and character as a lifelong process. Such a perspective necessitates a comprehensive approach to character development from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, this book includes chapters on marriage, family and community as well as school wide character education.

You may want to use this text to enhance a particular discipline of character and relational enrichment, or simply to broaden your own understanding. Our aim was to provide practical guidance for teachers, parents, and counselors or anyone involved in making a difference in their own lives and those of others. The spectrum of questions and issues include:

* Why does character education need to be a priority in schools and families?
* How do natural principles inform moral growth and healthy relationships?
* How is meaning in life related to character development?
* In what ways are family roles important for emotional and character development?
* How does training in relational skills and character help build and sustain a meaningful marriage?
* What are the aptitudes that make for effective parenting?
* How can schools and parents forge viable partnerships in the raising of children?
* What is the role of character development in addressing com mon challenges facing youth: substance abuse, sexual health and conflict resolution?
* How can various agencies and institutions in the community cooperate with parents and schools to give young people a consistent message of good character?

To encompass this range of topics, the book is divided into three parts:

Part I offers a discussion of character education, covering historical, theoretical and practical aspects. Section 1 surveys the recent history of moral education, makes a case for universal values, and defines key educational concepts such as heart, conscience and life goals.

Section 2 gives a broad description of the process of character development in the three dimensions of personal growth, relationships and civic contribution. Section 3 utilizes these three dimensions as a framework for the comprehensive integration of universal values in character education initiatives. Here are methods, anecdotes from schools and teachers, and elements of successful programs for developing individual character, a caring school ethos, and partnerships with parents and the community.

Part II sketches a portrait of moral growth through familial roles, namely, those of child, sibling, spouse and parent. The chapters in Section 4 render each role as a "sphere of love," which offers unique opportunities for the expansion of heart and conscience that remain important in adult moral development. Section 5 confronts modern culture's ubiquitous confusion about marriage and family norms by first addressing concerns about the efficacy of marriage. Next, the support that educators can give to marriage is explored through discussions of marriage preparation, marriage enrichment and parenting education. The feasibility and desirability of a lifelong marital relationship is supported with character-based insights and proven relational skills for sustaining love. Authentic narratives and strategies from marriage and parenting experts sketch the connection between character and family functioning.

Part III tackles the most urgent challenges facing young people — sexuality, drug abuse and dealing with conflict. Written with teenagers in mind but especially for the adults who guide them, Section 6 sketches a positive ethic of love and sexuality, founded upon principles of character development and fulfillment in family relationships. This same perspective underlies Section 7, which also discusses drug abuse prevention and conflict resolution. Research has shown that negative behaviors tend to be clustered where character formation is weak and protective family influences are absent. Here are valuable insights that can be incorporated into already existing character education initiatives, as well as useful guidelines for designing and implementing curricula with the cultivation of heart and character as a guiding principle. Parents, too, can find greater confidence to deepen the dialogue with their children, supporting them to successfully resist high-risk behaviors that are detours on the road to personal maturity.

Finally, this book represents a collaborative dialogue; we wrote it as a team. The cross-fertilization of ideas, research, prose and much "putting our heads together" allowed for an integration of themes and concepts across several domains. It was a challenging yet enriching experience for all of us. Through several years of arduous critique, analysis and reflection, we sought to balance individuals' intellectual integrity with group consensus. Although specific authors were responsible for sections and chapters, each of us can recognize his or her imprint on every page. Thus, in spite of vast differences in personalities, editorial opinions, academic and even cultural backgrounds, we came to speak with a common voice on the issues so close to our hearts.

Tony Devine
Josephine Hauer
June Saunders
Joon Ho Seuk
John R. Williams
Andrew Wilson

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