A Holistic Approach For Cultural Change: Character Education for Ages 13-15

Marc Levitt’s A Holistic Approach for Cultural Change: Character Education for Ages 13-15 asks educators to consider how our contemporary curriculum and pedagogy supports isolation and competition, rather than our goals for school culture change. Mr. Levitt explores themes such as ‘vengeance,’ ‘prejudice,’ ‘communications in relationships,’ ‘trapping oneself in past behaviors,’ ‘respecting one’s heritage,’ and ‘learning to embrace one’s own story’ through his original stories. Suggestions for curriculum and pedagogical changes follow, helping educators share the larger personal and social implications of Mr. Levitt’s stories, while teaching and demonstrating how we are ‘All in it Together’. A Holistic Approach for School-Based Culture Change: Character Education for Ages 13-15 helps educators build a caring and socially intelligent community of students in a way that is neither ‘preachy’ nor condescending, acknowledging and encouraging our ‘mutuality of interests.