DATE: Monday, June 30, 1997                 TAG: 9706290158

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A10  EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: Teaching kids values 

SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON AND NANCY YOUNG, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:  135 lines

PRIVATE SCHOOLS MAKE MORALS PART OF MISSION

Whether they've chosen public, private or parochial schools for their children, parents want to see results. That's no less true for character education.

But public schools are limited in their discussion of values and morals. Even if it can be agreed that character education should be taught, it doesn't answer the question of whose values and morals should be followed.

That's where private schools often find their niche.

``That's the beauty of independent schools,'' said Anita Neighbors of the National Association of Independent Schools based in Washington.

``They have the beauty to define their mission.''

Ten percent of the nation's children are enrolled in private schools, perhaps, in part, because they have more flexibility on how they handle sensitive issues such as character education.

Following is a look at how three area private schools instill values in the classroom.

St. Mary's Academy, Norfolk

Every morning, after St. Mary's Academy students finish their Pledge of Allegiance, they turn to the Black liberation flag of red, black and green and begin:

``I pledge my allegiance to the destiny of African-American people, to the red, black and green.

``I give my life and my love to my people. I promise to keep an open mind toward all people, to seek the goals of brotherhood and sisterhood and to stand up for what is right, from now until judgment day.

``RIGHT ON!''

Students, from 2 1/2-year-olds to fifth-graders, learn the words and their meaning: pride, standing up for oneself, tolerance.

This is character building at St. Mary's Academy in Norfolk.

The Catholic school infuses character development through religion study, academics and the school's focus on African heritage.

St. Mary's dates back to the 1850s and had a mostly white student population until the 1960s, when the black St. Joseph Catholic School closed and its students moved to St. Mary's.

By the 1970s, the school was majority African-American and pictures of a black Madonna and the brown-faced statue of Peruvian St. Martin dePorres, a patron of social action, have since become fixtures in school hallways.

Principal Sister Barbara Boyle said the Afrocentric thrust is a natural framework for passing on lifelong lessons.

``We're teaching values and religion (since) values are an important part of the African-American tradition,'' Boyle said.

Character development is so important that students receive ``unsatisfactory'' to ``outstanding'' ratings on how respectful and courteous they are, along with grades for handwriting and science on their student evaluations.

St. Mary's staff believes classroom problem-solving lessons involving character traits, coupled with ``SMA'' monogrammed on Kente cloth wall hangings, sends necessary messages, stressing pride.

``Children need to see themselves imaged, positively imaged, so that they can reinforce them as who they are,'' Sister Peggy said.

StoneBridge School, Chesapeake

Character education is taken very seriously at StoneBridge School in Chesapeake. They say they're not just educating for this life, but also for the next.

``This will have a lot to do with where they will spend eternity. It will also have a lot to do with their quality of life here on earth,'' said William F. Cox Jr., an education professor at Regent University.

He was speaking to a group of apprentice teachers at StoneBridge on how to take a Biblical approach to character study.

Character is taught in every class at StoneBridge.

``It's an implicit part of everything we do and everything we teach,'' said Elizabeth Youmans, director of educational projects for the school.

In front of the classroom where Youmans spoke was a historical time line which listed ``Restoring America's Christian Character'' as the task dedicated to the 1990s.

Character traits of historical and literary figures are ``broken out'' and studied by students.

Youmans gave the example that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ``The Courtship of Miles Standish,'' was not just an opportunity to teach the mechanics of poetry.

``It's a beautiful poem to use with teen-agers because it presents the Biblical model of courtship and marriage,'' Youmans said.

Teachers focus more on good role models rather than ``spending our time studying the Hitlers of the world,'' said Mark Keating, principal of the upper school.

``You don't want to spend a lot of time on poor character because you end up getting what you spend your time on,'' he said.

Ryan Academy, Norfolk

Ryan Academy Principal Luis Rivera jokes that the school teaches its students how to be resourceful, not by design, but out of necessity.

With a student body of 85 students, ``Kids have to figure out how to do things themselves,'' Rivera said as he watched students rehearse a play in the school gym.

Staff members at Ryan likewise try to teach the other Rs of the private school's logo - ``Respect and Responsibility'' - not through any formal curriculum but through word and deed.

Respect is one of the first things Ryan Academy students learn. In the entrance interview, prospective students are judged in part on the respect they show others.

``When I interview in the admissions process, I ask a student why they want to come to Ryan and he says, `I'm sick and tired of the other teachers,' that's a sign there,'' Rivera said.

``I can't be his father, mother. I can't teach some basic things. . . . I insist on respect. If you're not respectful, I don't want you here.''

Ryan Academy - which serves 85 students in grades kindergarten through 12 - enrolls many students who've had discipline problems at other schools.

But this is where the responsibility factor comes in - the staff works to show students how to take ownership of their work, their life's direction and their behavior.

And, in Corie Hunter's case, the school play.

Corie enrolled in Ryan Academy two years ago after nearly flunking out of a Virginia Beach high school.

``I'm a class clown,'' the 17-year-old said. ``I would even joke the teacher. It was ridiculous. It was like I was getting up in the morning for nothing.''

Corie said he's become tamed as a comedian, but he still likes to grab attention with an occasional joke or challenge things in class. His behavior prompted the principal and a teacher to ask Corie to become director of the school play.

``You put the most critical person in the most critical position to be criticized,'' Rivera said. ``He might find humbleness.''

Corie said being director taught him responsibility, something Rivera was happy to hear.

``I wish we had more support, more faculty, but we're doing things with kids that can't be done in other places,'' Rivera said.

``They are too overwhelmed in public schools to deal with some of these issues, respect and responsibility. They're too overwhelmed, he said.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Lawrence Jackson/ The Virginian-Pilot

Photo by Tamara Voninski/The Virginian-Pilot

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: VALUES EDUCATION

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu