The Analysis Of American Character Education Movement

In the recent years, along with the high-speed development of society, some predicaments appear in the field of ethical education in our country. The theorists and teachers are all wondering how to carry out the ethical education in school. Why is the ethical education not effective? How can we find out problem-solving path and discover the breakthrough of the predicaments? When considering these problems, some educationists begin to pay attention to the ethical education in other countries hoping to get experience and lessons from them. As a new trend in the United States, character education attracts the concern of our educationists.The American character education movement not only gets the advocacy of the president and the Congress, but also the support of many schools, religious groups and citizens. The theory of American character education seems not complicated; however, it is more humane, closer to the real life and easier for students to accept. Character education is a kind of education principle, which analyses non- intelligence factors. It teaches the person how to be a person, connecting ethical education with ideal and patriotism education. Character education put emphasis on developing characters through life experience and practical training. Character education believes that lectures and persuasion cannot change students'characters and behavior effectively. Practice is the best way to help students solve the real problems in life. These ideas are inspirational to the ethical education in our country.This paper discusses the American character education movement from five aspects, including the basic theories, the background, practical researches, evaluation and inspirations of the movement systematically.