Philosophic+Perspective

"Content-Character-Choice"

media type="custom" key="10885976" align="left" William Bennett's philosophical beliefs related to education are rooted in the traditional philosophy of idealism and realismand the educational philosophies of perennialism and essentialism.  Dr. Bennetts core beliefs in education have often been summarized using the phrase the "three Cs" or content, character, and choice. He believes in a curriculum (**content**) that focuses on the the basic skills from kindergarten through eighth grade and teaching the humanities. In addition, Dr. Bennett believes that teaching **character** education and virtues is an important aspect of raising children and educating them; and in order to teach virtues we must teach by habit, by precept, and by example. Finally, Dr. Bennett believes that families should have the right to choose (**choice**) the school that their child attends.

Content
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 * "The first eight or nine years of formal education lay the foundation of on which all further study and habits of mind rest. Without a well defined sequence of academic goals centered on the basics...your child's education is at grave risk" (Bennett, Finn & Cribb 91).
 * "Good schools attend to the basic subjects: English, history, geometry, math, science, art, and music...concentrate on essential skills...recognize that there are some facts and ideas that all American students should know" (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 11).
 * Mr. Bennett favors standards, testing, and tough accountability for schools (Bennett & Paige).
 * Our nation is "dumbing down and dumbing down almost everything" and that a lot of the basic work is not getting done ("Dumbing Down Education").
 * Children learn what adults choose to teach them. If we are dissatisfied with what our students know, then we must improve the quality of instruction in our schools. And before we can do that, we must once again commit ourselves to solid content as a first principle of the elementary curriculum (Jame Madison Elementary School).
 * In reference to grade inflation Dr. Bennett reported, "... those students taking the SATs, the percentage with an 'A' average has been going up even as their combined math and verbal scores have been dropping...This trend is one more sign of watered down curricula and flagging academic expectations" Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 438).

Character

 * "In the 1984 report titled //To Reclaim a Legacy: A Report on the Humanities in Higher Education,// Bennett stated that, "his major goal was to teach students the core of Western values "(To Reclaim a Legacy).
 * In the report, Bennett stressed the importance of the Western values on the development of a common culture stating, "We should instead, want all students to know a common culture rooted in civilization's lasting vision, its highest shared ideals and aspirations, and its heritage" (To Reclaim a Legacy).
 * "Some virtues usually associated with moral development are also essential for academic success. Children who practice them are more likely to have higher grades and fewer discipline problems" (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 71).
 * "Molding character must begin in the home in the earliest years, but after that, schools must help" (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 523).

Choice

 * "We favor school choice, and believe that the more of it the better. Choice among public schools is good; policies that include charter, private, and parochial schools are better" (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 603).