Building Character

Without a doubt, character is an integral component of a Charleston Day School education. In fact, it can be argued that character-building is as foundational as academic achievement. Take a look at our core values: Scholarship, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility. It’s clear that combining strong academics (scholarship) with integrity, respect and responsibility allows our students to become lasting contributors to society, both with regard to themselves and to others.

At Charleston Day School, we understand the importance of gratitude, generosity, compassion, inclusion and empathy as well as sportsmanship and perseverance. You will find these traits as words of the month for the school, integrated in our classrooms and hallways in the ways we approach our studies, our friends and our teachers. Charleston Day students have a formal Character class taught by faculty members Eric Getter and Vicky Caldwell, but moreover, every teacher, every day, in every classroom is working to instill strong character traits in our students.

Coaches Gigi Wallace and Travis Whetzel teach sportsmanship, perseverance, teamwork and selfdiscipline in their physical education classes and in the CDS inclusive athletic program which includes sports such as basketball, volleyball, golf and more. In the fine arts program, Janet Hopkins, Nicole Seitz and Chrystal Hawkins encourage students to build strong character traits such as persistence, patience, collaboration, courage, creativity, and respect and edification of others through drawing, painting, musical theater and other forms of artistic expression.

From the moment the students enter the campus, they learn to greet our Head of School, Judith Foley Arnstein, with a firm handshake and look in the eye. At lunch, students share a meal with their peers and teachers as well as administrators. Manners matter. At weekly Assembly, eighth graders share their heart-felt personal speeches, sharing the values of persistence, courage, eloquence and advocacy. Bigs and Lil’s enjoy friendship and mentorship through shared activities, and in middle school Advisory, teachers work closely with students to discover their strengths and fortify areas of struggle. Relationships matter. Wellness matters. Accountability, integrity, generosity—at CDS, it all matters because every student matters.

In a recent Independent School Magazine article entitled “Reframing the Foundation for Student Success,” Debra P. Wilson and Miguel G. Marshall wrote the following: “The freedom and flexibility that these students will encounter in their futures will require greater resilience, creativity, self-awareness, advocacy, agency, and independence than our graduates have ever encountered. A lack of these skills will have a lasting impact on the ability of these graduates to live healthy lives. Rather than a standalone subject, these skills need to be taught within the core of how independent schools educate students, an overlay as opposed to a silo of a separate subject.”

Although teaching character and integrity may be a newer trend in education, it has been the bedrock of education at Charleston Day School since its inception in 1937. Teachers at Charleston Day don’t need to strive to find ways to include a character unit into their rooms, it is a natural part of our community, the way we live and breathe. In a place where each student is known, respected and loved, our faculty members model and instill strong character in the classrooms, hallways, lunchroom, courts and sidelines. Students learn to be generous with their time and talents as they donate to good causes in the third grade Read-a-Thon or the fourth grade holiday business project. Each week, as our eighth graders visit with the young students at Memminger, they share what they have learned at CDS and moreover, model who they have become and how they will contribute.

In a recent article in The Tennessean penned by The Webb School’s Ray Broadhead, it is argued that “the ‘soft skills’—character traits, personal and interpersonal skills—are far more important in education today than the hard skills. Perseverance, grit and tenacity are qualities that have been the driving force of our nation since our first settlers. We need to give our students the confidence to meet the challenges that they face. Too often students lament, ‘It is too hard.’ With proper guidance, they can be shepherded through difficult times to learn that effort can conquer perceived obstacles.”

At Charleston Day School, we couldn’t agree more. Our graduates go on to succeed in high school, college and their careers because of the daily focus on the whole student. Within the gates of Charleston Day School, character education is not trendy nor accidental. For the Scorpion, it has always been a way of life.

Eighth grader Lawton Harper reads a book to a student during a weekly visit to Memminger School.