ASCD's Executive Council members learned at their November meeting that educators in the United Kingdom, like those in the United States, see a need for increased attention to the teaching of values, or what Americans call "character education."
In a panel discussion on the subject, Vic Kelly, a lecturer (professor) at Goldsmith College in London, described the "trousers concept." If a man gives a speech wearing trousers, no one will notice, he said., but if he were not wearing trousers, they would. His point, he said, is that something important is missing in modern societies because of dramatic technological developments. "Whatever in the past bound people together has been fragmented," resulting in alienation and anomie. Unfortunately, he said, politicians respond by proposing quick, easy fixes intended to improve student "citizenship."
Kelly pointed out that democratic citizenship is very different from autocratic citizenship. In a democracy, "government is not the soverign," so educators must nurture the right to dissent. "Somebody should tell our government that," he added, referring to current policies, such as the required national curriculum.
Another panel member, Sylvia West, warden (principal) of Impington Village College (a schol for ages 11–17), also criticized the government's "autocratic" approach. Her school teaches values, she added, by having students and staff debate issues important to them. "It must be experiential, for the staff as well as for the children," she insisted. "We enact our values in everything we do."
Other panel members included Ian Barr and Margaret McGhie of the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum, which has produced several publications on values and education, and Charles Patterson, ASCD's President, who told of American educators' interest in character education.
The panel was part of an intensive program that included day-long visits by Executive Council members to 10 London schools, as well as a business meeting. Council members began scheduling their regular fall meetings outside the continental United States in 1992 to demonstrate their committment to intenationalization and their desire to become better informed about education in other nations. They met in Munich in 1992, in San Juan in 1993, and in Calgary in 1994. At each meeting, Council members have visited schools and met with affiliate members and other local educators.
