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Japhet
School
Pre-Kindergarten – Eighth Grade
Madison Heights, Michigan
[This article was originally published in 2001 by the Character
Education Partnership in its publication entitled “National
Schools of Character – Practices to Adopt and Adapt.”
It was slightly updated in May 2004 by Japhet staff to reflect
Japhet’s current program.]
 It
was not unusual for the entire student body of the Japhet School
to be gathered together. After all, they meet weekly. Nor was
it odd to be hosting a speaker who framed his remarks around the
power of strong moral character. And when the school took this
opportunity to highlight the tremendous, independent service performed
by one of its students? Par for the course … except for
the fact that the visitor, who himself requested the visit, came
with an entourage from his homeland some 5,500 miles away. Ghana’s
Minister of Education had come to say thank-you to a young man
who spent several months canvassing the community to collect money
and books for Ghana’s impoverished school systems, and to
see the school that had supported him in this effort. He was so
impressed by what he saw that he remained at the school for several
hours to study Japhet’s methods.
Getting
Started
Character Education is not a new initiative at Japhet. The school’s
commitment to the character development of its students extends
back to its founding in 1973. A group of Christian Science parents
and educators originally founded the school to benefit their children
as they became increasingly aware that public schools in the 1960s
and 1970s were pulling away from their traditional role as moral
educators. Thus they created a school with a mission to “nurture
and prepare each child for life by integrating character education
with a strong academic program.” The school, which does
not teach religious education, is now home to students of a variety
of faith backgrounds.
 In
1976, the school began to devise a more formalized character education
curriculum, focusing on 18 character qualities taught over a two-year
period: gratitude, judgment, peace, initiative, joy, personal
habits, respect for self, courage, self-control, thrift, patriotism,
justice, humility, obedience, punctuality, industry, reliability,
and respect for others. The school also has chosen an “umbrella”
quality to lend an additional perspective to their study of character.
This list of qualities has been revised some over the years (self-esteem
became respect for self), but never in “fad” fashion.
The founders saw the need for strong traditional academics that
they knew worked, that wouldn’t disappear when a new, effective
idea was introduced and added to what was already effective. And
what works in character education is integration. It is a part
of every day, every class, every subject. Because character and
ethicsare inherently present in every interaction, activity, and
story, character education became a matter of making connections
for the students, so that they understood the presence of character
in their lives. They understood what it looks like, what it sounds
like, and they understood the practical aspects of living a life
of principle, integrity, and character.
Character
Education and the Curriculum
 To
help teachers make these explicit connections, the school has
created a “Content Grid.” This grid is essentially
a table that lists the core academic subjects across the top and
four pedagogical threads down the side: Character Development,
Bloom’s Taxonomy, Cooperative Learning, and Integration.
Character education is not a separate class or a separate part
of the day. Students see where it is incorporated into every subject.
Throughout the year, teachers take the character quality in focus
and fill in this grid in light of their upcoming curriculum. After
teachers fill out these forms individually, they gather together
as a faculty and discuss one of the squares on their grid. The
faculty also will discuss in more general terms what the terms
mean – for themselves and for their students – and
how they can integrate them into school life in the upcoming month.
For example, if the quality were “reliability,” teachers
could first reflect and then discuss with students questions such
as, “What is the benefit of reliability in math?”
In literature, a character may be unreliable, allowing students
to investigate the consequences of moral lapses.
Because of
the span of ages at Japhet, specific examples of academic and
character integration differ widely. In the grade one/two classroom
(students spend two years in a multi-age classroom with the same
teacher) the teacher focuses on community in social studies, or
rather commU-N-I-T-Y, including, for example, the deaf community.
They learn about inventions that have helped the deaf population,
learn sign language from a guest instructor, and visit a deaf
school. The teacher’s goal with these community units is
to help students develop respect, understanding, and empathy for
others.
In a middle
school classroom, teachers ask students who are studying Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet to evaluate the character qualities of the main
characters, in addition to studying traditional interpretations
of the play. Small groups then rewrite portions of the play in
a way that could create an authentic peaceful resolution to the
protagonists’ dilemma. This type of lesson engages students
at all four levels outlined on the “Content Grid.”
 Traditions
That Build Community
Despite the age differences, the entire student body gathers each
Monday morning for an assembly known as “chapel.”
Students hear from a speaker. These speakers are teachers, parents,
or community members, and students always introduce them. The
speaker talks either about the umbrella virtue or the specific
character quality for that month. It is more than just a nice
story or two; it is grounded in literature or the life of an historical
person or community member. The chapel message is something the
children can take back with them to work on throughout the week.
These talks last 15 minutes. After sharing, two children, known
as students-of- the-week, give a three- to five-minute summary
of their hero’s life and conclude by explaining two or three
character qualities the hero has expressed in his or her life.
The final element of the assembly is “good news.”
Students are invited to bring in stories from the news that are
examples-in-action of the character quality being studied that
month. After the students summarize these articles, the school
posts the clippings on a bulletin board for the remainder of the
month.
When third-
and fourth-graders return to the classrooms after chapel, they
take some time to reflect on what they have heard. In their “chapel
journal,” they record, “What happened in chapel that
I will remember and keep with me?” Students also use these
journals to reflect on the morning “inspirationals.”
Everymorning, Tuesday to Friday, individual classes open by having
students bring in quotes, thoughts, or stories that relate to
the character quality that month. All students are required to
lead these inspirationals on a rotating basis. Often, the quotes
and stories become a springboard for classroom discussions.
 Sometimes,
the students themselves run chapel. For example, in November the
seventh- and eighth-grade class prepares a gratitude assembly.
In preparation, each student brings in a short reading on gratitude
to class. If it’s not substantial enough, the teacher or
students will tell them to look a little further. After the readings
are chosen, the class practices the overall delivery. At chapel,
after this class recitation, students, staff, and parents are
invited to stand up and share something for which they are grateful.
Because “community” is such a key ingredient to Japhet’s
identity and success, they begin each year by sending students
in grades 5-8 on a three-day, two-night retreat to a camp in Northern
Michigan. Students work on team- building activities, including
a ropes course. The whole emphasis is on supporting each other.
The child who hasn’t done a ropes course before is cheered
on by classmates. The students come back very dear friends, trusting
each other and having a lot more respect for each other.
Involving Parents
Parents, too, are part of the Japhet community. Parents usually
choose Japhet because of its emphasis on character education.
Sometimes children come because they need a fresh start. They
come here and just thrive. They want to be expressing these character
qualities. Japhet encourages students to express their individuality
in the context of respect for self and respect for others. What
Japhet teachers really find is that those are the children who
take risks, trust, and let teachers take them someplace academically
that they haven’t been before. To help parents integrate
these principles at home, the school provides parents with a monthly
character education curriculum, which lists the quality-in-focus
and the definitions that will be used to help students understand
this quality. Parents always are invited to the chapel assemblies,
and the school’s report card evaluates how students are
progressing in developing these qualities in the context of school
interactions and the curriculum.
 Service
The service ethic runs deep at Japhet. While the whole school,
classes, and individual students take on service projects for
the greater community, perhaps the most intriguing practice is
Japhet’s method of letting students serve within the school
through the Service Squad program. Teachers who have a particular
need for help will post “job openings.” These list
not only the job description and the time required, but also the
character qualities necessary to do the job well. For example,
a child who applies to help feed the toddlers in the Preschool
classroom must be reliable - lunch is served at a specific time
each day. Young students may apply to clap erasers while older
ones apply to work in the main office. Some jobs occur weekly,
some monthly, and some are “on call,” such as greeting
visitors. While the final job assignments come through the principal,
students must meet with the teacher who posted the job and discuss
the expectations and responsibilities involved. And students must
complete these jobs on their own initiative: teachers do not remind
them about regular assignments.
Evidence
of Success
 Several
indicators mark Japhet’s success as a school of academic
and moral excellence. Since 1996, three teachers have been selected
for Golden Apples, an award given to 12 teachers in Southeastern
Michigan each year. Target Stores named Japhet an Outstanding
School in America, an award given to 1,000 schools nationally.
The Council of Spiritual and Ethical Education chose Japhet to
host and participate in a national conference on honor codes;
this was followed by an invitation to contribute to a book on
moral values in schools. When the Independent Schools Association
of the Central States visited to conduct a three-day evaluation,
they noted in part: “(Japhet’s is a) tightly-knit
school community, where a shared love of learning and schoolwide
dedication to the highest principles of character quality education
are clearly in evidence … there is a kind of ‘radiant
good feeling’ about the Japhet School.”
 Japhet’s
reputation as a leader in character education is growing. In 2003,
the school hosted the first Character Education Conference, to
which Michigan educators and administrators were invited. It was
so successful, a large neighboring school district has asked Japhet
to be its partner and present the conference together in 2004
to an even larger constituency. Japhet is happy to share its ideas;
in fact, it is a primary goal of the school’s outbound educational
initiatives.
A sound curriculum,
a caring community, and a sharp focus on character are the ingredients
that give Japhet its “radiant” identity. One student,
speaking in honor of the school that has “watched me grow
up,” offered her audience this quote from Nelson Mandela,
her personal hero, whom she discovered in preparation for her
Student of the Week speech: “As we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
She concluded, “I can’t express how much gratitude
I feel for Japhet and for all of you who help make Japhet exist
… I will take these lessons with me wherever I go.”
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CONTACTS:
To find out
more about the Japhet School, please contact:
Fred Hoke,
Head of School
Japhet
School
31201 Dorchester
Madison Heights, MI 48071
Phonel: (248)
585-9150
Fax: (248) 585-4495
eMail: fredhoke@japhet.org
Web Site:
www.japhet.org
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