DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Teaching Values,
Not Religion
West Bloomfield Schools and a religious coalition
counter school prayer by promoting character
education.
JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER
C
an values be taught in the
public schools? And will the
existence of formalized val-
ues education dissuade the
religious right from pushing for
prayer in school?
West Bloomfield Schools and
the members of Clergy and Citi-
zens United (CCU), a coalition of
more than 200 Jewish and Chris-
tian community and religious
leaders, believe the answer is yes.
Founded in 1995, CCU fights
efforts to introduce prayer in
school and works to promote
"American values" in place of re-
ligious values in the schools.
"It would best serve the com-
mon good if the effort to put prayer
back into public school classrooms
were to be rechannelled into
putting basic values of good citi-
zenship back into the public school
curricula," says a CCU statement.
The coalition = whose mem-
bers include Rabbi Sherwin Wine
of the Birmingham Temple and
Rabbi David Nelson of Congrega-
tion Beth Shalom — drafted a
code of conduct, consisting of val-
ues such as loyalty and trustwor-
thiness. The guidelines were then
distributed to area public schools.
West Bloomfield is the first
school district to adopt the guide-
lines and has been recognized by
CCU for its efforts.
West Bloomfield Superinten-
dent Dr. Seymour Gretchko has
been involved with CCU since
1995 and helped draft its 10-point
code of conduct.
The character education cur-
riculum has been implemented in
the district's elementary schools,
and plans are in the works for the
higher grades. According to Dr.
Gretchko, the district is not treat-
ing character education as a sep-
arate discipline, but is integrating
it into the general curriculum.
For example, "unselfishness" is
being taught through a second-
grade class discussion of a book,
Stone Soup, in which the charac-
ters contribute ingredients to pre-
pare soup for travelers. "Respect"
is taught through a third-grade
social studies class discussion
about Martin Luther King Jr.'s
advocacy of non-violence.
Robert Pyles, principal of Scotch
Elementary School and chair of
the district-wide character edu-
cation committee, describes the
new approach to character edu-
cation in his school as building-
wide, involving children from each
grade. Throughout the school
year, students focus on address-
ing six specific values, and at
weekly assemblies, Mr. Pyles rec-
20% off everyday 20% off everyday 20%
ognizes teachers and students
who demonstrate these values.
According to Janet McBurney,
assistant principal at West
Bloomfield High School, charac-
ter education at the high school
level will be implemented next
year and will include character
recognition programs, develop-
ing a student code of conduct and
adding a community service com-
ponent to civics classes.
West Bloomfield administra-
tors say response from parents
has been positive. 'When we first
started incorporating [character
education], we sought input from
parent leaders," said Ms. McBur-
ney. "One concern we might have
anticipated was parents feeling
we were stepping in the family
realm. But what we heard from
many parents is that they saw
this as a natural complement to
values [taught] in the home."
Ms. McBurney added that the
values statements are "ex-
tremely non-controversial, de-
signed to not breach the gap
between church and state."
According to Dr. Gretchko,
`These are universal values. The
church-state issue simply has not
come up."
But will the non-controversial
values espoused by CCU ap-
pease advocates of school
prayer? "There's is a good ap-
proach — we should all live by
those tenets," said Kathleen
Straus, president of the Michi-
gan State Board of Education.
However, she questions whether
it would deter efforts to impose
prayer in schools.
Dr. Gretchko is more confi-
dent. "What [the program] does
demonstrate is that it is possible
to have a universally accepted set
of values and to deal with char-
acter education in a way that is
not religious," he said.
Representatives of the Michi-
gan Family Forum, an organiza-
tion that advocates prayer in
public schools, did not return
phone calls on the issue.
At its first annual American
Values Awards Dinner, CCU and
its subsidiary organization, the
American Values Institute, re-
cently honored three people from
West Bloomfield's Scotch Ele-
mentary School for exemplifying
"American Values for American
Schools." Fourth grader Alison
Miles was recognized for assist-
ing fellow students as a peer tu-
tor, while music teacher Mary
Ellen Sobetsky was honored for
developing the school's year-long
theme on values. Principal
Robert Pyles received the Amer-
ican Values Award for imple-
menting values education in his
school and for chairing the dis-
trict-wide character education
committee. ❑
THE BEST KEPT SECRET
IN MICHIGAN
Experience the luxury of owning a Kohler 3.5 gal. toilet. These
superior flushing toilets are available in select areas only,
in this case, two short blocks from the tunnel exit in down-
town Windsor. The best part for you, the discriminating shop-
per, is that your U.S. dollar is worth much more in Windsor.
We have 1 and 2 piece toilets in a variety of colors in stock
for you to take home today.
THE BOLD LOOK
OF KOHLER®
LOCATED IN
THE ORCHARD MALL
6385 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD
AT MAPLE
WEST BLOOMFIELD MI 48322
810.855.4488
MONDAY - TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY - SATURDAY
10 AM - 5:30 PM
THURSDAY 10 AM - 8 PM
ITEMS UNDER $25 EXCLUDED.
and an ever changing selection of outstanding hand
crafted items for yourself, your home, and gift giving
NOW, AREN'T YOU GLAD WE
SHARED THE SECRET?
VETERAN PLIABING &SUPPLIES
276 WYANDOTTE ST. E., WINDSOR, ONTARIO
PHONE: 519-256-4947 FAX: 519-256-1665
.111
Lij
e-mail: vets@mnsi.net
Rachel Bellack, Sid Awerbuck
w
0
GOYEAU ST. TUNNEL
ID VETERAN
PLUMBING
McDOUGAL ST.
I-
X
L1.1
II
2
Cf)
CC
a_