Character is the practical outworking of who a person is internally. It is reflective of our worldview about who we believe we are and how we perceive the nature and extent of our relationships with people and things around us. An individual’s worldview will order their affections, roles and responsibilities based on what their worldview suggests is important in terms of their overarching purpose and identity. For example, someone who holds a worldview which privileges mutuality (whereby they believe their wellbeing is primarily interdependent with the people and environment around them) will think, feel, desire, perceive and respond to events differently to someone who believes their wellbeing is independent of others. This internal processing shapes each of us in our understanding of values (for example, whether justice is better expressed through equity or equality, retribution or redemption), and the privileging of those values (whether justice is worth pursuing at cost to ourselves). This in turn makes up our character which is expressed outwardly in both the significant decisions at life’s major junctions (like which career to pursue) and the everyday decisions (like how to go about it).

While our character is imprinted on every decision we make, it is demonstrated most clearly in the moments that matter. For example, during the good times character is what determines whether we are gracious or arrogant in victory, grateful or entitled as recipients of gifts, generous or selfish in seasons of plenty, and inclusive or exclusive in positions of leadership. During life’s trials, character is the difference between whether we take responsibility or blame others for our shortcomings, whether we show courage by standing up for others or turn a blind eye, whether we demonstrate resilience after failure or give up, whether we pursue reconciliation or division after conflict, and whether we navigate ambiguity with wisdom or foolishness.

Therefore, character is important because it influences both who we are and the trajectory of who we are becoming. The culmination of all these choices in these moments that matter have significant consequences in our own lives as well as those around us. The impact of our character experienced through our decisions will affect the dynamics of our important relationships, how we are viewed by others and the responsibilities we are entrusted with. Therefore, the nature of our character determines the extent to which we are able to flourish and to bring flourishing into the lives of others and the communities we are part of.

Crucially, character is not fixed. It is something that changes as we live and is developed either actively or absorbed passively; the classroom plays a key role in helping our students think about this process. Rather than uncritically internalising the thousands of messages we are exposed to daily about what is important, the classroom plays a valuable role in equipping students with the tools to exercise agency in developing their character in several ways.

Firstly, it can provide students with language to articulate and assess different character traits so they may discern what is important to them and aspire towards what they know and can imagine. Secondly, it can help students analyse the expression of character traits they admire in their role models so they can learn to order their affections in line with their values. By learning to feel and think congruously with who they aspire to be when it matters, students are more likely to behave consistently with their values during these moments in their own context. And thirdly, the classroom can provide opportunities for students to think critically about character formation. By presenting students with ethically complex scenarios, they can learn to consider what applying their values might look like, helping them develop their ability to reason and enact them. In addition, the classroom can provide opportunities for students to thoughtfully engage with the dominant messages presented to them through vehicles such as advertising and social media. That way, they can avoid internalising messages that are seeking to influence their thinking, feeling and behaviour in ways that undermine who they have decided they want to be.

Together, these classroom experiences can help students proactively develop character that will help them navigate through life with wisdom.