Character-Based Decision Making

By David B. Wangaard, Ed.D.

As we were growing up, how many of us heard the adult exhortation, “Make a good choice!” This statement is meant to help promote reflection and ultimately, a wise decision with positive outcomes. Now as adults, we probably find ourselves making similar statements to students who are on the verge of making a choice. How often do we get a blank look in response? Let us consider an example of a student with a choice.

Michael is a nice kid with above-average potential who enjoys athletics more than academics. His parents have recently increased their attention to his grades and have threatened loss of some privileges if Michael’s next test scores do not improve. On an errand to the school copy room for his coach, Michael happens to notice copies of his upcoming history test on the copy machine. No one is in the room. He could take one copy and not be noticed.

Clearly, Michael is faced with a choice. Does it help him to remember “Make a good choice”? He may feel obligated to honor his parents by practicing trustworthiness; however, he may feel a more immediate pressure to improve his grades and may believe that stealing the test would be a good choice to help him study.

How do we teach the skill of making positive choices? Students and adults are confronted with choices every day. Our values, family training, organizational rules, emotions and/or self-interest sometimes guide us.

As character educators, we recognize that universal values can further help guide our choices. Universal values typically include respect, responsibility, honesty and caring. If you add the principle of the Golden Rule (do unto others…), you have a powerful reasoning device that can become a compass for character-based decision making.

Character-based decision making is a profoundly simple life skill that can become a powerful guide for choices. It has ethical roots in Plato and Aristotle and avoids some of the ethical difficulties associated with a focus solely on rules (Kantian ethics), maximization of benefits (utilitarian ethics), selfish goals (egoist ethics) or subjective relativism, by which no one can judge a good decision anyway.

Let us apply a four-step character-based decision making process to this dilemma. Step 1 for Michael would be to stop, recognize he has a choice and consider his options. He could steal the test and study from it, or he could leave the test alone and complete his chore for the coach. Step 2 for Michael is to identify what character traits he would demonstrate by acting on each choice. If he steals the test, would the potential short-term gain of having the test as a study guide represent a positive demonstration of character? Michael could argue that by having the test as a study guide, he is being responsible to himself, but this ignores the principle of the Golden Rule. If Michael were the teacher, would he want a student stealing the test? Would Michael’s parents want him to steal the test? Step 3 requires Michael to act on his choice. This step often requires the supporting character traits of courage or self-control. Step 4 asks Michael to reflect on his decision and compare outcomes with the consequences that were anticipated at the time of the choice. This step can help reinforce the value of practicing character-based decision making.

Character-based decision making thus provides a simple four-step process to help guide students and adults with a compass to make a “good” decision. How can this be taught? Teachers can introduce and practice this life skill in their classrooms. Students need to learn the steps, practice the steps with role modeling and be reminded of them with adult encouragement and with visual aids such as room posters or written class procedures.

Practice can be accomplished with age-appropriate scenarios found in class stories or literature, current events or with circumstances students face at school. Character-based decision making is a great life skill that can help students apply a compass of character to put ethics in action.