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Character Education

  • Publication Date ：
  • Last updated：2023-06-26
  • View count：2314

[Drug Crime Offender Guidance Program] [Rehabilitation] [Arts Talent Classes] [Reading Seminars] [Professional Treatment Courses] [Life Education Project] [Restorative Justice] [Recreational activities] [Character Education]

I.Background

      Article 1 of the Prison Act announces that the execution of imprisonment and detention is for making criminals repent and improve themselves for the purpose of fitting in with society. The function of a prison is to educate inmates while correcting their devious cognition and behaviors using education and reform as methods of treatment along with other kinds of treatments. However, the reasons all crimes are committed is investigated and found out that some criminals show anti-social personality behaviors because their morals and personalities are devious and cause errors in cognitive behavior. Correcting criminals' morals and personalities is one of our basic tasks. Therefore, as a special education correctional organization, promoting character education should be Improved and worked on. By rebuilding good characters, inmates are able to return to normal social life.

      Our prison is a women's prison that holds females sentenced in central Taiwan. Comparing to male inmates, plasticity and cognition of female inmates are internalized and more easily improved on things like personality, temperament and learning ability. Therefore, if character education can be strengthened to help correct wrong ideas, it will definitely aid in steering the inmates in the right direction and allow a clean return to the society. Our prison adopts cultural and art treatments. We open bridal secretary classes, Latin percussion groups, aerobic classes, calligraphy classes, choir classes and literacy classes. In addition, we implement all kinds of life education classes that allow inmates to experience the truth, purity and beautiful of life, distinguish the difference between right and wrong and increase their ability of self-reflection.

 

II.Our Goal

  1. Creating a good character learning environment, building the 12 core values of character education and molding the new image of correctional organizations.
  2. Promoting the 4 levels and 12 core values of inmates’ characters that allow inmates to think freely, choose and reflect on the choices and then identify what took place, appreciate and practice character cognition for inmates to be reborn and allow them to turn over a new leaf.
  3. Increasing the ability of counselors of rehabilitation and education to implement character education, creating Small Discipline Group's attention to character education and developing the discipline function.
  4. Combining social resources and enhancing prison character education function to increase inmates' personality accomplishments.
  5. Training inmates' ability to introspect, think and implement character cognition.

III.Outline

  1. Model Learning：
    1. Discipliners teach by personal experiences. They become the models that inmates learn from with their own experience or successful experience from others.
    2. Discipliners introduce early books and historical events to lead inmates to learn and follow so that inmates can be changed and influenced unobtrusively and imperceptibly.
    3. Discipliners implement discipline rules and are glad to participate in all treatment activities. They educate inmates by example, precept and environment in life at the right moment.
  2. Edification and thinking：
    1. Encouraging discipliners to participate in all kinds of moral education studies or related seminars.
    2. Prisons should hold moral education activities regularly, such as life education picture book contests, speech contests, story writing contests and others to encourage inmates to introspect, change and influence unobtrusively and imperceptibly to increase in their own morals.
  3. Advice and encouragement：
    1. Encouraging guidance places moral education into all kinds of treatment and life education courses that allow inmates to think, clarify, accept and be willing to put into practice through more practice, experience and introspection and internalization.
    2. Encouraging discipliners to plan and use time well for collective education and teach with real examples in life. Holding study groups to lead inmates to discuss 4 levels and 12 core values and proceed by simulating and drilling actual situations if necessary. Providing chances to encourage inmates to learn by doing and practice good character behavior with people in daily life.
    3. Promoting character education and encouraging, directing and practicing the rules of conduct of the core value of all characters in life review meetings.
  4. Morals environment：
    1. Combining social resources to hold all kinds of character education activities or treatment to create a prison with a moral and cultural atmosphere and develop morals environmental education.
    2. Inviting people who have high morals in society to visit the prison to give speeches or hold cultural & entertainment activities while teaching about a quality cultural environment.
  5. Experience and introspection: Viewing the results of character education regularly and implementing after correction.
  6. Positive expectation: Encouraging inmates to set reasonable and good life goals for themselves for an ego massage and actually practicing gradually. Inmates who do well get praised as rewards.

IV.Implementation ways

Character Education Implementation Ways
Main Points Implementation Ways
Enhancing character education in the prison with one goal-show talent while being good and moral people
  1. According to the character of our prison and inmates, we combine local industry characteristics to develop various characteristics and put character education into the prison system to showcase the importance of character education.
  2. With character education as the main part, we have the courage to create new characteristics that allow inmates to improve the moral cognition and ability to act by introspection after practice.
Creating a moral environment and practicing diligently on environmental protection, energy saving- moral characteristics and environmental protection to provide for a better future.
  1. Consulting the 12 core values: self-discipline, shame, respect, honesty, kind, helping people, probity, social morality, gratitude, responsibility, equity and abiding by the law, each educational block sets a foundation every month as the rules of implementing moral character for discipliners and inmates in daily life.
  2. Holding character education creative poster design contests and posting posters at obvious places in all areas to encourage good moral character.
  3. Responding to anti-bullying activities and forbidding improper discipline to build a safe environment for serving sentences and achieving the goal of no bullying events.
  4. Guiding inmates to quit smoking, holding smoking cessation classes and smoking cessation guidance for inmates to get away from bad habits, build self-discipline and moral character.
  5. Implanting the sense of environmental protection into inmates’ minds and reaching the goal of recycling by waste sorting. Developing the virtue of cherishing things, loving things and frugality.
  6. Enhancing good-neighborliness and work of serving the people. With coordinating with "Implementation Scheme of Community Service of Correctional Organizations", cleaning and environmental protection work in the neighborhood communities, parks, roads and ditches allow inmates to understand the virtue of helping people and service.
  7. Making the environment and landscape of the organization more beautiful, educating inmates on how to respect the environment and actively promote energy saving and carbon reduction.
Enhancing family support education and promoting family harmony-put a light on your family.
  1. Making arrangement for inmates' family to visit. Parenting education can be applied to help the communication between inmates and their families to improve knowledge.
  2. Family reunions are held on the eves of Mother's Day, Father's Day and other important holidays. Inmates present their handmade thank you cards, small art works or letters written by them to show their feelings to their family. They get to learn the virtue of gratitude, repentance and being respectful.
  3. We hold study groups to lead inmates to read "Disciples Regulations", "Jing-Si Aphorisms" or watch films and then have group discussions, conversations and introspection to rebuild family ethics.
Fulfilling "Wholesome Mind, Beautiful World" and "The Six Ethics of the Mind"- A clear mind brings good.
  1. With Dharma Drum Mountain promoting the six ethics of the mind "family, life, prison, nature, work and ethnic groups", inmates are taught to understand the meaning of "The Six Ethics of the Mind." Through the core value of "Wholesome Mind, Beautiful World", it makes ethics into a lifestyle and lifestyle into ethics.
  2. We use the 6 course materials of "The Six Ethics of the Mind" recommended by Dharma Drum Mountain Humanities and Social Improvement Foundation and promote them into all workshops.
Integrating multi-character education courses-learning from everything and building a new you.
  1. Putting character education into civic and law-related education, human rights education, religious education, gender equity, crime victims protection promotion, consumer protection, sexual assault prevention, drug control, tobacco control and other courses and using collective education, classified education or random education to teach inmates how to know right from wrong by teaching interactively.
  2. Using film watching, picture books guidance, value clarification methods, role play, story guides, writing, speeches, reading, debates, law tests, trivia games, experience activities and other multi-teaching methods and through interactive courses to bring out inmates’ moral sensitivity and sympathy and develop the identification and responsibilities.
Promoting cultural and art activities and starting cultural creativity of correctional organizations-The art restarts again, everything is renewed.
  1. Planning on character education contests, such as singing, drawing, dancing, article writing, calligraphy, stage plays, festive lanterns and other all kinds of creativity contests. We would like to encourage inmates to approve of themselves and increase moral accomplishments through constructive competitions.
  2. Through the imperceptible influence of art, purifying inmates' minds, encouraging inmates of art creation, holding art exhibition tours or correctional cultural and art performances, we hope to build inmates' confidence and self-respect and create their new lives.
Enhancing art training and introducing character education-It's better to count on yourself than on others.
  1. Opening the most beneficial skill training courses to society to teach inmates to train their hardworking work attitude, diligent and sociable vocational morals and promote professional skills through "learning from doing."
  2. Promoting inmates to go out for skill training during day hours. Besides increasing the actual beneficial results and training the self-discipline spirit, we also increate the possibilities of inmates' employment opportunities and returning to society after getting out of prison.
  3. We use gardens, farm ponds or fences of the organization to plant flowers and plants and guide inmates to make art work of pressed flower or plant blue dye. Besides creating experience of contacting nature, cultivating good sentiments and build character, we also stabilize their emotions and improve the trust relationship with discipliners.
  4. Inmates can use the finished products of practical trainings made from food baking skill training (such as bread) and deliver them to students from faraway elementary schools or disadvantaged minorities by the way of promotion to develop the virtue of charity.
Character education is specifically fulfilled in correctional regulations and meetings-Following the prescribed order brings you good future.
  1. To build inmates' good code of conduct, the correctional regulations specifically stipulate the observable items and standards of rewards and punishments. Those who violate the regulations should get to fully express their opinions and be told the regulations about declaration and relief for fulfilling the spirit of democracy.
  2. Promoting character core value and code of conduct and praising the good deeds of inmates during life and work review meetings, meal meetings or other autonomy meetings.
  3. Oath-taking ceremonies are held for people released on parole to remember the encouragement "Reborn and resurrection", obey regulations, keep good characteristics and be good law-abiding citizens.
Making use of social resources and promoting character education activities-Give them a chance and create a peaceful society together.
  1. Working with private public welfare groups to help character education activity design and promotion.
  2. Through all kinds of religious groups (activities), explaining the religious principles that teach people to be good to guide inmates to build correct life values with the attitude of fear and respect God.
  3. Introducing public welfare groups to hold art and cultural activities in the prison and guiding inmates to feel during the process by lively performances. We hope to excite the emotional sympathy and cause the kind thoughts and motivation of fulfilling good deeds.
Enhancing discipliners' character education and building learning organizations-They are not fit to command others that cannot command themselves. Start from yourself.
  1. Discipliners should uphold the work core values of "profession & passion, justice & care, pursuing excellence and creating new values" to improve correctional profession efficiency, present new looks of human rights & justice and build a new correctional culture.
  2. Discipliners should follow "Professional Ethics Regulations for Correctional Officers, Ministry of Justice", temper morals, set good examples with their own conduct and be good models for inmates.
  3. Character education promotion groups organize lifetime character education learning courses for discipliners or educational (social) volunteers for promoting character education knowledge and accomplishments.
  4. Using daily education before duty and perennial education, we guide discipliners the practical skills and secretly influence by example to lead inmates into fulfilling core values.
  5. Wildly collecting or purchasing books related to character education for discipliners to read for enhancing professional knowledge on character education and increasing abilities to make teaching plans.
  6. We establish a web page of character education on our prison’s website. We make a digital data base of the promotion progresses and results of character education for discipliners to learn and use as reference materials and then pass down the experience.
  7. Meetings are held regularly for understanding character education implementation quality and progresses. Self-review of character education is proceeded every season to be a correctional promotion strategy and method.

 

V.Expected results

  1. With character building education, a quality learning environment and combining the influences of art & cultural activities and skill training, the idea and intension of character education are intensified in inmates to promote a healthy personality that has correct & rational thinking along with the ideas of distinguishing right from wrong.
  2. By the promotion of character education, the identification and common consensuses of correctional organization discipliners to character education are cohered to inspire morale.
  3. Combining life education to develop holistic education of the balance of body, mind and soul allows inmates to appreciate themselves, respect others, care for society and reduce chances to commit crimes.
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