The Giraffe Heroes Program
as Character Education

The Giraffe Heroes Program is a comprehensive character education curriculum that assumes that within every human being there’s a brave, caring person who can emerge and move into compassionate action. Students respond strongly to this assumption, which manifests in the Program’s tone, language and graphics. Because it gives them the stories of real heroes, the Program gets in under kids’ anti-message radar, reaching them even when more didactic approaches fail.

The Program—

  • fosters important elements of character, including caring, courage, taking responsibility and good citizenship.
  • teaches students to differentiate between real heroes and celebrities.
  • provides opportunities to learn and practice academic skills, especially in language arts, social studies, civics and visual arts.
  • combines character education with service learning. Students put their ideals into action by planning and carrying out a service project that meets a need they care about. In doing so, they move into the experiences and memories that are the substance of real knowledge and understanding.
  • promotes active citizenship. Students brainstorm, discuss, resolve conflicts, work in teams, take responsibility and build consensus. Through their service project they become stakeholders in their community; they learn to care about what happens there.
  • provides important prevention tools, helping students build confidence, communication skills, and the capacity for taking responsibility and making independent decisions.
  • meets state/district requirements for character education and for citizenship education; supports the President’s call for civic engagement.
 

 

“This program is just a necessity for today’s child who has a lack of role models, often in the house, definitely in the media and in society. It’s giving a child hope where many have a sense of hopelessness at such a young age.”
 —Florine Fosnick, 2nd grade teacher,
Beverly Park-Highline School, Seattle WA  
“In Michigan we are mandated to teach core democratic values like life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the common good. When I saw The Giraffe Heroes Program I knew I'd found the materials to address these values.” 
   —Sharon Feldman, 3rd grade teacher,
Rochester Hills MI  
“The Giraffe Heroes Program stands alone among character education curriculums. Its simple theme of sticking one’s neck out for others provides an effective vehicle for linking school and community and promoting the acquisition of basic virtues including caring, courage and social responsibility.This unifying theme is presented in a motivating and developmentally appropriate manner which utilizes direct instruction and active student participation.” 
—Dr. Gordon Vessels, school psychologist,
Atlanta, Georgia  
“The ultimate character education.”
—Education Week  
 
   
   
    

All materials ©1991-2008 Giraffe Heroes Project