“While the role that New Ventures Academy plays in shaping perceptions of school remains somewhat ambiguous, in an ironic twist, early pregnancy and parenting emerge here as instructive rather than destructive events. New Ventures Academy provides the space for these youth to redefine themselves as subjects of their own lives, weighing their experience as a defining moment of their educational development.” A. Proweller, “Re-Writing/-Righting Lives: Voices of Pregnant and Parenting Teenagers in an Alternative School”

What fascinated me about this article was the energy this school put into character development and how well the students responded to this type of education. It also gave me hope that character development lessons can be effective. Thinking back on my years teaching as well as my years as a student, I always found character development to be cheesy and unproductive. Nothing we talked about ever left an impact. However, this school is clearly leaving an impact on these young ladies.

I think having the students focus on goals and discuss their unique issues as a way to tap into their education is a striking idea. It makes me wonder if the generic method of just “be a good person” and “don’t bully” and “don’t do drugs” is really doing anyone any favors. I think students would be more responsive if they were encouraged to dig into their own personal obstacles (however big or small they may be), discuss them or at least reflect on them independently, and use it as a tool to shape their desired academic identities.

While this gave me hope, it also made me a little frustrated. I think we as educators are failing are students regarding character development. Not only could these students have possibly avoided their teen pregnancy (not including victims of sexual violence, of course) had they received quality character development (including sex ed) before their pregnancy, but it also is a sad reflection on our system that we only provide strong character development and identity (re)formation in the face of an extreme circumstance. We would be doing all students a favor if we dedicated more time and energy into character development, even if it was weaved into the core curricula and not given its own slot on the daily schedule.