The Boy Scout Oath is: On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

All of these sentiments are what character development is all about. But not every student joins the boy or girls scouts so they will have to get their character development elsewhere. If they car not getting any character development at home then they may go through life unable to make a moral decision or even respect anyone let alone themselves.

As a child develops character they begin to see that the world is not all black and white but that there are choices to be made. Some of the choices are good choices and other choices are really bad choices. And all choices a child makes will have a different outcome for that child. As a child develops character they will begin to see that they can solve problems that develop between other students and themselves. They will begin to see that if they make the wrong choice they are faced with serious consequences that may impact a lot of other people.

So a child must develop character as they grow older. If a child is caught in a situation where they can be stopped and asked about their behavior at the moment they may be able to think out a response that may in fact change their actions and therefore change the outcome. Sometimes a child is so far into a certain behavior pattern that they cannot simply stop at someones request. So that child will probably continue that behavior until perhaps an unfortunate outcome halts the behavior. This would have to be a very negative outcome. But if the child is at school there is a chance the teachers can change their thoughts and next time that child is faced with the same choice they make a different decision.

When a school decides to actively teach character development then they can hold discussions with groups of students that can cover any issues that they have encountered on a daily basis. Children observe so many things that they can become confused as what is really expected of them. And children overhear so much terrible news on the television that they may have a real desire to discuss it with someone. A teacher is the ideal person to have that discussion with especially if the discussion can be a group discussion amongst a number of students. Sometimes they will not want to talk about these things to their parents or a parent or a guardian because that person will not be impartial however a teacher can be impartial because they can stand back and assess behaviors. Teachers are taught to assess so it should be easier for a teacher to talk about different things that the children encounter. If a teacher can influence one child they have won.