Character Education Quotes - A Collection of Inspirational Empowerment

Character education quotes provide a glimpse into what constitutes good, positive, character traits as well as offering excellent ideas for character education lessons and plans.

How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak? --Isabel Allende, found p.156, Marry Your Muse, Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity.

What we do with our lives individually is not what determines whether we are a success or not. What determines whether we are a success is how we have affected the lives of others.--Albert Schweitzer, (Ibid).

What is important is not what hurts and pleases, but to see what is true. And then that truth will operate, not you.--Krisnamurti, (Ibid, p.125).

I am part and parcel of the whole and I cannot find God apart from the rest of humanity.--Mahatma Gandhi, (Ibid, p.124).

Here's some rhyming verse I wrote for my book HeartMinders: Spiritual Lightposts Reminding Your Heart to Love. It fits in perfectly with the last of the character education quotes.

See God Everywhere In every heart God grows a home,
whether in El Paso, Palestine, or far-away Rome.
Deep in the jungle of cement and stone;
or in moss covered woods where rabbits sit on thrones.

If you're tired of war and want more fun,
see others as brothers and put away your guns.
Each of us is equal, whether rich or poor, in jail or free.
God residing in our hearts creates one world community.

Here's a character education quote from a Dr. Seuss character The Lorax, the name of this humorous and highly relevant book that deals with the negative character trait of greed at the expense of our natural resources, causing untold pollution.

I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.

Another of the character education quotes follows:
...True power is the ability to motivate, love, encourage, and help people recognize who they are.--Living With Joy, p.67.

From the same source:
Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life. (Ibid., p.101).

Here's another of my excellent character education quotes from HeartMinders:

Morsels of Gratefulness
When life seems destitute,
beating you upside down,
morsels of gratefulness loosen,
a smile from a frown.

Being grateful costs nothing, it's yours for free.
Look all around you
for your Gratefulness Inventory.

You get to choose your grateful ways,
it's up to you to say:
"Do I focus on my meager lacks,
or be thankful one more day?"

If you crave inner peace,
are fed up with war;
choose gratefulness as the bedrock
of your loving inner core.

These quotes are jumping off places for...

Character Traits Activities

The inspiring quotes above are perfect resources for character education.

One activity your child can do, depending on age, is to research the author who stated the quote.

Find out as much as she can about the author and then either write a small report or explain to you what she's learned.

Another of the character traits activities is to study a list of character traits. From the list, have your child choose five of the character traits she knows nothing about.

Use an online or offline dictionary to look up the meaning of the words.

Make up short sentences about each word.

Talk about friends or family members who have this character trait.

Find out what is appealing about this trait.

The number of character traits activities is endless when you have an extensive list to begin with.

For more..

Character Education Ideas

As I stated on character education lessons, life offers the greatest resources for character education.

Each day you have the opportunity to share with your children about character education concerning the people you interact with, including

• the mailman,
• grocery clerk,
• family doctor and dentist, and
• friends and families

to name just a few.

If you child is old enough, have her do some research about Geronimo, a Chiricahua Apache, who defended his people for 25 years before being forced to surrender.

It's a project well-worth researching as it shows a side of America not normally shown in history books.

The movie Geronimo: An American Legend, 1993, is worth seeing from a different perspective: that of Geronimo's trust and belief that God is in charge all the time.

After the US Government breaks its promise to the Apache and sends Geronimo and tribe to be imprisoned in Florida, Geronimo states something to the effect that "God made him all powerful, and now God is making an end to his people."

Geronimo took no credit nor any blame for what he did in his life, he simply turned it over to God.

What an inspiring attitude if one can live up to that all the time.

From my perspective, it's one of the most profound character education quotes I've ever heard, one that changes how a person might view the world and all of what's happening.

Here's a few more character education quotes:
There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. --George Sand, The Lift-Your-Spirits Quote Book, p.74.

The love we give away is the only love we keep.--Elbert Hubbard, (Ibid, p.75).

Thy shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.--Leviticus 19:18.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.--Mother Teresa, (Ibid, p.77).

Here's another of character education quotes from HeartMinders.

Cancers & Wars
Judging and criticizing
shoots holes in others' hearts,
'tis far more damaging
than loud, smelly farts.

When you know for sure
how others must be,
your heart is closed,
you're righteously angry.
Criticisms and judgments
of friends or foes,
adds pain and misery
to all the world's woes.

When you let others be, and
judge not their acts,
you stop criticizing yourself,
you accept as fact:
that as humans we fail,
we fall flat on our face,
but when we don’t criticize,
we have a loving human race.

For more character education ideas, see list of character traits or what is character education.

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