Character education is a topic close to my heart. Why? I believe that learning how to treat others is the backbone of all other types of learning. After all, if students aren’t being treated in a way that makes them feel safe and supported at school, then they can’t learn anything at all.

Fortunately, the state of character education is improving. For example, more than any generation before them, today’s students are aware that bullying someone based on things like race or ethnic background is wrong. From there, I think we’re just a tiny step away from teaching them that bullying of any kind is unacceptable.

In the interest of building on the progress we’ve made in character education, two of our wonderful Lerner authors, Robin Nelson and Sandy Donovan, have written the new Show Your Character series (covers pictured below). Of these books, educator and Show Your Character series consultant Natasha Phillips, MA, says:

The informative text and full-color photos … are great for teaching social skills. Educators can point to the children’s expressions in the photos and ask their students to identify what each child might be feeling. What a wonderful resource for teaching empathy!

I hope you’ll find these books to be a great tool for teaching empathy indeed. May they take us one step closer to making sure all students feel valued at school—just as they deserve to be.