Teaching character - but what sort of character?

The issue of teaching character, which until now has mainly been debated within the ivory towers of academia, is suddenly all the rage in policy circles in the UK, in the wake of the report by the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on social mobility, and Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt’s latest speech (http://www.governmentworld.com/schooling-for-the-future-speech-by-tristram-hunt/). The report suggests that teaching ‘character and resilience’ should be an essential part of every school’s ambition, and Hunt argues, in a similar vein, that character and resilience are vital components of a rounded education, a good preparation for a career – and that instilling them in young people ‘should not be left to chance’