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WHAT AM I DOING? Learning & Serving In
semi-retirement I am fortunate to be able to deepen relationships, indulge my passion for learning, and to serve in similar
but more flexible ways. Learning how to strengthen relationships with my family, friends, and colleagues is most
rewarding, and necessarily continues. And, my work with character education has both nourished me and prepared me to
assist others in this regard. Professionally I am exploring ways to continue to facilitate educational improvement
/ transformation - primarily by assisting selected schools, leaders, teachers, and students in identifying and implementing
effective practices. In our times, to me, this means learning and teaching the arts, and then using the arts to
learn almost everything else, and it means attention to emerging 21st Century Goals & Standards, including the development
of good character, both for its own sake and for the creation of a more positive learning culture.
How & Why - We are rapidly learning
more about how the brain works, especially in terms of memory, emotions, learning, and motivation, and about
how emotions might be key to the formation of vital neural connections.
Exploring
these findings and possibilities for improved engagement, learning, remembering and applying what is learned is exciting to
me and possibibly important to students and teachers.
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WHO AM
I? My name is Richard Benjamin. I am a learner, a husband, a father, a brother, and
a friend. I have recently turned 70 and I am both sadder and happier than ever. Life still gives me incredible
opportunities for learning, for service, for family, and for friendship, and I continue to both embrace and squander these
opportunities. Yea! Damn! My longer resume is attached. The shorter one appears directly below.
Richard Benjamin is a retired
educator, having served in many positions, most recently as school superintendent in Ann Arbor Michigan (14,000 students), Nashville Tennessee (70,000), and Cobb County Georgia
(100,000), He has been a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching with Ernest Boyer,
a presenter at numerous American Association for http://www.character.org/meetrichardbenjamin?s=benjaminAcademies, and has
taught at the University of Michigan (Introductory Psychology, Psychology and the Law & Educational Leadership),
Michigan State University (visiting Associate Professor of English), Vanderbilt University, Kennesaw State University and
North Georgia College and State University. (Educational Leadership)
He was recently Project Director of a four-year School
Transformation / Character Through The Arts Project, and previously directed or/authored Character Through The Arts, and Character
Through Service Learning projects, and was co-principal investigator of the Education for a Sustainable Future Project.
All project evaluations demonstrated significant gains in student and teacher learning, and each project produced a
bank of worthy instructional units, generally using an Arts Integration approach, and also generally including
a character development dimension.
In semi-retirement he also works with selected teachers, principals
and school systems across the country, and in Hong Kong and China. He served as a Senior Consultant to The Leonard
Bernstein Center for Education Through The Arts and is currently a Senior Consultant to both ArtsNOW in Atlanta GA and The
Character Education Partnership in Washington D.C. Born
in Rochester, NY, 1942, married
(1963) to Jane. Two children, Jennifer and Daniel, with two grandchildren, Hannah and Oscar.
Currently divides
time between Marietta, GA, Sarasota, FL, and travelling as much as possible, while able.
Character Education Website Bio.....
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Bio - From The Character Education Website Richard Benjamin, Ph.D., CEP’s senior consultant, is a lifelong educator
who has focused on School Transformation through Character Development and Arts Integration. Richard has been working
for CEP for the past five years as a facilitator for climate and culture development in schools and school systems as well
as being a frequent presenter at the CEP Annual Forum. He is a retired school superintendent, having served in Ann Arbor MI,
Nashville TN, and Cobb County GA. He is an expert, in part, in leading High Yield Arts-Based and Hands-On Strategies
for student engagement, deeper understanding, and self-expression. In Hong Kong and Guangzhou China, Richard is
doing foundational work to engage educators in CEP’s training with the Eleven Principles Sourcebook for
integration of academic content and character development in a School Transformation process.
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Am I progressing in the direction of the Person I want to be?
Carl Rogers - On Becoming A Person The Questions: p.164
Ian Ayers
Jaime Escalante - On Being a Teacher
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