Which figure advocated that teachers should provide weekly lessons focusing on character, problem solving, and prevention to restore moral fiber?

• A. Jesse B Davis
• B. Carl Rogers
• C. Paul Meehl
• D. William James

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is the history of character education in schools—specifically, who promoted using regular, school-based lessons to shape students’ morals and behavior. Jesse B. Davis was a pioneering reformer who argued that public schools should play an active role in moral development. He advocated weekly lessons focused on character, problem solving, and prevention as a way to restore moral fiber among students, treating character education as an integral part of the school curriculum rather than something left to families or religion. This approach aimed to reduce delinquency and guide ethical decision-making through structured, ongoing instruction.

Carl Rogers centered his work on client-centered therapy and humanistic psychology, not school-based character curricula. Paul Meehl was known for work in clinical psychology and psychometrics rather than character education in schools. William James contributed to philosophy and early psychology, with broad ideas about psychology and pragmatism, but not the specific program of weekly moral-reform lessons in public schools.