For as long as children
have been learning lessons from their parents and teachers, there have been
discussions on how to teach “character.” Is a code of morality innate or
is it learned? If it is learned, then how do we teach children to be good
people in a manner that will stay with them when they face life situations that
may require them to make difficult moral decisions? As a school committed
to teaching young women and men the value of integrity, this is a crucial topic
for us at Bosque. Although we are a secular school, we do believe in
teaching our students how to differentiate between right and wrong and how to
act accordingly.
I thought about this as
I read a recent column in The New York Times by David Brooks entitled,
“The Mental Virtues,” linked here, that discusses how to assess our own
character. In the column, he touches on six components of a virtuous self
from Robert C. Roberts of Baylor University and W. Jay Wood of Wheaton
College’s 2007 book, Intellectual Virtues:
-love of learning
-courage
-firmness
-humility
-autonomy
-generosity
As Brooks points out, we
may possess some of these characteristics to varying degrees, but do we have
all of them, and do we demonstrate them to the extent that we would like?
I see our students
demonstrate at least some of these traits daily. However, embodying these
virtues is not a one-time thing. In the same way that musicians and
athletes must practice their skills consistently, those people wishing to have
a virtuous life must seek out ways to apply these six traits and be in a
constant state of self-evaluation. Being kind is not always easy, and as we
adults know, it sometimes means being courageous and going against what is the
norm. As Brooks says toward the end of the article, “In fact, the mind is
embedded in human nature, and very often thinking well means pushing against
the grain of our nature — against vanity, against laziness, against the desire
for certainty, against the desire to avoid painful truths. Good thinking isn’t
just adopting the right technique. It’s a moral enterprise and requires good
character, the ability to go against our lesser impulses for the sake of our
higher ones.”
We look forward to
working with you in helping Bosque young women and men become virtuous people
who demonstrate these traits, and others, on a regular basis and are not afraid
to stand out for doing so.
