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Character Assemblies
Lesson 1: The Importance of Character
Lesson 2: A Definition of Character
Lesson 3: Character and Virtue
Lesson 4: The Virtue of Industry
Lesson 4: The Virtue of Industry
- What is industry?
- From the Latin industria: diligent activity directed to some purpose.
- Diligence from diligo, diligere: to esteem, to value, to love.
- A work ethic: in other words, having a work character.
- What we mean by industry is hard work.
- Are we saying you should get up every morning and say, “Oh, joy, I get to go to school today”?
- The vice opposite the virtue of industry is laziness, sloth, carelessness, etc.
- Which is more natural?
- The story of the three men in the quarry.
- The first man says he is “breaking big rocks into little ones.”
- The second man says he is “making a living.”
- The third man says he is “building a cathedral.”
- Which man is most likely the better worker?
- which one sees “the big picture”?
- which one is most likely to enjoy his work?
- The comparison to work at school.
- doing nothing is failing
- “moving your pencil across the paper” is worth a D
- “doing homework” is roughly a C
- “trying to make better grades” would be a B
- “studying the nature of humanity and the nature of the universe” is definitely worth an A
- what are you doing?
- Important things to know about work
- Work is inevitable.
- for example, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:19
- another example: Captain John Smith: “him who will not work shall not eat”
- Work is very American.
- Benjamin Franklin: “Here a man is judged not by who he is [i.e. whether he is an aristocrat] but by what he can do.”
- how liberating a message, especially to the many immigrants to this country
- Work is not just punching a time clock; it is creation.
- the difference between doing a job grudgingly and doing it until it is done right
- would you want a brain surgeon to keep looking at the clock as he worked on your brain, wondering when he could go home?
- the job you do in anything reflects not only on the work itself but on you as a person
- Possible objection: what does work have to do with school?
- let’s say you want to design aircraft for a living
- can you just go to Boeing’s headquarters and say, “I’d like to design an aircraft for you, but I’m not any good at math”?
- Boeing recruits only the best math and science students, the ones who love math, the really scary ones
- Nowhere on Boeing’s job application, or on any other job application, will you find the question “were you cool in high school?”
- The moral to the story.
- Where are you currently on the scale of work?
- Are you simply breaking big rocks into little ones or are you becoming a creator?
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Lesson 3: Character and Virtue
- To understand character, we must understand virtue
- Original meaning of virtue for men: manliness, courage, etc.
- for the Romans, to be virtuous was to be manly, vice versa
- question to young men: are you man enough to be good?
- Original meaning of virtue for women: chastity or modesty.
- what those words mean and whether used today
- question to young women: are you good enough to be a lady?
- Current meaning of the word: general moral excellence, goodness.
- Virtue in the plural: the virtues (courage, perseverance, ring a bell?).
- The nature of virtue
- The virtuous man does the right thing in the right way for the right reasons over an entire lifetime. (Aristotle, loosely)
- Easy? Every virtue is opposed to a weakness or vice in man.
- You’re hurting my self-esteem, Dr. Moore! I’m not perfect?
- what keeps us from seeing when we are in the wrong: pride
- If virtue is hard and I am naturally disposed not to see my vices, how do I become virtuous?
- Human beings become virtuous by practicing the virtues. (Aristotle)
- The meaning of practice
- Simply to do.
- To do repeatedly in order to learn a skill or form a habit.
- Example of the wide receiver in football (easy job! lots of practice).
- If something as straightforward as catching a pass requires so much practice, how much practice will it take to be a good human being?
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Lesson 2: A Definition of Character
- The good and the bad news
- The world is looking for men and women of good character.
- You will be in demand if you have it; you will not if you don’t.
- What is character?
- Original meaning: a mark or a stamp (something that lasts).
- A person’s individual identity.
- Moral or ethical strength.
- The public estimation of a person; reputation.
- A person's status or role in life.
- How these all connect together.
- Conclusions drawn from the meaning of character
- It is your job to establish your character.
- Your character will largely be formed by the time you leave school.
- Character is a matter of will.
- i.e. not a matter of birth, hair color, luck, etc.
- example of how you use your study hall: entirely up to you
- You are already making your own character
- Every day you are deciding what kind of man or woman you want to be.
- “But wait, I’m just a kid!”
- being a kid is fine
- just realize it is easier to form your character now than when you are an adult already
- This school exists so you can form your character.
- characters in history
- characters in literature
- what it means to be a George Washington, an Eliza Bennett, etc.
- what will it mean to be a (your name)?
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Lesson 1: The Importance of Character
- Getting into college
- What does it take to get into college?
- What the college application says (handout).
- Why should the colleges care so much about characte
- Letters of reference
- David Wilkie’s “The Letter of Introduction” (handout).
- An example of a negative “letter of introduction.”
- An example of a positive “letter of introduction.”
- Which letter would you prefer written about you?
- Which letter do you most deserve?
- The importance of character stated
- The way the world works
- colleges’ concern with character
- employers’ concern with character
- The world takes your character very seriously. Do you?
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