Intellect Versus Character: Which Would You Choose?

I spent four decades working in independent schools- first as a teacher, next as an administrator, and for the last 28 years of my career as a Head of School.

I principally worked in kindergarten through 8th grade independent schools where our focus was always on developing character in our youngest students and leadership skills in our oldest students.

In my experience, the prevailing focus in schools today on intellectual growth has been destructive to the fabric of our American society.  We need to develop children who lead with character not with intellectual gymnastics.  We need to challenge our students to move beyond the current generation of adults who argue about ideas without regard for probity.

I would like to offer a pathway to restructuring our schools for success.  It is a success that is accessible to all students and to all families; a success that is devoid of intellectual readiness or predisposition; a success focused on a community commitment to the many faces of building character.  It is a pathway for schools to address the needs of future students to provide the leadership that sorts through the challenges of our American democracy.

     Do you have thoughts about this?  We welcome you to the conversation.  Please let us know that you care by liking comments, forwarding posts, or joining in our dialogue.

Coming next week: Stories From The Classroom: Nia

From our first posting:

     As parents and teachers, we need to reclaim our traditional role as influencers of our children – not by shouting louder than the influencers our children discover online, but by stressing ideas that are more important than fancy shoes and snappy TikTok tunes. We need to emphasize traits that everyone agrees children will honor.  We need to convince our children that the people who are most important to them have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in life.

     John Zurn began his educational career teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children in K through 8th grade independent school settings.   He went on to serve as Head of School for three independent schools over a twenty-eight year period.   John has written a book on a comprehensive school-wide character education program which was published in 2022 and updated in 2024.  He is currently working on a book directed towards teaching Traits for Success to students in grades 4 through 8.

#charactereducation #independentschools #parentingtips #successtraits #teachertips