In the months leading up to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, one of the greatest conflicts occurred between two giants of American history, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  John Adams (the Federalist) believed in a strong central government.  Thomas Jefferson (the anti-Federalist) believed in strong States rights and a weaker federal government.

Yet both agreed on the critical importances of education in a democracy.  Both argued that a well-educated population was the only way to ensure America’s future.  Both focused on a classical definition of an educated populace, in which education in knowledge and in virtue go hand in hand.

Because churches and other social institutions played a strong role in the early years of American history, schools were never really given the mandate to educate for virtue.  By the time Horace Mann started the movement toward required education for all Americans in the 1840’s, it had been well established that accumulation of knowledge was the primary parameter of success in schools. As churches and other social institutions have diminished in relevance for the past century, American children are now given little education in what an informed, virtuous community looks like.

It is time for schools to take back control of these founding principles, to educate tomorrow’s leaders in both knowledge and virtue!  As George Washington wrote,

“Without virtue and without integrity, the finest talents of the most brilliant accomplishments can never gain the respect or conciliate the esteem of the truly valuable art of mankind.”

– Portion of a letter to Bartholomew Dandridge on March 8, 1797.

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Coming Next Wednesday: The Two Fundamental Elements of American Education

Every School Should be Teaching

     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 8^th 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.

#character education #success traits #parenting tips #homeschooling #teacher tips