Dwight Moody once said, “Character is what you are in the dark.”
In the current national climate of political attack and shrillness, it seems more important than ever to make sure our young people acquire the core values of honesty and decency.
This idea is not new. Several years ago major corporate employers rated the five employee traits that are most and least important to them.
The highest rankings were all “work ethic” items: arriving on time, not stealing, putting in a full day’s work, being reliable.
Interestingly, the lowest-rated items were academic background, knowledge and experience.
Author Rushworth Kidder reinforced these findings through his own research. He pointed to troublesome indications that adults’ ethics have been moving in the wrong direction.
Today we can cite hedge fund managers and a broad range of banking and white-collar fraud.
The good news is that a large portion of the public has noticed and seems to care.
Several schools throughout our county have been using constructive programs that provide values education.
The Anti-Defamation League’s programs, “A World of Difference,” and “No Place for Hate,” are excellent, and the Beyond Tolerance Center is a resource hub for educators at every level. The common thread is that important values are selected, discussed, and practiced.
No single institution is responsible for the challenges that face our youth and adults today, and no one institution can solve the problems in isolation. I applaud our public schools for becoming an increasingly large part of the effort.
