For the past few years, I was offered the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation for the construct of character education. My educational background is business, specifically finance and economics. As such, the concept of character education was somewhat foreign. The unfamiliarity with the field presented a plurality of questions and opportunities. The questions centered around how would learning more about this area of research benefit me? Concomitantly, I was curious as to how I would infuse the lessons learned into the classroom. The following few paragraphs aim to provide the reader with a working definition of character education along with how I have personally and professionally matured because of my studies.
Simply put, character education is a purposeful endeavor that aims to guide individuals towards the pursuit of a flourishing life. In order to achieve said goal, one should live a life of virtues. It is important at this stage of the conversation to pause and ensure a clear delineation is made between a virtue and a value. A value is something that an individual believes is important and worth pursuing but may not be universal nor does it necessarily lead to human flourishing. For instance, I may believe in the importance of financial frugality. However, that is not a universal belief, nor does it automatically culminate in human flourishing. Wisdom on the other hand is generally believed to be a good thing and when leveraged, promotes human flourishing. Therefore, we can conclude that wisdom is a virtue because it is universal and promotes what Aristotle would call eudaimonia.
In that vein, virtues are the building block for human flourishing. Given the succinct nature of this reflection, a truncated description of human flourishing will be provided. Human flourishing or eudaimonia is realized when individuals and society are afforded the ability to be its best version of itself. It is when you and your local community reaches its fullest potential. According to VanderWeele, human flourishing can be concretized into the following six elements: a) happiness, b) good health (physical and mental), c) purpose, d) virtues, e) relationships and g) financial stability. From a personal perspective, when an individual’s feelings, thoughts, motivations and actions are aligned with various virtues, one is better positioned to promote human flourishing.
There is a surfeit of virtues. However, the academic tomes normally point to four overarching virtues. They are typically referred to as the cardinal virtues: a) courage, b) wisdom, c) temperance and d) justice. With that said, the other virtues can be considered elements of the aforementioned cardinal virtues. These virtues serve as a GPS of sorts as I think about my interactions with others. For instance, are my conversations courageous and honest? Is my counsel culturally competent and aware of diverse perspectives and context? During challenging conversations, am I aware and in control of my emotions? Finally, is equity and inclusion a focal or talking point when engaging with others?
Over the past three years, I was afforded the chance to study at the University of Birmingham, in the UK, to learn about the contours of character education and virtue ethics. The time spent was a wise investment as I’m now better prepared to make more holistic decisions, both personally and professionally. Specifically, the importance of virtues being at the core of my calculus. It is not a question of whether I’m virtuous or not, but a question of how I can be more virtuous to be the best version of myself while ameliorating my community(s).
Dr. Salim has been a professor at Saint Mary’s for over fifteen years, primarily teaching economics, finance, statistics, and ethics. He received his DBA from Argosy University. Dr. Salim also has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a MBA from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville.