Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

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CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8WHAT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO THE POOR?“As you did it to one of these least ones, you did itto me.”—MATTHEW, 25:40All men are responsible for one another.—TALMUDNearly half the 6 billion people in the world arepoor. There are three degrees of poverty.“Extreme poverty,” defined by the World Bank asgetting by on less than $1 a day, means that householdscannot meet basic needs for survival. They arechronically hungry, unable to get health care, lacksafe drinking water and sanitation, cannot afford educationfor their children and perhaps lack rudimentaryshelter—a roof to keep the rain out of the hut—and basic articles of clothing, like shoes. We candescribe extreme poverty as “the poverty that kills.”“Moderate poverty,” defined as living on $1 to $2 aday, refers to conditions in which basic needs aremet, but just barely. Being in “relative poverty,”defined by a household income level below a givenproportion of the national average, means lackingthings that the middle class takes for granted.The total number of people living in extreme poverty,the World Bank estimates, is 1.1 billion. Much of theone-sixth of humanity in extreme poverty suffers theravages of AIDS, drought, isolation, and civil wars,and is thereby trapped in a vicious cycle of deprivationand death.Yet our generation, in the U.S. and abroad, canchoose to end extreme poverty by the year 2025 . . .The end of poverty will require a global network ofcooperation . . . The costs of action are a tiny fractionof the costs of inaction . . . The richest and mostpowerful country, long the leader and inspiration indemocratic ideals, is currently barely participating inglobal efforts to end poverty . . . It is time to honorthe commitment to give 0.7% of our national incometo these crucial goals.—JEFFERY SACHS, ECONOMIST,THE END OF POVERTY 53respondents, “What is your religious preference, if any?”,the count of those who identified themselves as “atheist”or “agnostic” surpassed the combined count of Hindusand Buddhists. Adding the atheists and agnostics togetherwith those uninterested in religion, the total came inthird after Catholics and Baptists. Futrell comments:Are we going to teach kids that there are nice, functioningatheists? If not, are we indirectly suggesting that in order tobe moral, you have to be religious? Educators have aresponsibility to be neutral. 55Clearly, in educating about religion and its potential contributionto character development and the commongood, we need to be clear: One does not have to be religiousto be ethical, and being religious is no guarantee ofbeing an ethical person. Just as those who have a religiousworldview want to have their views understood, so,too, those who base their worldview on non-religiousbeliefs and values have an equal right to be understood.A truly democratic commitment to diversity will takepains to be fair toward all perspectives.Whether or not young people comefrom backgrounds of faith, we wantthem to develop faith in somethinglarger than themselves.Whether or not young people come from backgrounds ofreligious faith, we want to challenge them to develop faithin something larger than themselves. Happiness, as nearlyall systems of spiritual thought recognize, requires transcendence—findingourselves by finding something biggerand higher than ourselves.Sharing Our Quest for a Life of PurposeIn challenging students to craft a life of noble purpose,we should remember to share our own stories. We con-Don’t blame poverty on God. People arepoor because others do not share.—MOTHER TERESA208Smart & Good High Schools
CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8clude Outcome 8 with one such story that a principal hasshared with his school community and fellow educators. Itreminds us that a life of noble purpose does not requiregood fortune; it is often forged on the anvil of adversity.And it reminds us that when we lead a life of noble purpose,we can leave a lasting legacy to others.OVERCOMING ADVERSITY TO CRAFT A LIFE OF NOBLE PURPOSE“How many wins you have today?”What kind of legacy do we wish to leave our children—through our families, communities, and schools? The“legacy question” was the focus of Jeff Eben, award-winningprincipal of Clovis East High School, when he spoketo more than 3,000 teachers and administrators inFresno, California. An atmosphere of expectation filledthe room as he took the mike and maneuvered his wheelchairto the edge of the stage. He began:Idid all the good stuff in high school. When I was 16, Iwas quarterback for the football team, president of myjunior class, and had a 3.8 GPA. Life was good. But onOctober 2, 1977, my life changed forever.I went water skiing for the first time. I took one lesson,but when I saw the other guys doing tricks—up on oneski and so on—I wanted to do that. So the next time out,I got up on one ski. The boat accelerated to 40 miles perhour. When it went into a turn, I lost control.I fell face forward. The lake had gotten shallow in thatpart, with rocks just under the surface. I hit one rockhead on—then another, then another. It opened up ahuge gash on the top of my head, broke my neck in threeplaces, and left me paralyzed from the waist down. Life asI knew it had ended.In the hospital, Jeff Eben sank into a deep depression. Butevery day his football coach, Jack Bohan, came to see him.Coach Bohan was a very busy man. Besides coachingfootball and teaching high school English, he had a familyof his own. But he came to see me every day without fail,even on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. He nevermissed. And every time he came, he would ask me thesame question: “How many wins you have today?”The first time he asked that, I said, “Well, let’s see—I’vegot metal screws in the sides of my head, 48 stitches onthe top of my head, and the doctors say I’ll never walkagain. I guess I can’t think of any wins I’ve had today.”“But those guys don’t know you,” he said. “You’re notgonna let the no-hopes win, are you?”No-hopes? I didn’t know what he meant. I didn’t eventhink that was good English. But whenever he came tosee me, he’d ask the same question.“None.”“Wrong. Your parents were here today. I’m here now. Youdidn’t die. Those are all wins.”So I started to humor him. One day I said, “I didn’t peein my pants today—I guess that’s a win.”“ALL RIGHT,” he shouted, “YOU DIDN’T PEE INYOUR PANTS!! That’s a win!” I thought he was nuts.But gradually, so I’d have something to tell him, I beganlooking for wins. I’d say to myself as I’d go through aday, “That’s a win. That’s a win. That’s another win . . .”And when I told Coach my wins for the day, he’d celebrateand made a big deal about it.By the time I left the hospital six months later, it was allabout wins. I knew that somehow, I was going to get mypiece of the American dream.Recently, I spoke at Coach Bohan’s retirement dinner. Howdo you thank somebody for giving you your life back? Hehelped me to believe that no matter how dire the troubleyou’re in, you can have hope—and if you have that,nobody can take it away. Hope is enough; hope will sustainyou. That was his legacy to me.Jeff Eben paused. There weren’t a lot of dry eyes in theroom. He left his audience with this challenge:What is the legacy you want to leave your students?When I had the chance to become a high school principala few years ago, that’s the question I asked myself.What would give our kids a foundation on which to buildtheir lives? What would they always remember?I decided I would propose, as our school motto, “Feel thelove.” People said, “You can’t be serious. You can’t getaway with that in a high school.” Well, that’s our motto.And now at graduation, when the kids give speeches, theytalk about the love at our school.We have a huge responsibility as educators. There are alot of good teachers and administrators out there. But areyou willing to be great? To do that, you have to give kidsa part of yourself—a legacy that will last a lifetime.209Smart & Good High Schools
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A Report to the NationSmart & GoodH
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A wonderful piece of work that addr
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Dedicated to the memory ofWinifred
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AcknowledgementsWe would like to ex
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Table of ContentsLetter to the Read
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ELC PRINCIPLE 4: TAKE PERSONAL RESP
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1. Develop Critical Friends Groups
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Letter to The Reader“Are you a he
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Letter to the ReaderBut we also do
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How to Read This Reporttices relate
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Patrick Bassett, president, Nationa
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Research Methodologyand Criteria fo
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Research Methodology and Criteria f
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Principles of a Smart & Good High S
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CHAPTER 1The Call to Character:Perf
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est work and be their best ethical
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to Charactercha
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to Charactertin
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterA S
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterBec
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterTHE
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1C. Peterson & M. P. Seligman, Char
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CHAPTER 2: Performance Character an
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Smart & Good High SchoolsCHAPTER 2:
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do not self-identify as “characte
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EndnotesCHAPTER 2: Performance Char
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CHAPTER 3: The Ethical Learning Com
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Galvanized by this finding, she and
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(1) scheduling a weekend retreat in
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person has gifts; and the convictio
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CHAPTER 4The Professional Ethical L
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CHAPTER 4: The Professional Ethical
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on at home. If I think something se
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tragedy, injustice, and weak and si
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