A School of Character.

Aristotle once wrote, “we are what we habitually do.”

The habits that children learn and practise when they are growing up follow them through into adulthood; imagine how the world would be if children developed habits of courage, justice and integrity. We believe that just as a school can be a place to teach a child to read and write, a school can be a place where a child practises gratitude, curiosity and humility.

More specifically, these character virtues can be “caught” from interactions in our community, “taught” through educational experiences and reflection, and “sought” out by people who come to pursue and direct their own character development. As part of Character Education children might consider how honesty might look in different situations, where it might conflict with other virtues like kindness, and practise wisely choosing the right amount of honesty to apply. Aristotle believes that this practical wisdom is the most important virtue to explore as it enables us to see, know, desire, and act with good sense.

When we can choose intelligently between alternative courses of action, when we understand what a good life looks and feels like, when we value others enough to keenly enable their own character development, then together, we’ll flourish.