Questions and Answers About Core Virtues

What Does "Core Virtues" Mean?

At Crossroads, "Core Virtues" refers to three significant aspects of the school. First, the phrase embraces an intellectual tradition, beginning with the ancient Greeks and continuing to contemporary philosophers. This tradition recognizes the importance of cultivating virtue in human beings. Second, "Core Virtues" identifies an approach to basic moral literacy for students in much the same way that "Core Knowledge" identifies an approach to basic cultural literacy. Finally, the phrase refers to the character education program initially developed at Crossroads and later published as a book, Core Virtues, A Literature-Based Program in Character Education (K-6) by Mary Beth Klee.

What Are the Core Virtues?

The Core Virtues are those dispositions or habits of character that lead us to love what is good and to choose what is right. "The ancient Greeks recognized courage, temperance, justice, and prudence as the central virtues of the human being. Over time, these four came to be called the 'cardinal' virtues, from the Latin root word meaning 'hinge'-the hinge around which good conduct revolves," writes Ms. Klee in her introduction to Core Virtues. The program also covers a range of other virtues, such as faith, hope, patience, generosity, and love, in connection to the cardinal virtues.

What Is the Intellectual Tradition from Which We Get Core Virtues?

These virtues represent the fruit of twenty-five centuries of philosophical reflection upon human goodness from Plato and Aristotle, through Thomas Aquinas, to contemporary philosophers, such as Mortimer Adler. The ancient Greeks believed that virtue could be learned. Plato said that in moral education "we should be concerned with awakening a love of the good." More recently, some contemporary philosophers have written about the need in moral education for a return to an ethic of virtue with its recognition of moral standards, in place of the morally neutral approach of identifying and clarifying values. The Core Virtues program, with its emphasis on virtues rather than values, supports this return to recognizing moral standards.

What Is the Core Virtues Program?

It is a lively, literature-based approach to character education that seeks to inspire the hearts and minds of students through excellent stories. Core Virtues, the book on which the program is based, identifies a three-year cycle of the virtues studied each month. At each grade level (K-6) the teacher introduces the virtue for the month with a simple definition. Then, drawing on books listed in the "Resource Guide," teachers read stories and books that illustrate that virtue throughout the month. These are stories that lift children's sights to the possibilities for beauty and goodness in human beings through admirable characters and enduring themes. The literature used to illustrate the virtues becomes progressively more sophisticated each year. Students also participate in community service activities at the local, national, and international levels. This component of the program gives them many opportunities to put virtues into action.

Community service is also an integral part of the Middle School program; the students are engaged in active, practical application of the virtues. The Core Virtues program continues to be developed in the seventh and eighth grades.

What About Core Virtues and Religion at Crossroads?

Both the Core Virtues program and Crossroads Academy are non-sectarian; they are not affiliated with any specific religious denomination. Crossroads, however, is rooted in the Jewish and Christian traditions. While the school uses stories from all of the world's great religions to promote the various virtues under study, in its morning moments of reflection it draws from scripture common to the Jewish and Christian faiths. In the interests of cultural literacy and character education, the school teaches biblical literacy as well as the history of the major world religions. The course of study at Crossroads encourages respect for and knowledge of all these religious traditions.

How Does Core Virtues Relate to Core Knowledge?

There are important connections between the two pillars of the Crossroads Academy mission. For instance, Core Virtues links the study of each virtue to the literature and history taught in the Core Knowledge sequence, so the two programs proceed hand in hand. At Crossroads, such core virtues as diligence, honesty, perseverance, and humility promote academic and personal excellence in our students.