Values vs Virtue

The purpose of this document is to create dialogue. It is my intent to encourage conversation and create workable constructs for valid character education. I look forward to feedback, practical application suggestions, and an opportunity to fine-tune these definitions and constructs. Please feel free to e-mail me at Teen-Aid, or call LeAnna Benn @ 509.482.2868.

Values vs. Virtue or Categorizing Character

Winning coaches know that to consistently win championships you must know the basics. Many are willing to cheer the “killer” serve necessary to win the game and the championship. In character, an understanding of the fundamentals of achieving a “killer” serve is needed to instill good character in the next generation. Good coaches are conversant with the rules and the sophisticated strategies of the game while knowing the current “cool” uniform, and the expectation of the administration or owners of the team. Most importantly they know the basics, the skills, and when a play fails or a team is losing they know that going back to the basics is essential to winning.

My challenge to educators today is to go back to basics. In character the tools are not a good serve or perfecting a long hang time for the ball. Most of the players in character education need to begin by identifying, “This is a ball. The object of the game is to get the most points. Points are achieved by hitting the ball. This is the way to hit the ball. If you hit it this way you have more control.” No coach would use a consensus to develop the game with new players (children). And coaches don’t ask the fans (business/media) for the rules or even suggestions to improve the rules. Perfecting of rules goes on inside a closed meeting with coaches (scholars) that study the game. May I take the same approach with educating for character?

What’s the name of the game?

Practicing a fast serve is meaningless if you haven’t identified the name of the game. What game we are playing? Is it citizenship to improve relationships or is it a back door to sex education that is being kicked out because abstinence education is being accepted? To win, you hope that the serve is so powerful that the opponent(s) cannot successfully return it but if they can, then the server or the server’s team will be in place to return the volley. However, we still don’t know whether that serve is best executed with a racquet or a fist. We have already eliminated those who want to play badminton since we haven’t talked about using a birdie even though the game is very similar. Is the game Values Education or is it Virtue Education? Are we horrible to limit the game to one type of ball because there are those who want to use a football?

What’s the object of the game?

In the beginning, the coach identifies the object of the game. What do we want from character education? (Civilized citizens, fully functional adults, well-rounded, more manageable students, politically correct thinkers) In character education, the object of the game is to have virtuous citizens with habits of good behavior. Good behavior means everybody wins. Citizens behave in a way that doesn’t hurt themselves or others. Behavior is not limited to the physical, tangible, monetary or visible win. Good behavior encompasses internal attitudes and outcomes, which impact the individual and society on the financial, physical, emotional, social and spiritual plane. In tennis, if the server aims at hitting the other player with the ball, the judge will penalize the server.

What gear do I need?

Specifically define the paraphernalia of the game. In both tennis and volleyball, a “killer serve” is one that makes it over the net. If the game is tennis, the equipment is a ball, racquet and net. If it is volleyball it’s a net and a round and usually white ball but the ball for tennis is very different than the one for volleyball. Values education requires consensus yet allows tolerance for the diversity of the end result. One can value quiet time, another intense social interaction, an opulent lifestyle while another chooses simple sustenance. Often the overarching goal is improved quality of life. Values education teaches goal setting to sort out which lifestyle you may choose. Unless your intense social interaction gets in the way of my quiet time there really are no problems with accepting diverse outcomes. Character education also teaches goal setting. Juxtaposed to values education, character education deals with issues that put diverse points of view at odds. One is obedient to the rules or disobedient, honest or lacks integrity. Many times one behavior is mutually exclusive of the other. These qualities or characteristics are not built by consensus but set by a standard. An honest person can be any color, age, sex, live a quiet or opulent lifestyle.

What are the basics?

We know what we want. Now we need to have a vocabulary to help achieve the win. If some of the players call the racquet a stick and some call it a string thing, how is the coach going to describe how to hold the racquet much less how to change from forehand to back hand during the winning strategy sessions?

Values can be nouns – I value wealth. I value family. Values change. When I was young, I valued my bike now it is in disrepair and I don’t really care. But was it my bike that I valued or was it the freedom given me by the bike that allowed me to go further than I could walk? I can be a thief and value my bike or my family but I have no virtue. I can even value freedom but my behavior will change upon getting my driver’s license, suddenly my car or my way of earning gas money will take priority over my bike. I probably will quit washing it or keeping it in good repair. Valuing a car more than a bike will not make me dishonest. A car will not make my family any less important but I may spend less time with them because I am older, have a job or move away. Am I without values because I no longer see my bike as my priority? Are the skills I learned in taking care of my bike transferable to taking care of my car? Valuing a bike or freedom may be a reason for gaining a skill, valuing is not inherently bad but that value may or may not make my life or the life of others better. That is the higher calling of virtue or character education.

Virtues are specific acquired internal qualities that an individual possesses which characterize their consistent good behavior. Therefore virtues are not talents even though it appears that some people obtain certain virtues more easily than others. “Every virtue seems hard for me to obtain but it looks like it was easy for you.” Virtues are often words used to describe the inward motivation. They are not limitless adverbs or adjectives that are more popular today than in the last decade. Some have inadvertently relegated the word virtue to religious terminology because there are Cardinal or gifts of virtue associated with God, unconditional love, peace, and patience. However there are human virtues that man can achieve, persistence, fortitude, understanding and generosity. The confusion may have come because like me, many of us have so much trouble achieving even the human virtues, we have asked for supernatural help. For the purpose of discourse in the Post Christian Era in America, we can at least discuss the foundational human virtues of obedience, honesty, sincerity, orderliness, respect and responsibility. There are no laws against these.

Using the sports analogy, virtue is the win, the attitude of winning, and the object of the game. It occurs many ways, it may be a smash, an out of bounds bounce or a touchdown because virtue is universal and occurs in more sports than tennis. Character is that consistent serve or that accurate pass at thirty yards. It is consistent, quantifiable and consists of skills coupled with the virtuous will to win attitude. Think of virtue as the heart and character the trained muscle obtained from hours of skill practice that carries the day.

Character is the habit of doing good. Character can be perfected; there is no end to learning. The describing words of characteristic, good, consistent behavior and the habit of doing good are very close. Virtue and good character are often used synonymously. Everyone has character; it’s just that some have poor character. Not everyone has virtue. For this discussion, character means good character.

Just as a good serve or pass can be analyzed, practiced and duplicated by you or someone you coach, good character can be taught and perfected to be an expected standard of behavior. It is not heroism or a one-time experience. Don’t confuse character trait with personality trait. Character terminology may become confusing for the same reason that a good player may be called a winner, slugger, and “the shotgun arm” More accurate terms would be to describe the player that has innate skill, consistent off-season conditioning, hours of outside observation and meticulous study of the sport coupled with perfect attendance at practice. Accurate terminology increases the odds of replication. It is not good enough to tell a child, “Play like Tiger Woods”, when he/she has never seen a golf course.

Players don’t get good unless their coaches have a clear picture of what they are to achieve. Each sport has a specific vocabulary to describe its activities, rules or principles to play by and finally the skills to perfect that will help in achieving the desired championship. Character education for the public arena can have such a “corporate culture” or shared language. Tennis players do not have to come from the same country to play in Wimbledon but they all know that “love - 15” means that the server has no points and the opponent has one score. It is for this reason, we should consider using some of the language of world philosophers. “Sex – 10” has no meaning in tennis but with some cultural association you might stumble onto an exciting idea but would it lead you to being a better tennis player?

Vocabulary defines the game, sets the rules and ultimately determines who or what winning means. The process of defining structure is analogous to reading, fulfilling a life purpose or sports. We need structure to achieve a winning strategy. Educationally, we must realize that the habit of being virtuous is a complex and inter-related building process that does not develop overnight and has form and sequence. Crawling, walking, running proceeds, making it to the net to return a slammed serve by the opponent. Obedience precedes respect and responsibility. One can’t act respectfully without observing social customs. A caring person generally observes the cultural boundaries or runs the risk of offending before anyone will recognize how caring he or she is.

Principles are universal rules, truths that guide strategies. It is not good enough for the coach to say win and obey the rules. By this time in the season, it is a given that the player has to know the rules. Principles clarify how you want to win, with what strategy. My serve is weak even though I practiced extensively. My strength is my ability to observe the weakness of the other player and then control my return of the ball to that spot in the court; another strategy is to outlast the opponent. I don’t have that much endurance. Winning is still the goal, disobeying the rules is not acceptable to the judge or the coach so I must determine which principles of the game will help me make the most points or in my case which method will allow my partner to miss the most. Stronger serves, observing, strategizing and outlasting are all components of winning. The truth is that I have to know my own strengths, my opponents weaknesses, obtain the best skill and counsel and play with a will to win while not breaking any rules or harming the other player. Violating printed rules will not be in my best interest and knowing the rules plus the subtle strategies will help me know the best way to win. These are principles.

Summary: Values change. Virtue is internal motivation to achieve an objective standard. Character is the consistent working of the internal motivation. Skills enable the character motivations to become a reality. Principles provide the strategies. They give the guidance for the interplay between what is valued while accessing the virtuous motivation and the strength of character obtained through learned skills to bring success.

If you are not totally confused consider these analogies or corollary structures. Practice these for yourself. Experiment with this model to perfect your use of the terminology.

Categorizing Exercise