Providing an insight into the importance of developing character and non-cognitive skills, and the supporting role schools and communities can play in that development, this book will make for interesting reading for teachers keen to equip their pupils with a broader range of life skills.
The road to character
Synopsis
In this book, American journalist David Brooks counters 'résumé virtues' with 'eulogy virtues' and argues that schools need to do more the champion the latter.
Résumé virtues, he suggests, are those that are valued in the modern marketplace: the high test scores achieved by a pupil, the professional accomplishments and qualifications achieved by an adult. He argues that résumé virtues are more valued in terms of pay and public acknowledgement. Eulogy virtues, on the other hand, are the aspects of character that others praise when a person isn’t around to hear it: humility, kindness, and bravery, for example.
He believes that too much school time is currently spent developing and celebrating résumé virtues, and not the moral and spiritual accomplishments that develop eulogy virtues and argues that in order to develop well-rounded citizens, this must change.