Rewarding Gratitude in Schools and in Ourselves

Gratitude has become a hot topic to teach in schools I believe that as adults, we naturally become more grateful as we get older; with the past to reflect on; remembering ‘cringe’ moments that we regret today (fortunately - forgiveness is a virtue!). I doubt anyone could deny that they screamed at their parents ‘it’s...

Why classroom character and virtues should be in Justine Greening’s in tray

Over the coming weeks and months, it will be interesting to see how the new Education Secretary Justine Greening lays out her vision for schools. Ms Greening’s previous incumbent, Nicky Morgan, stressed the importance of “building character and resilience in every child” in the White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March. The paper noted...

Global Values, Human Rights and Character Education

We now know more than ever about what makes humans flourish. This has been driven by dramatic advances in genetics, psychological research, neurobiology, behavioral economics and a number of other disciplines in the past three decades. As New York Times columnist David Brooks suggests this “intellectual revolution” exposes the superficiality of public current policy debate....

Virtue, spirituality and the possibility of spiritual virtues

Traditionally, moral or other virtues have been considered aspirations to personal excellence: to have cultivated a virtue – albeit imperfectly – is to have attained some higher human state. While regarding virtue and the virtuous in this normatively exalted way, however, it has also been common to esteem people for their so-called ‘spirituality’ or spiritual...

My Impression of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues: some thoughts after two weeks’ work experience.

What would I learn at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues if I got my work placement there? Would it actually be interesting, or would I end up making coffee and sorting out filing cabinets, like everyone else? I remember doing a questionnaire at school with the Centre’s name on it. I wonder what...

Humility as Freedom

When we contemplate a virtue, two big questions that we ask about it are, What is it? and What makes it a virtue, that is, a human excellence? The answers to these questions are intertwined, since what makes a trait a virtue will always depend on what that trait is. In this short piece, I...

Reasoning Social Creatures – a psychological approach

During the week of 16th May 2016, the Jubilee Centre was delighted to welcome Blaine Fowers as a Distinguished Visiting Professor for 2016.  Blaine, who is Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Miami, focuses his work on the contributions of Aristotle's ethics to a richer understanding of research and clinical practices in psychology...

In Search of Universal Truth: the role of character education in bringing people together

Of all ways in which the vote for Brexit has shone a light on the state of our society, one finding is both clear and profound: Britain is becoming a more heterogeneous country, both culturally and economically, with fewer shared values, a suspicion of elites, and a weakening national identity. This phenomenon is not limited...

Virtue Training: it’s just what the trainee doctor – and the teacher and the lawyer – ordered

Teachers, lawyers and doctors are expected to be beyond reproach when it comes to their conduct and ethical behaviour. We entrusted them with some of our most precious gifts and possessions: teachers help to nurture our children and act in loco parentis; solicitors and barristers safeguard our personal assets and legal rights; and medics are...

Saluting military courage on the 100th anniversary of The Battle of the Somme

In the war to end all wars, it was the battle to end all battles. The date the offensive began, 1 July, was etched on to the collective memory for generations. Now 100 years have elapsed and other battles and place names associated with extraordinary British military endeavour have become engrained in the popular consciousness,...

Virtue ethics and the modern-day nurse

A staff nurse enjoys working on a ward for the elderly but ongoing changes to the hospital regime means she has less time to spend with patients. There are fewer nurses on duty, she grows increasingly frustrated, stops enjoying her job and is worried that patient care is being comprised. The nurse’s worst fears are...

Frankly, it’s phronesis: ethical insights from an outsider

First, a health warning for ethicists: I am not an ethicist. Second, it gets worse, a lot worse: I am a journalist. According to measures of moral credibility, my profession ranks marginally above cold-callers for accident claim firms and hedge fund managers. Journalism and ethics have had, for want of a better phrase, a bad...

The pursuit of power: does virtue or vice lead to political success?

Barack Obama’s historic visit to Hiroshima, the first by a serving US president since the nuclear bombing, prompted reflections on Harry Truman, who ordered the attack. Truman became a senator a little over a decade before he assumed control of the Oval Office following Roosevelt’s death. The Democrat’s meteoric rise left him well placed to...

You’re hired! Now what do you think about the ethics of business and finance?

The business world is frequently rocked by allegations of greed, excessive pay and scandals involving dodgy products and services. Yet careers in the sector are some of the most keenly sought by graduates. In the UK, Business and Administration Studies was the most popular higher education subject for 2015-16 according to UCAS, ahead of Creative...

Young People’s Role Models: Miley Cyrus or Mother Teresa?

Role-modelling, especially of the kind that moral philosophers, moral psychologists and moral educationists define as learning from moral exemplars or exemplarity, has been achieving renewed prominence. The reasons for this development are probably varied, but it seems likely that they stem from declining trust in the ability of pure reasoning principles to enact lasting changes...

Character Education: it’s a game of two halves

The clock is ticking down to full time and the score is locked at 1-1. Suddenly, the opposition goalkeeper falls to the ground injured and the ball is crossed to you inside the penalty area. The net is gaping. What do you do? No foul has been committed and if you shoot there is a good...

Soldiers of character in the modern British Army

More than two decades of major military engagements and the changing face of warfare have created a unique set of challenges for the British Army. The Gulf War and lengthy conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have put huge demands on frontline troops and their leaders. Soldiers’ roles can change rapidly as fighting units switch from...

The Ripple Effects of Classroom Compassion and Gratitude

Cultivating good character among school children is widely regarded, at the very least, as a worthwhile goal. We want young people to take decisions, in their public and private lives, for the right reasons. We want them to go out into the world and live flourishing lives that champion the virtues, not vices. In many...

It’s time to close the school “exam factories”

Educational assessment can seriously damage a child’s health in Britain’s modern schools system. At least, that is the belief of a union representing educational professionals. A recent survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) suggests the mental health of children as young as six is being put at risk by overwhelming assessment stress.[i] What...

The Rise of the Academy Chain

The Government’s recently announced commitment to ensure that ‘by 2020 every primary and secondary school in England will be, or be in the process of becoming, an academy’ has generated discussion, concern and questions. The academy programme was initially introduced by the Labour government in 2000 and aimed specifically to turn around schools that were...