“Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it: the tree is the real thing.”
— Abraham Lincoln
Liberty Common School—Character Education
Liberty Common School’s character-education program is informed by William Kilpatrick’s Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong.
The Liberty character-education system invests thirteen years of character education into the lives of its students, complementing the building blocks established at home, thereby providing scholars with the moral tools needed to live in a democratic republic and share in common virtues.
LCS K–6th-grade students learn Foundation Stones: Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation, Self Control, Perseverance, Integrity, and Citizenship. These virtues define the school culture and foster expected behavior for students. Character is developed through a coherent program of expectations, modeling, and study of historical and literary figures.
At Liberty Common High School, 7th–12th-grade character education expands to include Capstone Virtues. These include fundamental virtues indicating honor and maturity. These virtues are studied and advanced through rich literature and biographical consideration as teachers incorporate character education into their knowledge and skills-instruction. Capstone Virtues are also reinforced through dedicated Character Lyceums (assemblies) held six times per academic year.
Among the specific themes and virtues accentuated at LCHS are Patriotism, Gratitude, Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, and Wisdom.
Character Education informs the school’s discipline program. CLICK HERE to read an article by Mr. Torgun Lovely about using students’ mistakes for character-development opportunities.
Character Awards
The Character Awards tradition at Liberty Common School is vital to the school’s cardinal character-education mission. The Character Education Committee elevates and prioritizes throughout the organization the foundation stones, capstone virtues, and the keystone virtue of wisdom. One strategy for promoting organization-wide fidelity to virtue-based character education is by awarding students who exhibit exemplary character. Character awards are prestigious at Liberty Common, and by recognizing students in this meaningful way, the good habit of virtue is exalted and reinforced ad infinitum.
There are three levels of Character Awards:
Plaudits—recognize single acts of virtue or appreciable behavior. Faculty or students compose a note acknowledging the individual plaudit for prominent display on a bulletin board.
Character letters—Honor a pattern of exemplary behavior. Faculty members or staff compose a character letter when duly impressed by a student’s consistent display of virtue. Students earn a character letter by practicing any of Liberty Common School’s Capstone Virtues or the Keystone of Wisdom. Examples of behavior patterns worthy of a character letter include, but are not limited to: gallantry, excellent work ethic, or extraordinary sportsmanship.
Capstone Award—The Capstone Award is the highest level of character-recognition teachers can bestow upon a student at Liberty Common School. Students earn the Capstone Award by exemplifying three or more of the Liberty Capstone Virtues. Those honored by this award are in pursuit of Wisdom, ever-inclined towards truth, beauty, goodness, and perfection. They have shown virtuous maturity beyond their years. The faculty and staff choose one high-school student and one junior-high student to be awarded at each Character-Education Lyceum.