THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE Chartered Under the Laws of Congress The object of the Character Development League is to devise the best means of training children of the Public Schools in the principles of morality, and assisting them to the formation of right character, and for enlisting the interest and coöperation of public-spirited individuals in every locality, to have such character teaching adopted by the local Public Schools. The movement initiates a means for elevating and purifying the State, fully as important as colleges and universities; and so imperative and vital is it to the Nation, that the LEAGUE feels justified in asking the coöperation of all thoughtful men and women—the well-wishers of the race—as well as every principal and teacher, in its efforts to effectively place this method of Character Instruction into the schools of every city, town, and village in the land. Helping youth in this direction is helping Humanity; and it is a help that cannot be given with so much benefit at any other time in life. Executive Officers PRESIDENT: JOHN W. CARR Supt. Public Schools, Bayonne, N. J.; Member of Committee on Moral Instruction, National Education Association TREASURER: CYRIL H. BURDETT Secretary Title Insurance Co., Secretary New York Mortgage and Security Co., New York INTRODUCTION The great question is how are ideals of right living to be impressed upon the child It is believed that the best means is through the intimate acquaintance with those wh have lived beautiful lives, and who have achieved the highest ethical ideals. Characte in its primary principle and groundwork is self-control and self-giving, and the only practical method of enforcing this upon the habit of children is to keep before then examples of self-control and self-sacrifice. Childhood is self-centered and selfish; but to every child there comes a time of awakening, when he realizes that there is in the world somebody else besides himself, and something to do for others, and he feels a stir and a desire to do some good thing. The first great object in teaching character is to awaken this realization, and then to foster and strengthen this sense of obligation. The practical and effective means of doing this is through concrete illustrations of self-devotion, self-sacrifice, etc., exemplified in others. Through these examples ideals are held up for inspiration and imitation. Embodied ideals are the supreme molders of youth. One of the best text-books for character teaching is biography-which is example; and the importance and value of biography are acknowledged by all educators. Biography brings out the beauty of character, and makes righteousness contagious. Dr. Jowett, the head master of Balliol College, Oxford, has stated, that “in future morals will be taught only through biography." And the reason is that biography is concrete example with the added quality of reality. Gladstone has said that one example is worth a thousand arguments. It is a psychological fact that what the mind admires, it unconsciously emulates and imifates. A trait of character which enlists our approbation, inevitably compels imitation; and when we read or hear of a noble deed or act of devotion, we are unconsciously impelled to repeat it. Prof. James says, "The Humanities-which is a name given to what is essentially taught in the colleges—means in a broad sense, literature; and in a broader sense, the study of master strokes. Literature not only consists of masterpieces, but is largely about masterpieces, being little more than an appreciative chronicle of human master strokes. This sifting of human creations means, essentially, biography. What our colleges ought to teach, therefore, is biographical history, which teaches us what types of activity have stood the test of time, and gives us standards (examples) of the excellent and durable, a feeling of admiration for what is admirable, and a sense of what superiority has always signified." In a recent address at Cornell University Dr. Andrew D. White stated, "The great thing needed to be taught in this country is truth, simple ethics, the distinction between right and wrong. Stress should be laid upon what is best in biography, upon noble deeds and sacrifices, especially those which show that the greatest man is not the greatest orator." Lyman Abbott says, "as there are standards of art by which we educate taste, so there are standards of right and wrong by which we may educate conscience. That standard is found in the wise words of wise men; but better is it to be found in the great lives of truly great men. Because character depends chiefly upon a man's own will and choice, it is the supreme teaching of biography. In the past "Plutarch's Lives" has proved an inspiration; but the ideals of Greek and Roman days are now changed, and the moral force-which is the peculiar advantage of the study of biography-is lost in such examples. What is needed is a "Plutarch's Lives" in terms of the present. In the following "Character Lesscns" there are presented three hundred notable examples of various phases of character taken from American biography, which Dean Stanley says, more than any other country of the world, furnishes examples of the finest men and women that have ever lived. This series of "Character Lessons" subdivides character into thirty-one traits, which follow one another in logical sequence. Through a lucid INTRODUCTION, it presents definite ideals of each trait by which the child is led to perceive through his own intuitions the meaning and justice of the virtue, and to give it a name, which leads to its DEFINITION. 253336 |