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Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Content of their Character pt. 12


We all want our children to be good.  Some of us remember those immortal words of Martin L. King, Jr.

But how many of us can easily recite a list of ingredients or traits a good character contains?  The parochial school where I didn't send my children has a special curriculum, complete with books, worksheets, and posters on the wall, stressing thirteen positive character traits.  We allow religious schools more leeway in discussing ethics, morals, and virtue than public schools.  However, as parents,we shouldn't depend on our children's schools to teach them how to be good people.

You might be blessed with wise parents, grandparents, or spiritual leaders who can tell you how to raise the perfect child.  If not, there is enough information out there in libraries and on the web that, if you're lucky, you might teach yourself before your children are grown.  But why reinvent the wheel when you have enough work on your hands as a parent already?  Here are some suggestions, taken from Ben Franklin, thought by some to be the wisest American of all time, and Rabbi Israel Salanter, the founder of the Jewish ethical movement,  מוסר.

THRIFT
First of all, let's consider who we don't want our children to turn out.  Wasting resources, such as money, time, water, food, paper, or any other useful substance, is irresponsible.  In modern language, try teaching your children to reduce, reuse, and recycle, or to do without.  They don't need to be stingy, but they should stop and think about what they're doing when they spend and try to stay within a budget.  Rabbi Salanter said "Do not spend a penny that is not for a necessary purpose." This virtue was #5 on Franklin's list, "Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing." 
See more here.

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