We all want our children to be good. Some of us remember the immortal words of Martin L.King:
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.
PEACE OF MIND
This trait could also be called equanimity, composure, cool-headedness, calmness, poise, self-control, composure, or a number of other things. When people of character are under stress, we admire their ability to maintain their tempers and act with dignity. We tend to have less respect for people who fly off the handle and overreact when things go wrong. Have a spirit that is at rest, without ever being hasty, so that you can do everything calmly. In Franklin's words, Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. As the rabbi put it, Have a spirit that is at rest, without ever being hasty, so that you can do everything calmly.
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