The Content of their Character pt. 9

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.

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Do you know any chaotic, disorganized people who clutter their lives and agendas with random stuff, who can't manage their mail and pay their bills on time, whose houses are too messy to let friends drop by, and who don't seem to know what they're doing at any particular moment?  We tend not to think as well of such people as of those who've got themselves together.  Children who live with a predictable schedule tend to do better in school, and they grow up to be more successful professionally.  They also manage to have more control over their lives and feel less overwhelmed by the world around them.  Ben Franklin's advice was "Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."   As R. Salanter put it, "Do all of your deeds and all of your undertakings in an organized and disciplined manner."
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