A Moral Assignment

Editorial
May 2003
by: Terrence Moore

Human beings learn through imitation. Children learn to talk by mimicking their
parents and others around them. They learn to sing by reproducing pitches they h
ear in music class or on the radio. They learn to think by observing how an olde
r and wiser person draws conclusions from difficult mental puzzles. In all walks
of life and in every career imitation is the gateway to mastery and, paradoxica
lly, to independence. The most successful professionals can attribute much of th
eir capacity in their jobs to "mentoring" by one or more teachers, trainers, or
supervisors. The same is true of sports and the performing arts. Inner-city boys
who play basketball for hours on end dream of being "like Mike." They copy his
dunks, his lay-ups, his jump-shots. But did not Mike grow up imitating the likes
of Dr. J? Similarly, the seven-time grammy nominee India Arie closely followed
Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin in her youth. Jackie Chan owes much of his tec
hnique to a careful study of Bruce Lee. The question is whether imitation can be
applied to the realm of morals. For not all of us can be famous performers. Yet
each of us must perform morally from day to day in order to live responsibly in
society.
Perhaps the most successful and popular moralist in our history is Benjamin Fran
klin. Many of the phrases he collected in his Poor Richardâ s Almanac are still wit
h us. "A penny saved is a penny earned." "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a m
an healthy, wealthy and wise." Franklin did not just preach morality to others.
He lived according to a strict moral code. In his Autobiography, written so that
others might imitate the means he employed to gain affluence, reputation, and h
appiness, Franklin outlined his moral regime. Franklin did not just try to becom
e "a better person," as the phrase goes today. Rather, he tells us,
It was about this time [Franklin was in his mid-twenties] I conceivâ d the bold and
arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wishâ d to live without committ
ing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination,
custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was ri
ght and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the oth
er.
To arrive at moral perfection, Franklin created from his vast reading a list of
thirteen virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, s
incerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.
He then created a chart on which he would mark his violations of these virtues
on a daily basis. Franklin figured that the nightly recollection of his faults w
ould enable him to amend them in the future. Further, he would especially concen
trate on one virtue per week in an attempt to master it completely. At the end o
f thirteen weeks, he should have become pretty close to perfect.
Franklinâ s example has led me to develop a similar moral assignment for students.
After discussing this part of the Autobiography in class, I have students create
their own table of virtues. They should choose no fewer than four distinct virt
ues. They can draw from Franklinâ s list, or from the classical virtues (prudence,
courage, temperance, justice), Bill Bennettâ s Book of Virtues, or the Bible. Then
they should define them in their own words and illustrate how those virtues migh
t be manifested. Adolescents may have few chances to display the courage that we
equate with military heroism, for instance, but might show courage in resisting
peer pressure.
Once students have created a table of virtues and defined them, they should begi
n monitoring their behavior. Every evening the student should fill out a chart t
hat tracks his observance of the virtues by the day. It is not enough to mark th
e chart. Rather, the chart should be annotated with numbers and letters. The num
bers could indicate faults; letters might show good deeds. On a separate sheet o
f paper the student should explain in a phrase or two what was done in violation
or in support of each virtue. Thus, at the end of a few weeks of this exercise,
the student will be able to see the number of faults committed and the number o
f good deeds performed. It was Aristotle who said that we become virtuous by pra
cticing the virtues. Franklin offers an excellent example of how we might undert
ake the important self-evaluation that must attend moral practice.
Terrence Moore is an Adjunct Fellow of the Ashbrook Center. He studied history a
nd political science at The University of Chicago and later earned a Ph.D. in hi
story from The University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Moore served as a Lieutenant
in the U. S. Marine Corps and was an assistant professor of history at Ashland
University in Ohio. He is now Principal of Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort C
ollins, Colorado.