What Virtues Should Catholic Schools Foster?
“Character” is the constellation of virtues possessed by a person. Character education can be defined as the deliberate effort to cultivate virtue. What are the particular virtues that Catholic schools should seek to cultivate? Among the natural moral virtues that all schools should try to foster are the four “cardinal virtues” advanced by the ancient Greeks: prudence (which enables us to judge what we ought to do), justice (which enables us to give other persons their due), fortitude (which enables us to do what is right in the face of difficulties), and temperance (which enables us to control our desires and avoid abuse of even legitimate pleasures). In his book Character Building: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, the British psychologist David Isaacs (1976) offers a more elaborate scheme of 24 moral virtues, grouped according to developmental periods during which the different virtues should be given special emphasis: (1) Up to 7 years: obedience (respecting legitimate authority an
