“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”







Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

What is character? What does it mean to be honorable? What role does integrity have in our lives? These questions plague us everyday. We see examples constantly displayed in the media of individuals who have no character, honor, or integrity. Do we truly understand what these words mean? What place do they have in our school?

These terms have very significant meaning in our school. They are as essential as any textbook, pencil, term paper or any other resource necessary to further the education of every student here at Roslyn High School.

Webster’s Dictionary defines these terms as follows: Character-moral excellence; Honor-sense of what is right, title of distinction or respect; ntegrity-the state of being entire, wholeness, honesty, uprightness.

There are many examples of people who fulfill the essence of these terms in our school. Yet, I am troubled by those who feel that there are short cuts to achieving a proper education without these concepts being embedded in them.

Cheating is an example of one of those short cuts which is contrary to the concepts of character, honor, and integrity. We might see examples of cheating as we go through our daily routines. Some examples might be plagiarism, copying someone’s homework, placing notes at our feet for a test, writing the answers to a test on our arms, or using a cell phone in the bathroom during a test to get answers. These types of acts now, if left unchecked, could lead to more serious issues later on in life like cheating on your taxes, stealing, adultery, or lying on a job application.

The Ophelia Project conducted a survey of our school and concluded that there is tremendous pressure here for every student. This pressure may cause honorable students to do dishonorable things in times of great stress. That is the most unfortunate piece to this analysis. When we succumb to pressure to do what we know is not right, what are we learning? Certainly, we learn nothing of value. Our character, reputation, and even our spirit are diminished every time we let this happen.

We will be examining this issue along with others in the coming months. Someday, these terms may have more significant meaning in our society. Hopefully, the students of this school will be the reason for that significance if the education they received here was of any value.

As I reflect on this topic, I am reminded of when my daughter was younger. She was in day care. I would either drop her off or pick her up everyday. What amazed me each time I was in the day care center was how the children interacted with one another. They did not see race, religion, gender, or socio-economic background. They never asked where someone lived or what their parents did for a living. They just played with one another. They smiled, had fun, and genuinely cared for each other.

In a very small way, their character was being developed. They were being taught to treat others with dignity and respect. They learned to not to judge others. They treated each other the same. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were the case with everyone in this world?

I wonder each day if I am instilling the values of character, honor and integrity in her so that she will be intellectually and morally capable of fending off the vices that will tempt her in her life. I share Dr. King’s dream. It should be the dream of every person of character, honor, and integrity in our society.