Tending the Heart of Virtue
“Deprive children of stories and you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words. ”
Stories are powerful. They have the ability to shape our lives and change the way we think. Flannery O’Connor once remarked, “Stories have a way of saying something that can’t be said any other way. Here at Paideia, stories are an irreplaceable medium for shaping and forming the hearts and minds of our students.
In order to teach our students to love what is lovely and to acquire the virtues necessary to become leaders in our communities and cities, we use stories to awaken their moral imagination and develop their moral character. Great stories awaken the soul and provide a compelling vision of truth, goodness, and beauty through its characters.
As teachers, simply talking about morals and virtue is not sufficient for cultivating them. Instead, we stir their moral imaginations and reach their affections through reading and discussing great stories. I find it fascinating that the Greek word for character literally means an impression. In other words, moral character is an impression that is stamped upon the individual. Stories capture the meaning of virtue through vivid descriptions of the struggle between “good” and “evil” and where characters must struggle between “right” and “wrong” decisions.
Vigen Guroian captured this well when he wrote, “Virtue is the ‘magic’ of moral life for it often appears in the most unexpected persons and places and with surprising results.” Through story, students are gripped with the reality that moral living is about being responsive and responsible toward others. They are able to see the results of being “bad” and “good” through the choices of each character.
It’s through great stories that our students begin to associate the value of moral living in their own lives and the lives of others. Their hearts are nurtured and their lives are changed, all through the power of story.
