Earlier this week, I heard a story about members of a high school chapter of the National Honor Society who were faking the tutoring commitment they were required to perform. The commitment amounted to a total of 2.5 hours. Probably less than one day’s worth of time on their phone.
Last week, I read about a study out of Harvard that found that students were skipping classes, not doing the class reading, while at the same time the number of A’s had increased by 50%. Currently 60% of all grades given out at Harvard are A’s.
Speaking of grade inflation, a separate study out of the University of California investigated the increase of incoming freshmen needing remedial math. Thirty percent of incoming freshmen surveyed got the following question wrong: 7+2 = 6+?. What is even more startling is that when looking back at their high school transcripts the overwhelming majority of those students received A’s in all of their math classes.
Finally, last week the Head Coach of the University of Mississippi football team resigned his position, voiding his contract, to take a “better” position at a rival school. He bailed on his team while they were in the midst of a National Championship run. He then apparently lied about the process only to be called out by his former players that he abandoned.
All of these cases and sadly so many more like it speak to a lack of honor and integrity in our education system and by extension in our communities and country.
Honor often comes with an air of something that is rare or even unattainable but its actual definition is much simpler; “adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.”
So often we know what is right or wrong but dismiss dishonorable behavior saying, “everyone is doing it” or “it’s not a big deal.”
But it is a big deal and it adds up.
A student today uses AI to draft their essays. A Supreme Court Justice uses their clerks to summarize important briefs – rather than reading themselves.
A teacher follows the crowd by handing out A’s to avoid rocking the boat with students and parents. A member of ICE follows orders and separates families. A member of our military follows orders and blows up a fishing boat suspected of carrying drugs, killing a father, a husband.
To be clear, I am in no way equating these. There are degrees of dishonor. What I am doing is connecting them. We don’t magically become honorable as adults. We learn how to act honorably as children. Young adults learn from the examples in our culture and country. We strengthen our moral fibers by doing the right thing when we are young so we can resist doing the wrong thing when we are older.
Honor is not something to be placed on a pedestal or held up as something extraordinary. Rather it should be something as common as everyday acts of kindness. Imagine a world where everyone is just going about their days doing what is right.
Throughout my life, I have done more than my fair share of things that are wrong, a few even dishonorable. Things that I am not particularly proud of. In most cases, I knew so at the time. I felt what is called, “moral injury,” which is our innate sense that we have done something against our moral code. Like any other kind of injury, there are tried and true practices for healing. To actually make our moral muscles stronger. The worst thing we can do is to ignore it.
This is an excellent article on what we can do to address moral injury – for ourselves and others. Among my favorites are to “savor moral beauty” around us and “support the moral actions of others.”
More honor and morality in our schools and society is critical to building better versions of both.
It starts with having more conversations and then doing the right thing one thing at a time.
This Week’s Recommendation: I’ve been reading Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday. It’s a pithy but probing consideration of how we become wise, drawing lessons from two of my favorite wise people from history, Lincoln and Montaigne. Definitely worth a look. If you’re more into music, I just listened to a wonderful episode of Song Exploder, where another favorite of mine, Natalie Merchant, breaks down the making of “Sister Tilly’ as a tribute/elegy to the women who have come before her.
Consider sharing this with someone who could use a refresher on honor.