George Washington learned character at an early age because of his father. Among other things, Augustine saw to it that George was mentored in penmanship, and at the same time, CHARACTER.
George learned the “110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation” by practicing his penmanship. This became an important part of George’s youth—learning character traits that he valued all his life.
After seeing the results of our last Presidential Election, I am all the more convinced that teaching character is now the most important educational topic that our schools should now be involved in. In athletics and sports, good sportsmanship is taught by the coaches and P.E. instructors. I propose it now needs to be taught as a part of the English curriculum, or in history, or as a separate course.
After writing my blog post about our Vice President Elect, and how he was treated by the cast of Alexander in New York, I was sent an email from a friend that originated from Maureen Dowd. She wrote about extensive background on Mike Pence, our VP elect. It was really well written and eye opening. Until that sad evening, I had wanted to go see the Broadway play. No longer!
Can you imagine if James Monroe, the lieutenant in charge of the cannon with General George Washington’s troops that crossed the Delaware River in December 1776, hadn’t been rescued by a medic when he suffered life-threatening wounds in the Battle of Trenton? If he hadn’t survived to become the fifth President of the United States of America we wouldn’t have the Monroe Doctrine.
When things were getting rough in the Colonies, there were a few men who stood up for things they believed in. It started with Patrick Henry in his speech as he was first elected to the house of Burgesses. Thomas Jefferson, his friend, listened in at the door of the Capitol in Williamsburg, as Henry made his speech, from notes written in the flyleaf of Jefferson’s loaned book!
For years I have presented classes, speeches, and presentations about the Founding Fathers of our United States of America. I love to do it. I suppose during one of my speeches, I had become a little too enthusiastic and bombastic. One attendee came up to me afterwards to tell me as much!
General George Washington, leader of the Revolutionary War, was worried about his troops during the Winter of 1777-78, as they were camped for the winter at Valley Forge. He turned to prayer.
In 1863 there lived a young, penniless widow in New Hampshire named Sarah Hale. She established a popular magazine called “Godey’s Lady Book.” In her “book” she wrote some columns, some articles, some editorials, and even some recipes. (Reminds you a little of Benjamin Franklin and his “Poor Richard’s Almanac” doesn’t it?)