What do Fortitude, Justice, Gratitude, Prudence and
Temperance have in common? They are the
capstone virtues which are taught at a Public Charter School called Liberty
Common School in Fort Collins, Colorado.
A consistent, top ten rated school in Colorado run by former Congressmen,
the Honorable, Bob Schaffer who help establish this classical focused school. Mr. Schaffer is now the Headmaster and he
e-mailed me one day to ask if I would be interested in speaking on the virtue
of Gratitude with the students.at their Lyceum* which would include his 600
Middle and High School Students.
I was honored to be asked to do. As a Toastmaster, I was both fearful and
grateful for the opportunity. Fearful
because I knew these kids were good listeners and learners and they would be
listening with a critical ear. Grateful
for the opportunity and the experience of sharing the virtue of Gratitude with
these students.
It took several weeks to prepare, practice and polish my
speech. I knew I had a good formula when
I gathered stories and experiences that I thought would connect with the
students and be relevant to their lives.
I included a challenge and a call to action at the end of my presentation
that I thought would give the students something to think about and perhaps
even do.
I arrived on the appointed day a few hours early so I could
take a tour of the school and ask my student escorts lots of questions while
visiting the many classrooms we entered while the students were in session. There were lectures on History and English. In the practical Sciences I was impressed
with the 3D printers the students were working with to build a prosthesis out
of recycled plastics. I saw the
creative process in ceramics class and how it related the use of pottery in
antiquity. I was impressed with the
level of attention by the students even with my interrupting their class and
the amount of learning that was taking place. At the end of the tour I wanted
to go back to school because it looked and sounded enlightening and engaging.
After this visit it was my time to speak and so I did in
the school gym. My 12 minutes of
comments and a short Question and Answer session was fun to do. The elation from the experience was really
capped when Mr. Schaffer awarded me a school coin with the capstone virtues and
the school logo emblazoned on it as a token of the school’s appreciation for my
time.
The moral of this story is this. If given a chance to speak
to students, do it. It’s a humbling and
happy experience. And be grateful for the opportunity.
Here is my presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_phkhoil_Q
