Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Gratitude is a Virtue


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.
*A Lyceum, it is a hall for public lectures or discussions usually held in a gymnasium the original near Athens where Aristotle established his school

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