The Virtue of Honesty by Vincent M.

At the end of each school year, fifth graders at Archway Glendale are asked to write a speech about one of the nine virtues they have learned during their elementary education at Great Hearts. Today, we will explore the virtue of Honesty as written by rising sixth grader, Vincent M.

Honesty. The first thing that might come to mind is “not lying”, but honesty is so much more.  Honesty requires you to be true to who you are and choose to do the right thing. We received many lessons about honesty as we journeyed through our fifth-grade curriculum. Let me share a few with you.

In our literature curriculum, while reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, we learned a lesson about the virtue of honesty. Dickon, the poor farm boy was both truthful and honorable. Dickon is given delicious food by his mother to charitably give to Mary and Collin, two children who are growing healthier. Dickon chooses not to eat the food and instead remains true to who he is by giving the food to Mary and Collin. The food helps give the children strength and they grow to trust Dickon. Ultimately, his honesty helps him build a strong friendship with both Mary and Collin. Literature is not the only example we can draw from.

There are so many examples of honesty throughout history it was difficult to select just one. I chose Christopher Columbus. Columbus was an explorer who believed that the world was round when few other people agreed. Instead of lying about his ideas and keeping them to himself, he stayed true to what he believed and kept pushing his ideas. As a result, he convinced the Spanish Monarchy to fund his expedition and ultimately discovered what is now the Americas.  Without him the United States of America may not exist. Believe it or not, there are more examples of honesty at our very own school.

Here at Archway Glendale, there are many times when we as students, have a chance to show honesty. One of those is when a student forgets their homework, which I’m sure we have all done at least once. The student must admit to his parents and teachers about his mistake. We chose every time to be honest, even though it may cause us to get a code or even a lecture. Now you have seen examples of honesty from literature, history, and here among the students of Archway.

What about the importance of honesty as we move ahead to Glendale Prep? How will we continue to show honesty there? We will need to be willing to admit to our mistakes, stay true to ourselves and always do what is right.  If we exemplify honesty not only at Glendale Prep but also as we progress through other stages of life, we can and will find true friends, make the world a better place, and hopefully, remember our homework!

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org.