Intellectual Virtues An Overview Today I hope to give you an overview of intellectual virtues, which is one of our core values as a school. (Get idea of level of familiarity). Many of these ideas I’m sharing are not my own, but have come from Phil or Jason Baehr, another IV guru who knows a lot more about this than I do! I’m learning, but I just want to go ahead and give the credit for much of what you’ll see here to them. Let’s get right into this by answering the question, “What are intellectual virtues?”

“Intellectual Virtues are personal qualities or character traits of a good thinker or learner.” J. Baehr Read quote. Consider traits of a good neighbor or a good citizen; not the same, but some intersecting/overlapping ideas. A person can be very knowledgeable about many things but lack IV. IVs are a part of a person’s “character—their dispositions to act, think, and feel—that pertains to thinking and learning.” ~Baehr Why is this important to us here at Rosslyn?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 Verses; changed from the inside out; help us have a well-rounded, balanced pursuit of Truth; sometimes described as “traits that flow from a love of truth, knowledge, understanding, or even wisdom.” We want to model how to honor God with our minds and teach our students to do the same.

LIFE-GIVING Teaching and Learning “…imparting foundational knowledge and critical intellectual skills...but ultimately as a matter of helping students become certain types of people.” J. Baehr I love the idea of life-giving teaching and learning! (Read quote.) This is where Rosslyn is already of ahead of the game—isn’t this why we’re here already???—to help students become certain types of people? This is described in our mission statement: we want our students to be people who use their God-given gifts for Christlike service in the world community! Quote from page 34? Let’s take a look at the 7 intellectual virtues we have chosen to focus on here at Rosslyn.

Rosslyn’s 7 Focus Virtues Intellectual curiosity Intellectual humility Intellectual carefulness Intellectual fair-mindedness Intellectual tenacity Intellectual honesty Intellectual courage These are the 7 we want to focus on here at Rosslyn. All of these are traits of how we think or learn. We’ll go into more detail on them in a few minutes, but if you haven’t yet read Phil’s books, Virtuous Minds, that would be a great place to start getting some deeper understanding of what these are. Something to keep in mind: Physical courage is different from intellectual courage; can be difficult for students to understand the difference. When trying to distinguish the difference, remember that intellectual virtues have to do with thinking and learning.

3 Dimensions of Intellectual Virtues Skill Motivation Judgment/Sensitivity Each IV has 3 parts—a skill set, motivating factors, and a judgment factor. As we look for these in our students, it’s important to assess in these dimensions—not the virtue as a whole; can provide more meaningful feedback for us, student, and parents; Possessing a virtue is NOT an all-or-nothing thing. Most of us possess these virtues in varying degrees—we aren’t looking for MASTERY of a virtue in students. We move more in that direction as God continues to work in our lives and we bear His fruit throughout our lifetimes! Skill: for each IV, there is an ability or skill specific to that virtue that distinguishes it from the others. Example: Curiosity—ask thoughtful and insightful questions vs. fair-mindedness—switch perspectives and consider different viewpoints Motivation: not enough to just have the skill, students need to be motivated to use them! Again, we’re motivated by the desire to honor God with our minds, but this also comes from a love of learning Judgment/Sensitivity: knowing WHEN to exercise abilities; some of this comes with maturity, but it can also be taught and modeled; example: conspiracy theorists tend to be open-minded to a fault; they practice open-mindedness when they really shouldn’t

Intellectual Virtues: Keys to Success We can’t assume this is just explicit instruction once or twice during the year; generally not subject matter over-and-above your normal activities Training! That’s my job, and I’ll be working with the initiative committee this year and into next to make sure we do that as well as we can. Good teaching. “It is less a matter of what one does than of how one does it.” IVs can be found naturally in many content areas; simply adding a phrase or two to draw out the concepts for students can help train them to do it on their own Work together! Share ideas, support each other: make use of the culture we already have here at Rosslyn. Don’t aim for perfection—in yourself or in your students! Seek to foster “meaningful growth.” Realize you might sacrifice some content in order to provide deeper, more meaningful and ongoing opportunities for your students to develop and practice the virtues. IT’S OK!!! Just try! “The very process of trying…to help our students become more curious, fair-minded, and intellectually courageous, can add significant meaning and purpose to our work as educators.”

“If I want my students to grow in intellectual virtues, I must also teach for deep understanding of the subject matter. Deep understanding is complex and demanding. It is hard to acquire. It demands high-level thinking and active intellectual engagement....learning for intellectual character growth requires an active and thoughtful engagement with the subject matter.” J. Baehr How can we begin to foster IVs in our classrooms even without explicitly teaching them? Read this quote, then think about it. (Give time.) This is a learning process for all of us, but it’s going to make us better educators and help us in the pursuit of life-giving teaching and learning. If you can start to make small changes (or improvements) in the way you teach, the cumulative effect is going to be great! Use the emails I’m sending for ideas, talk with each other and share ideas, ask me questions! I don’t have all the answers, but my job is to help you, so I will in whatever way I can.