SJS News

Dr. David Hein, a member of the SJS Board of Trustees, retired professor, and Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, recently published a book titled, “Teaching the Virtues,” which he is putting into practice at Saint James School. 

The book, which features an aerial photo of the Saint James campus on its cover, is intended for teachers and parents alike and provides a roadmap for demonstrating how educational institutions can be more effective at teaching the virtues and helping students realize their best selves. 

In November, Kimberly Kingry, Associate Headmaster and Academic Dean, came up with the idea to launch a new initiative, the Virtue of the Month. Dr. Hein serves as the monthly guest speaker in Chapel, where he gives a talk that defines the virtues that are then intentionally integrated into our work with students. This initiative aims to guide our students in learning to embody these virtues through their daily actions in all aspects of life.

Mrs. Kingry asked Dr. Hein to lead this new initiative, but said the work on teaching the virtues goes back two years when Dr. Hein spoke on the subject at a faculty meeting.

“This has been an ongoing conversation that gained momentum and now we have arrived at a place where we're ready to do more direct teaching. While it’s valuable to infuse these ideas and concepts into our conversations, there comes a time when we need to be clear and direct with students and define these virtues for them." She added, "Dr. Hein initially offered to speak with the students, and he did such an excellent job of launching the initiative that he was given the responsibility of continuing this work and presenting all the virtues in a monthly Chapel series. I truly see this as an ongoing effort."

Dr. Hein pointed out that people learn through example plus practice, and this is no different when it comes to the virtues. Learning about the virtues at a high level is too abstract; students need specific examples of practical application. 

Dr. Hein recalled learning about courage as part of his fourth grade football team when they had a big game coming up against Calvert School. His coach explained, “being courageous does not mean not being afraid. It means going forward and getting the job done despite your fear.”

“I've never forgotten that, whereas I've forgotten many other things I have read and heard on the virtue of courage,” he said. “But what he did and what we're doing here is that he told us about courage within the context of our actual anxiety and fears about the football game. It wasn't some chaplain preaching it from the pulpit. It had context and immediacy. It was part of our actuality, our lived experience.”

In his November talk with Thanksgiving approaching, Dr. Hein kicked off this initiative with a talk about gratitude. He explained that though the term virtue may seem lofty and aspirational, in fact virtues are natural and grounded in action. Because of this, they can be taught and practiced in school. Using gratitude as an example, Dr. Hein showed that when we are thankful for the gifts of our community, we are inspired to be helpful, kind, and honest because we appreciate those qualities in others.

In December, Dr. Hein spoke about faith followed by hope in January. Each time, he gives students specific examples of how these virtues appear in their lives. 

“When I talked with them about hope as confident expectation, I gave the example of a student hoping the next term will go well,” he said. “But the reason you're expecting that is because you trust in your teachers to support you and put you in a place to succeed. And therefore, because you have this confidence, you have this expectation.”

In addition to learning about the virtues in Chapel, Mrs. Kingry is leading the faculty into carrying out this work in the curriculum. Dr. Hein points out that the virtues can be infused naturally into everyday learning.

“It’s easy to do it in a history class when instead of just talking about the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks and so on, you talk about what they did, and courage, and what courage means,” he said. “But let's say in mathematics—what if you have an experience such as mine which is that things don't always go very well, and you feel as if you're floundering and you're frustrated? What are some of the virtues there of perseverance and fortitude? You might not make that connection unless a teacher helps you make that connection. We need to bring to the forefront of the students’ minds the virtues, the character, and the moral traits that are important for success in a school like Saint James or in life.”

Dr. Hein spoke about love in February and doubled up with courage and prudence in March. He will cover temperance and justice in April while focusing on how to apply all of these virtues in May. 

“May will be the last month, and I will focus on practical application which is important for students to relate. I'll talk about the honor system and the virtues that come into play in relation to honor at Saint James,” he said. “All of the virtues are engaged when talking about the use of AI or when you’re writing a paper. The whole idea is to integrate the virtues into the students’ entire experience at school, and to develop our students, so they're living the richest, fullest, most dynamic, most fulfilled lives that they can.”

Rooted in the Christian faith, Saint James embraces the vital mission of nurturing the moral and spiritual character of our students. This calling demands not only instruction but also the active modeling of the ancient virtues in our daily lives. United in purpose, we can equip our students to become leaders for good in the world. 

“The virtues just go right to the heart of life. And what makes a successful life? What makes leaders for good? The virtues,” Dr. Hein said. “That's why it goes right to the heart of the mission of Saint James. I've really come around to the view that turning out students who are well rounded in terms of character is more important than getting into the most elite colleges.”

View Dr. Hein's book on Amazon.