Character and Virtue Fromation is at the Heart of Our Program for Struggling Young Men at Beartooth MT Ascent

American youth culture is the grip of a huge crisis. The crisis is in the area of Character or virtue formation. One does not have to look far to see this reality in living color. Just watch some reality TV on MTV if you need a current birds eye view of the state of this crisis

"Society is corrupted precisely through the want of Christian education." -- St. John of Kronstadt

Concerned parents trying to steer their children safely through the moral chaos of today's world may be encouraged by increasing signs of a shared concern. From the Wall Street Journal to Reader's Digest, voices are calling for a halt to the moral degeneration of our society, whose number one victim are the youth. After reporting yet another horrifying case of juvenile crime, the Washington Post concluded: "The depth of the problem has reached a point where common decency can no longer be described as common. Somewhere, somehow...the traditional value system got disconnected for a disturbing number of America's next generation." (Excerpts from article titled "Youth: A Crises of Character" at Othordox America http://www.roca.org)

An enlightened commentary on the subject was made by Senator Dan Coats in a lecture published by Hillsdale College (Imprimis, September 1991). He cites the findings of a commission of educational, political, medical and business leaders who met to examine the problem of American children: "They issued a report called Code Blue..,[which]...made an essential point: the challenge to the health and well being of America's youth are not primarily rooted in illness or economics. Unlike the past, the problem is not childhood disease or unsanitary slums. The most basic cause of suffering, the report concluded, is profound self-destructive behavior and belief. A crisis of character."

What brought on this crisis? "Ultimately," Says Senator Coats, "the crisis of character which afflicts our youth has roots in our intellectual culture....We have seen the development of a militant relativism....Stabilizing beliefs have disappeared. What should we expect but moral confusion? 'We laugh at honor,' in C.S. Lewis' words, 'and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.'

"Second, our pervasive culture has set itself against moral restraint and virtue. Children are witnesses to more than 10,000 murders on television before the age of 18. It should be no surprise when some actually kill. MTV provides an unending diet of seductive ,sexual images. It should be no shock that one in ten teenage girls gets pregnant each year. Rape, aggression and violence are excused or encouraged by some rap music. It should be no wonder that kids caught for rape and murder show no remorse....Culture has consequences."At the root of the problem, says Coats, lies an absence of any "countervailing nourishment for the spirit."

Churches and families have traditionally been the principal moral educators and character builders of society, but families are disintegrating and the authority of churches in affecting private morality has been overshadowed by the prevailing climate of moral relativism, in which youth are indoctrinated through our secular humanist system of education. Coats points out what frustrates many Catholic & Christian parents: "When schools contradict home-taught morality by preaching relativism and 'value free' decision-making, they can do irreparable damage to young minds. Teaching nothing at all on the moral agenda is preferable to inculcating a rootless relativism.''

In an effort to reverse the tide, some schools are experimenting with "character-education" programs, which stress values such as honesty, responsibility, respect, dedication, perseverance, self-respect. Former Secretary of Education, William Bennett, is among those recommending that children be exposed more to "the moral imagination embodied in great literature": Crime and Punishment, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord Jim... works which expose the workings of moral reasoning, the consequences of sin, the necessity of virtue. However, a real, lasting solution can only be built on an absolute value system.

The modern Greek Orthodox philosopher Konstantinos Georgoulis emphasizes the need of ethics being brought into essential relationship with the Christian faith. "Religious upbringing must strengthened not only in schools, but also outside the schools." .The failure to do this "has resulted barbarization and beastialization." The first place our orientation in life must be given to God. We must not forget, says Georgoulis, the words of the Russian poet Pushkin: "Whoever gives to God the second place gives Him no place at all." (Cavarnos New Library, Vol. II; IBMGS 1992)

Character Education That Is Authentic And Modeled By Adults Who Live The Virtues Themselves Is The Key To Our Effectiveness

AT Beartooth Mt Ascent we find that the young men get the most out of our character education because our character education activities hang on these three secrets.

Get Real: Many educators, assigned the task of teaching character education, put on character “clothes” and use character “speech” in class, but teenagers can spot a phony a mile away. Phonies trigger the radar alert. Troubled teens and struggling young adults quickly see that their character education teachers are counterfeit men or women of character. They respect neither the teachers nor their character education lesson plans and character education activities. Why should they?

We choose our staff and train them to recognize that “your personal character must be genuine when you teach at-risk teenagers and young adults. When you explain integrity, troubled teenagers should be able to nod and say, “That teacher is a clear example of integrity. He himself adheres unwaveringly to a strict moral code. His character is whole, not divided. He doesn’t change from situation to situation. When character education lesson plans focus on responsibility, teens should have to admit, “Our teacher’s a first-rate role model of responsibility. She always prepares lessons thoroughly. She knows her job and gives it her absolute best.” Whatever character traits you teach, exercise them yourself.

Get Attention: We all know that teenagers and young adults spend a lot of time thinking about issues that are “hot” to them: dating, sexual intimacy, teen pregnancy, sports, drugs and alcohol and run-ins with the law. Grabbing attention with hot issues is an excellent way to make character education effective – if done right.

Get Trustworthiness: Trust is difficult to build with struggling teenagers and at-risk young adults, but easy to lose. Ask teens to explain a character education teacher’s trustworthiness and they should say something like, “She’s absolutely dependable. I’d feel perfectly safe putting my confidence in her.”

At BTMA we generate trustworthiness in our teaching and witness of good character traits. The at-risk teenagers and young adults are be able to depend on what we teach. They know that we base our character education lesson plans on absolute, not relative values. They know that we mean what we say – that we won’t back down.

We believe that we as models of Godly Character should hold and teach strong, clear convictions. Our Staff have the courage of these convictions, making sure students can trust us not to waver.

At Beartooth MT Ascent we get the young men’s attention by introducing good character traits in a way that is real and relevant to their lives and experiences. This combined with the lived examples of the staff and mentors they work with everyday, makes these character traits contagious.