ROCKPORT, Maine -
April 18, 2013 -
PRLog -- ROCKPORT, Maine – In an effort to strengthen and further its mission, the Greensboro Day School (GDS) has adopted the Institute for Global Ethics’ Ethical Literacy approach to enhance habits of ethical behavior throughout the institution.
The three-year approach was chosen because it was a “perfect fit” for the North Carolina school, according to Michelle Bostian, head of the counseling department at GDS and leader of the new ethics team. “Ethical Literacy is built on core values evident in our particular school culture,” noted Bostian. “It differs from a typical character building program because it’s a truly foundational approach rather than an add-on or a ‘one-size-
fits-all’ technique. It is unique in that it lets us know if we are indeed accomplishing our mission.”
GDS (http://www.greensboroday.org)
became aware of the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE) through its head of school, Mark Hale, who for many years had admired the ideas and writings of IGE founder Dr. Rushworth M. Kidder. After Mr. Hale heard Dr. Kidder’s keynote at the SAIS annual conference in 2011, he decided to bring IGE to his school for ethics training. That engagement began with an IGE introductory Tone-at-the-
Top™ seminar in August 2012, sponsored by GDS for area independent school leaders. Following this gathering, GDS formed an ethics team that held pre-training and practice sessions that included a group discussion of Dr. Kidder’s book, “How Good People Make Tough Choices.” These weekly discussions were held to thoroughly prepare the team for the launch of Ethical Literacy at the school in January of this year.
“One of the reasons why we chose Ethical Literacy was that we had been reading the criteria from the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) on how to be designated as a ‘school of the future for ethical excellence,’”
noted Ms. Bostian. “Although we would likely qualify on paper, we asked ourselves if we were actually doing what was needed to really establish a culture of integrity at our school. We saw the Ethical Literacy approach as an answer to our concerns. It is a comprehensive process that provides interpersonal transparency, supported by a common language. Unlike other methods, it is concrete and measurable, profound but clear-cut, using four simple paradigms that help us navigate through the tough choices we face when confronted by right-versus-
right ethical dilemmas.”
GDS’ initial ethics team includes staff and faculty from every level of the institution:
administration, upper and middle schools, kindergarten and first grade. Next fall, membership will also be open to students.
“Even though we’re only three months into Ethical Literacy, we are already noticing changes. Faculty members are beginning to use ‘right-versus-
right’ language and there’s a growing understanding that every problem is not just all one way or another, with only one right and one wrong answer,” remarked Ms. Bostian. “Our first goal is to help people realize that both sides of an ethical issue can be right which means we must have a greater respect for each other’s views and be comfortable with ambiguity. Above all, we are beginning to appreciate that the IGE approach is giving us a concrete framework to assess whether our school is indeed fulfilling its purpose to turn out graduates who will be constructive contributors to the world, which is, after all, our very mission.”
About the IGEFounded in 1990, with offices in Rockport, Maine, and New York City, the Institute for Global Ethics (
http://www.globalethics.org) is an independent, nonsectarian, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ethical action in a global context. IGE’s challenge is to explore the global common ground of values, elevate awareness of ethics, provide practical tools for making ethical decisions, and encourage practical action based on those decisions.
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