Thomas Lickona Quotes

Character is the sum of one's good habits (virtues) and bad habits (vices). These habits mark us and affect the ways in which we respond to life's events and challenges. Our character is our profile of habits and dispositions to act in certain ways.

Good character consists of knowing the good, desiring the good, and doing the good habits of the mind, habits of the heart, and habits of action.

Character consists of the moral awareness and strength to know the good, love the good and do the good.

Children are 25 percent of the population but 100 percent of the future. If we wish to renew society, we must raise up a generation of children who have strong moral character. And if we wish to do that, we have two responsibilities: first, to model good character in our own lives, and second, to intentionally foster character development in our young.

One's character is one's habitual way of behaving. We all have patterns of behavior or habits, and often we are quite unaware of them. When Socrates urged us to Know thyself, he clearly was directing us to come to know our habitual ways of responding to the world around us.

We need to be in control of ourselves - our appetites, our passions - to do right by others. It takes will to keep emotion under the control of reason.

Character Education helps to create an environment for caring and learning in schools.

Morality is not a spectator sport.

Manners will become important to children only if they are important to their parents.