Character Teaches Over Our Head By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every morning students arrive at school with only one thing on their minds: how much longer until they can leave. Forced to look at white walls and white boards with blank, empty expressions, imagine a school where these miserable government subjects of a harsh educational experiment could feel human again. In Education by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he discusses how humanity can be put back into classrooms and that the ideal form of learning should allow children to be enthusiastic about school. Emerson believes that self-education is the most proficient way to create academic success. His idea of a personal, yet rigorous, learning environment should be implemented throughout Appoquinimink School District by altering the curriculum, modifying

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."

One might believe that honesty is one of the building blocks of a society and is what initiates trust between people; furthermore, the Victorian era was a time period in British history where rules and morals appeared to be strict. The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, a nineteenth century author who was one of the most acclaimed playwrights of his day, is a play set in the Victorian time period that demonstrates how trivial telling the truth was. Different characters throughout Wilde’s play establish their dishonestly through hiding who they really are and pretending to be someone whom they are not. In an essay titled “From ‘Oscar Wilde’s Game of Being Earnest,’” Tirthankar Bose describes the characters from The Importance of Being Earnest as playing games with one another, which is a result of the deceit that was present in the play. Although the Victorian time period is a time characterized by strong morals and values, The Importance of Being Earnest proves this notion to not apply to telling the truth and ultimately questions why truth is not valued in the Victorian time period amongst other strictly upheld values. Honesty is not valued throughout the play because some of the characters felt to need to appear as if they represented the strict morals that were common throughout the time period.

During the Great Depression, it was not uncommon to become morosely secluded while working. Men would go far away from their families in search of any jobs they could get, with only themselves to confide in; colleagues only filling in the void of friends and family partially. Naturally, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written during this period, would reflect this fact as a major aspect of the story. Loneliness would become the sinew of Of Mice and Men, manifested in some of the story’s main characters: Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. These allusions to loneliness are found throughout the book, mimicking the rampant disease of isolation at the time.

During the nineteenth century, American schools have caused a raise of differences towards the method of educating students. In his essay, “Education”, an influential American thinker and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson recommends the parents to take in consideration for their children’s lives by creating a better teaching in which the students can learn/imply the basic fundamentals on their strive for success by doing it on their own. Emerson emphasizes his claim by encouraging a teaching method that children use their “naturel” by utilizing paradox, metaphors and analogy.

his profession as a pastor in search for vital truth and hope. But his father

In Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the human condition shared by all in his uniquely “Emersonian” perspective. Perhaps one of his most effective works is Experience, an essay on a subject of which Emerson had much “experience” and personal grief. To fully appreciate Emerson, the reader must closely analyze his writing, with both its obvious meaning, and the experience with which he’s writing.

In this essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson describes his view of an ideal education. What are its defining characteristics?

Often regarded as the leader of the Transcendentalist literary movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that the individual must look inward to find truth and knowledge. He emphatically stressed that one must practice self-reliance: the ability to trust one’s intuition and not conform to societal standards. Through the use of strict form, powerful imagery, and a wise tone, Emerson’s poem “Intellect” urges us to stay true to ourselves by refusing the practice of blind obedience.

Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay entitled “Self-Reliance” is a short piece covering his view of society and moral standards. His erroneous view of the latter shapes the way he thinks and writes. Consequently, not all his statements can be taken as legitimate, but he does make a few points that are parallel to the Bible. Primarily, he agrees with a Biblical worldview on matters such as the fear of man and nonconformity, but deviates from the Bible on moral standards of right and wrong.

The difference between "character" and 'intellect" is that character is based on moral reasoning and conduct whereas intellect is the understanding of moral reasoning and decision making. Being intelligent due to a higher education does not teach people to have strong morals in society. The application of what you learn intellectually to strengthen you character is what is important giving you a good moral standing in society and towards others. In the case study called The Disparity between Intellect and Character, Robert Coles was challenged by a sophomore who brought the realization to the professor of how intellectually people may be extremely smart but their education does not teach them how to be good citizens but depletes the content of their moral character. The difference between “character” and “intellect” is evident in how you apply your morals even though you may have a higher education. The character of a person with morals and scruples, knowing the difference between what is right and wrong is as he indicates "equated with moral conduct". The irony of the question posed by the student to Coles when she says "I've been taking these philosophy courses, and we talk about what's true, what's important and what's good. Well how do you teach people to be good? And she added "What's the point of knowing good, if you don't keep trying to become a good person." The question about character and moral reasoning is more important than the intellect which is

Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, though morality is subjective, in today’s society it is predominantly agreed upon that someone who is of good character has certain qualities that contribute to their decision making, trustworthiness, and intelligence. I previously mentioned prudence, which is the ability to govern oneself by the use of reason to make good judgements that allow you to avoid troublesome situations, which allows one to face the adversities of life while only encountering necessary risks. This is the ultimate show of genuine character, those who can judge for themselves and aren’t afraid to admit their faults, or

What is character? Character is something that is hard to explain. It is who we are, the way we act, and the kind of person we truly are and want to be. Character is what you are in the dark. But if character is the kind of person you are when no one is looking, then why does it matter? Character matters because even when we think no one is looking, they are. People are always watching us and the way we behave and many will look to us in admiration and inspiration, so it is our job to constantly be a role model of good character. A couple of ways that we can show our character are through gratitude and respect, but we can also look up to others, such as Benjamin Franklin, as role models for good character.

Intelligence, wit, judgment, and the other talents of the mind, however they may be named, or courage, resolution, perseverance, as qualities of temperament, are undoubtedly good and desirable in many respects; but these gifts of nature may also become extremely bad and mischievous if the will which is to make use of them, and which, therefore, constitutes what is called character, is not good.