William Damon 's The Death Of Honesty

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, a novel depicting success, provides different examples of how an individual can achieve success in every chapter of his book to show his audience that success, despite a variety of barriers, is in fact in our control. A very important chapter titled, “Marita's Bargain”, explains the flaws in today’s public school systems. He shows the problems with the solutions to fix them while showing the alternatives to the regular system such as the KIPP Program in New York. The KIPP Program (Knowledge is Power Program) is a new kind of middle school that selects students from less fortunate locations and uses unique teaching strategies to turn them around into fantastic learners. In the chapter, Gladwell is extremely descriptive by using visual words to paint the picture of the South Bronx in New York City. He describes the buildings that were built in the 1960’s as squat and bleak looking. Gladwell had an interest in this subject as it involves success, however he had no prior experiences to produce the piece. Gladwell establishes personal credibility through the use of knowledge, reason, and facts and figures. He comes across very knowledgeable on the subject presenting great data with excellent vocabulary. He is able to do this with no obvious bias as well. Gladwell shows authority because he is well known for writing novels that involve success. His intention is to teach and explain how schools need to change the length of vacation breaks

In the essay Plain Truth, James Chalmers believed that the colonies could not win a war against England, because Chalmers believes that America’s army is not strong enough to fight against the British. Chalmers recalls from Common Sense how it mentions that America has the largest disciplined army under the heaven, but if that is the truth, America wouldn’t need support from either Spain or French. Also, neither Spain or French would help America, because if they did, it would encourage their royal colonies to fight for their independence as well. America by its own power at this stage without the help of other countries would not be strong enough to be able to go against the British. Chalmer also mentions how common people would not fight

In “The Death of Honesty,” William Damon raises the concern that current apathy towards increasing dishonesty threatens democracy. In this essay taken from the online volume “Endangered Virtues ” published by the Hoover Institute in 2012, Damon initially concedes that there are situations where lying could be considered acceptable. However, with that being acknowledged, he transitions to his main premise that honesty is losing its importance in society and will lead to its downfall, and he cites examples in politics, law, journalism, and business in contemporary society where dishonesty is expected, and even, condoned. Damon finally directs his remarks pointedly at teachers and current students who accept cheating in schools. To persuade

Sissela Bok’s book, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life examines many aspects of moral and ethical influence, and the effects of lying, on individuals and corporations in various walks of life. Each chapter discusses a specific form that lying can take and describes how it intertwines with daily life. Bok’s arguments are grounded, in comprehensive research, tempered with a philosophical treatment, and rendered through the lens of critical thought. To ensure that readers are able to relate to the material, Bok employs social norming to make each chapter easier to grasp. To do this, each chapter is prefaced with two or three quotes, from a wide variety of sources that provides insight

The issues in this case study involve Melinda Smith, a veteran special education teacher, Derrick Yate, a student with behavioral disorder, Greg, the school principal, Barba Cole, the school social worker, Mrs. Yates, Derrick’s mom and Mr. Douglas, a general education teacher. Besides being a student with behavioral disorder, Derrick was low achieving and had developed a notorious reputation around school. According to Karen, one of the fifth-grade teachers, “Derrick has terrorized everyone”. Despites all the putdowns on Derrick, Mrs. Smith decides to take on the challenge to straighten his behavior.

Morality in its basic definition, is the knowledge between what is right and what is wrong. In Joan Didion’s essay, “On Morality,” she uses examples to show how morality is used to justify actions and decisions by people. She explains that morality can have a profound effect on the decisions that people chose to make. I think that morality is an idea that is different for every individual based on morals and background.

Yet, while Cunnion tries to promise a good appeal to ethos, her logos appeal lacks in its approach to actually providing more statistics and facts. She points out that “The primary message our kids receive is that they’d better be the best at everything, and this leaves them afraid to reveal their inadequacies and insecurities—and hiding behind the best version of themselves” (Cunnion). There is no sound evidence provided to support this claim, yet the reader is left to assume that kids are left feeling inadequate due to having to be the best at everything. There are an abundance of sentences like that throughout the article that makes claims with no support. Even the layout of the article can get a bit choppy while reading. Paragraphs jump back and forth from it’s the parents fault; to kids trying to figure out if “is who I am enough?” (Cunnion) back to it being the parents fault and then low and behold the ending has to do with the Word of God.

In “Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy,” author David Callahan explains the fundamental reasons for the decay of simple business ethics in today’s economy in order to meet bottom line standards. Callahan draws conclusions from everyday businesses such as auto mechanic services, law offices, and even professional medical firms to prove that people will almost always choose financial stability over integrity. The economic life in America has transformed itself into a vast land of professionals focused on achieving “lean and mean” businesses in efforts to achieve the “American Dream,” but in essence lose sense of their morals.

The Ways We Lie addresses the main topic of avoiding the truth promptly. Factions of lying, especially those not ordinarily considered deceit, are presented, and personal anecdotes as well as historical precedents magnify personal appeal along with logic. The purpose of this essay is to encourage people to abstain from dishonesty. For illustration, the author states,”I cannot seem to escape the voice deep inside

Keeping up a respectable reputation has been affecting people since 1692 and still plays a role in the current mindset. The Crucible, a nonfiction play, is an example of this exact scenario. Written by Arthur Miller, this play twists the ideas of humanity as a result of pride in the Puritans. In a sense, this scenario of how pride blinds reason is exactly like today’s society, because society is remarkably focused on individual wellness. The characters in The Crucible were blinded from the truth because they wanted to hide personal and degrading secrets. It is quite ironic how this example went to the extremes it reached, even with the Puritans. Alarmingly, this same thing is happening in today’s society.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines drug as, “something and often an illegal substance that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked change in consciousness.” As the definition states, drugs are normally thought of as substances taken that alter one’s state of consciousness that produces euphoria such as marijuana, heroin or cocaine. But what about behaviors that also produce euphoria such as eating food, having sex or playing video games? If the definition of a drug depends on a change in consciousness and the possibility of addictive tendencies, then why wouldn’t we include behaviors that produce a euphoria just like drugs? In this research paper, I will expand upon the definition of “drug” to include addictive behaviors, citing the similar chemical reactions these behaviors have on the brain and the human body. By exploring the varieties of addictive behaviors, I will point out the common side effects these “drugs” share. (Merriam)

Ohanian begins with the statement that encompasses her outlook on the curriculum and standards teachers are expected to teach which states "Teachers and curriculum being flexible enough to meet the needs of each students, not shoving every kid through some distant committee's phantasmic pipe dream of a necessary curriculum for tomorrow's workforce" (Ohanian, 1999, p.2). In this quote Ohanian says what school should be about and stresses the need for "oddball plans for oddball students". Throughout the book this point is supported with personal recounts and stories of interactions with students and the outcomes. The most key point of this book is that standards are unfair to children who do not learn the traditional way. Curriculums and standards are created by individuals who are not even in a classroom day to day whom Ohanian refers to as "standardistos". Therefore the importance of a nurturing, personal relationship suffers

Honest is the best policy. Della, main character in the Gift of the magi written by O. Henry and Madame louisel, main character in The Necklace written by Guy de Maupassant both lost something important to them by trying to take an issue on by themselves. Madame lousiel lost 10 years of her life working hard to pay off a necklace. Della cut off her hair (her most prized possession) To buy her husband a chain for his watch that he sold to buy her combs for her hair. All of this loss could have been avoided if the women had just been honest and upfront about their issue. Although the women's problems were very different, they both could have been resolved by being honest about it.

Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.

Although many critics within the academic world will oppose by saying that character and self-esteem are taught through academia, I firmly reject that stance as a child’s first point of contact in terms of socialization is at home, with one’s family and community. This means that a child is first taught, at home, the character traits that will help him excel regardless of the impact school has on him.