I recently attended my sister's National Honor Society induction ceremony, in which the guest speaker spoke about the characteristics needed to become a National Honor Society student. The guest speaker was David Hartberg, who is the CEO at the Cresco Hospital. His speech was very good and informational, and he incorporated multiple subjects into his lecture, while connecting everything to the six pillars of character. Character Counts has become a nation-wide theme in many schools, and I thought this would be a great time to talk about the six pillars and what Mr. Hartberg had to say pertaining to them.
The six pillars of character counts are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. In schools, it is not all about being the best student and getting the best grades. You need to be a good person as well, one who avoids bad situations and one who overall has good character. So, what does it mean to be a person of good character? In connection with David, a student with good character will behave the same when no one is watching, as if they were around an adult figure. The six pillars are not just words that are thrown out there. A good student must display these qualities and not just say they possess them. Teachers and people in the community will be able to tell if a student has good character by their background and the way they have handled themselves and acted over the course of their lives.
In essence, Mr. Hartberg talked about each one of the pillars individually and explained what they meant and talked about how they can be demonstrated by students. The students being inducted were obviously viewed as students with strong character and strong ethic and moral beliefs. Of course good grades are a part of the induction process, but good grades are worth nothing if you are not a good person. When I was in High School, character counts was a big thing and I understand each pillar to great extents, but David went deeper into each pillar and connected them to life and how it can be a great asset if you are viewed as an individual with good character. Everybody should do their best to try and live their lives with strong ethic and moral beliefs and always ask themselves if they are adhering to the six pillars of character. To summarize, Mr. Hartberg did a great job in acknowledging the characteristics of character counts and explaining what it took for the students to get inducted into their school's National Honor Society.
