Do Right!

We need to teach students to “Do Right!”

I have a friend, Ross Worsham who was a national championship quarterback for the 1-AA Georgia Southern Eagles under the famous Coach Erk Russell. He said that he went to camp his freshman year for his first “speech from the coach” and fully expected a long list of rules. What he got was two words written on a board “Do Right.” Coach Russell even underlined them for emphasis.

Coach Russell went on to tell them that all other rules were tied up in this one and if you weren’t sure if it was right or wrong that you shouldn’t do it – it was probably wrong.

This is a great lesson to teach students. Nowadays, many people have subscribed to the Kantish philosophies of relativism. We have done this to the point that we are afraid to teach kids that there is a right and wrong.

You cannot have rules without understanding that there is a right and wrong. It is right to follow the rules! It is wrong to hurt another person!

Do Right! I think I'll teach that one!

Tags: Erk Russell, Georgia Southern, Ross Worsham, Erk Russell, Kant, education, morals, blog, blogs, daily, daily life, journal, life, religion, weblog, thoughts

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis is a full-time classroom teacher and IT Director in Georgia, USA. She is Mom of three, wife of one, and loves talking about the wise, transformational use of technology for teaching and doing good in the world. She hosts the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast which interviews teachers around the world about remarkable classroom practices to inspire and help teachers. Vicki focuses on what unites us -- a quest for truly remarkable life-changing teaching and learning. The goal of her work is to provide actionable, encouraging, relevant ideas for teachers that are grounded in the truth and shared with love. Vicki has been teaching since 2002 and blogging since 2005. Vicki has spoken around the world to inspire and help teachers reach their students. She is passionate about helping every child find purpose, passion, and meaning in life with a lifelong commitment to the joy and responsibility of learning. If you talk to Vicki for very long, she will encourage you to "Relate to Educate" or "innovate like a turtle" or to be "a remarkable teacher." She loves to talk to teachers who love their students and are trying to do their best. Twitter is her favorite place to share and she loves to make homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls and enjoys running half marathons with her sisters. You can usually find her laughing with her students or digging into a book.

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