Discretion is the better part of candor
During World War II, the War Advertising Council created posters in America that read “Loose lips might sink ships.” The British employed a similar idiom, “Careless Talk Costs Lives.” The phrases were meant to convey caution, that unguarded or careless talk could undermine the war effort—either by inadvertently sharing information with spies that could be […]
Don’t be true to yourself—tell yourself the truth
To be honest in all things also means being honest…with ourselves. But that’s a tricky phrase, and we must be careful about what it means. Today, we often hear people say that you must “be true to yourself”—a paraphrase of Polonius’ advice to his son in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.” The problem […]
Honest in all things? Or just the big stuff?
One thing you may have noticed about the Honor Code’s commitment to honesty is that it demands that we be “honest in all things.” But surely that cannot be right. What about the little lies, that don’t do anybody any harm? If the ball bounced twice in foursquare at recess, but nobody noticed and I say it […]
The value of honesty?
Our Honor Code starts with being “honest in all things.” One might say that it embraces the spirit of the famous words, popularized by Benjamin Franklin, that “honesty is the best policy.” As it turns out, however, that phrase first appeared in the writings of Sir Edwin Sandys in 1599. Sandys was a member of […]
Make others better
There is a danger in recognizing, as we did yesterday, that true honor—adherence to what is right—has little concern for the opinions of others. The danger is that it could cause us to regard the Honor Code as a purely personal, even private matter. But an honor code belongs to and is lived out in […]
Pursue honor…the kind that matters
We’ve been talking about the Honor Code, but what is honor anyway? You’ve probably heard the word used in one context or another: The National Honor Society for high-achieving high school students; the command to honor your father and mother; someone who receives honorable mention in a competition. But what exactly does it mean? Well, the dictionary […]
Living Out the Honor Code: From Words to Action
So, our Honor Code is a statement of the ideal CCA student, written down to be constant and unchanging. All well and good—but what exactly are we supposed to do with it? Writing it down or even reciting it doesn’t make us more honorable—it might even turn us into hypocrites if we say it, but […]
Our Honor Code, for now and all time
Yesterday, we observed that the Honor Code defines the ideal—it describes a true CCA student. But have you ever wondered why it is called a “code”? I mean, it’s not like we have to translate jumbled letters or secret symbols in order to break the cypher, like some kind of game on the back of a cereal […]
A “No true Scotsman” Honor Code?
We recite the Honor Code each morning. It is an important reminder of our purpose here. But you may have noticed something peculiar about it. The Honor Code begins with the words: “A Columbus Classical Academy student is…,” and even includes being “honest in all things.” It doesn’t say that we should be or aspire to be those things. But if […]
To step up…or be buried?
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into an old, dried up well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out how to save him. Eventually, the farmer knew what he had to do. So, he invited all of his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed […]