Character education? Look at the obstacles! No matter what you say, you'll be assailed by ACLU crazies or fundamentalists of one stripe or another. But suppose your mind is made up! You are determined to introduce deep thoughts into your classroom. Philosophical and spiritual thoughts, no less. I say, bless you. And here's a way to do it.
The Tao Te Ching is a seminal work in World Philosophy, World Religion, World Literature, World History, Asian Studies, and Chinese History. It may well be THE supreme multicultural document. Who would dare to criticize discussions of such a work?
Written (or compiled) almost 2500 years, the Tao Te Ching continues to fascinate intellectuals of all kinds. It is said to be the most translated book in the world, after the Bible. One site counts more than 125 English translations!
What, quickly, is its appeal? First, it's short. Second, it is not religious in any ordinary sense, being (many would argue) atheistic. Third, it talks about life and how to be happy. Note that Socrates in the Western world and the Tao Te Ching in the Eastern world were discussing the same topics at the same time!
When I first became curious about the spiritual life, I (like many others) used the Tao Te Ching as a point of entry. It is playful, elusive, wise, startling, counterintuitive and (as noted) carries no baggage from organized religion. I studied this little work for several years and wrote a number of articles. One of these I just added to Improve-Education.org (#18). If you need a quick, informal introduction, this essay is a good place to start. Half of it is quotations from my favorite translation, that of Witter Bynner.
You can find endless additional translations on Google. One in particular I'd like to mention, that by Ron Hogan. This is what might be called a loose or even hippie translation. I think it would appeal to more literary or iconoclastic students. I use the word hippie advisedly. These old Chinese monks were, to a degree, their era's misfits and nonconformists. Their message was: whatever you think you're seeking probably isn't worth having and, besides, you fool, you're going about it the wrong way! Taoism is closely allied, by the way, to Zen Buddhism, that other hotbed of paradox and poetical speculation.
And how does all this take us to more character development? Well, first, I'm not thinking of the Marine model where you do lots of things you may not want to do. That route has its place. I'm thinking of the model whereby people thoughtfully discuss life and how we should live it. That's what Philosophy (love of wisdom) was always concerned with. Problem is, as already noted, many forces work against substance in the classroom. But the Tao Te Ching (being arguably the most perfect multicultural and thus Politically Correct thing you can study) trumps all opposition. Asian Studies, anyone?
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