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Honesty:

Telling the truth and being worthy of trust, to have integrity; making sure your choices match your values.

“To make your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education.”
~ John Ruskin ~

Having good character means that we need to act in a way that is honorable, courageous, and compassionate. When you build a reputation of having good character people treat you with respect and admire you.

How can you tell if you are you are an honest person? Ask yourself these questions.

  • Do you steal or cheat others?
  • Are you truthful, sincere and straightforward?
  • Do you encourage others to make good decisions?

Being honest not only means that you are able to say yes to these questions but it also means that you are willing to be real. Honest people make wonderful friends who not only have the ability build strong relationships but also help to make the world a better place.

Service Learning Lesson Plans:

  1. Select an advertisement from a magazine or newspaper, or from radio or TV. Analyze it for honesty: Does it explicitly say anything you think is untrue? Is it trying to make you believe something that might not be true? Is it lying by omission, i.e. leaving out important information that would make a difference to you? Is it misleading in any way? Does it present any half-truths?
  2. Take any political speech (especially a campaign speech) and analyze it in the same way.
  3. What is a phony? How does dishonesty turn people into phonies? What does it mean when you say that a person is “real” or “authentic”? What does being “real” have to do with honesty?
  4. What is the relationship between honesty and trustworthiness? Write an essay exploring this relationship.
  5. Write an essay about a situation in which you were dishonest (lied, cheated, or stole). Why did it happen? How did you justify it? How did you feel about it at the time? Did it affect any of your relationships? Did it cause any problems for you? How do you feel about it now? What did you learn from it?
  6. Write a letter to someone in the news whose honesty has impressed you.