Elizabeth Cady Stanton – Honesty
“Truth is the only safe ground to stand on.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Big Idea
Honesty is a character trait to which most people aspire. With honesty comes trust and respect from others. Without it comes fear, suspicion and betrayal. Students face daily ethical choices over whether or not they should pursue the path of honesty or embrace deception.
Claim
Here Women’s Rights Movement activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton stakes the claim that truth is the only reliable path in life. Truth gives us stability, something to rely on in the midst of confusion and uncertainty.
Counterclaim
Lying, though, also keeps us safe and out of trouble. Telling the truth actually creates more headaches for us sometimes.
Essential
Question
Should we always tell the truth?
Student Video
“The Twelfth Night” – Honesty
The plot of the popular Shakespeare play Twelfth Night is based entirely on deception. I would use the conversation with Elizabeth Cady Stanton on Honesty to lead a discussion with students post readi ...
Native American Testimony – Honesty
The Elizabeth Cady Stanton conversation on honesty asks students to question not only the moral basis for honesty but also its worth. Is honesty always safe? Is it always “the best policy”? Does i ...
The Things They Carried – Honesty
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a meta-fictional novel that redefines truth-telling. The narrator layers factual “happening-truth” with “story-truth,” where he re-imagines, exchan ...
Primary and Secondary Sources – Honesty
To teach students the difference between primary and secondary sources, I like to use a fun game like “Telephone” to show how information gets warped and changed as it passes through many ...
Login with Google