“Character, not circumstance makes a man.” Booker T. Washington – Character

Transcript

Steve Fouts: 0:05 

Hey everybody, Steve and Dan Fouts here. We are teaching different with 19th century author and social reformer, Booker T. Washington, with a quote about character. Here’s the quote, “Character, not circumstance, makes a man.” A short quote that is filled with words that you’re going to want to circle and talk about before you get into the three-step conversation method. The words are character and circumstance, and what it means to make a man. That’s talking about success. Circumstance, or the things that happened to you, the environment you find yourself in, and character, which is more of an inside world, how you feel about yourself, and whether you’re making good decisions or ethical  choices when you’re in control. 

I think control is actually a good way to talk about this, because the students are already developing their own sense of identity and they’re noticing that their friends and peers are going through different things than what they’re going through. They consider some students lucky because they don’t have to go through some of the difficulties that they have to go through. They’re seeing their peers react differently to different things that are happening to them, and they don’t know the best way to react in certain situations. 

Dan Fouts: 1:53 

Some come from families of poverty, and they see people sitting next to them in class who are from wealthier families. They’re thinking about how other people are different because of their upbringing and their families. This is something that I think is in their consciousness.

Steve Fouts: 2:15 

But, it hasn’t developed yet. They’re getting used to the inside and the  outside world. Let’s go into the claim that he’s making. 

Dan Fouts: 2:27 – Claim

I think Washington is taking an angle that if you look at success in life, and where you end up, that it’s going to be more dependent on your, using his word, character, or your personality, attitude, and the choices you make, rather than the environment you grow up in. Growing up we’re told that we can achieve anything, we can overcome anything, and I think that’s what this quote is suggesting, that no matter what, you have within your control what you need to be successful in life. 

Steve Fouts: 3:06 

Maybe the more difficult your environment is, the greater you might be able to become. It’s almost an opportunity. Washington would think of it as an opportunity, and he has a lot of credibility. 

Dan Fouts: 3:21 

He really does. In this conversation, here’s where you can ask the kids if there was a time when they had a bad circumstance or something bad in their environment, but were able to overcome it because of the way they thought, their attitude.

Steve Fouts: 3:44 

Then have them process how that made them feel to be able to persevere,  and to have the grit to overcome something. Getting that student to really get in touch with that feeling of power after those moments. I think that is  really important. 

Dan Fouts: 4:03

They might bring up examples of famous people; rags to riches stories of people who’ve overcome their difficult upbringing to become successful. Many kids might take that route. You might want to ask them directly if they know any famous people who have achieved great things despite  their difficult environment. 

Steve Fouts: 4:26 

Another thing you might want to do is talk about their attitude toward their  peers who they see as lucky, who haven’t had to go through adversity. How do they view that person? 

Dan Fouts: 4:44 

Without getting personal. You don’t want to create any kind of discomfort  in the conversation. They could speak generally about it. I think that would work.

Steve Fouts: 5:00 – Counterclaim

Let me take the counterclaim. It doesn’t matter what your character is on some level. It doesn’t matter how good you are at overcoming obstacles, how positive you are as a person, or how you have a growth mindset, sometimes your environment is just too much, and it makes it impossible for you to flourish as a person. You either have to get out of that environment somehow, or you’re going to become a part of your environment. You’re going to be someone who can’t overcome a situation and you shouldn’t be blamed for that. 

Dan Fouts: 5:49 

I’m thinking of an example of growing up in a very difficult environment, that’s poor and suffers from violence. No matter what, you’re going to grow up with a certain attitude towards life. That environment is going to ultimately be what shapes your capacity for being successful. 

Steve Fouts: 6:15

I think a really good way to keep the conversation going about the counterclaim is to get the students to think about the other parts of success, and what makes someone successful. Is it only your character, or is having a good teammate, or someone around you that helps inspire you just as important as anything else? Get them to really think about the different parts of success. What would make someone successful? 

Dan Fouts:

…or a supportive family or things that are beyond their control that contribute to their success. That’s a good angle to take here. What we’re doing with this conversation is we’re getting students to reflect upon what they control and what they don’t control…

Steve Fouts: 7:13 

…and how each has an impact on their success. 

Dan Fouts: 7:16 

That’s really important for them to reflect on. 

Steve Fouts: 7:22 – Essential Question

Here’s an essential question we can use to wrap up the conversation. Do you have control over your own success? 

Dan Fouts: 7:36 

A curriculum connection that immediately came to mind here was the  revolutionary period in U.S. history. The colonists were under the control and dominion of England. Their circumstance was one of being  dominated, at least from their perspective, but they realized that they had control over their own destiny, and decided to rebel to create their own government. If you had this conversation about character and circumstance before introducing the Revolutionary War, the kids could better appreciate what the colonists had to go through to achieve their success. 

Steve Fouts: 8:33 

For a connection to the younger crowd, there are plenty of books that talk about perseverance and grit, and characters that go through journeys where they have so much to overcome. They come to the realization that drawing upon their inner strength was what made the difference. It wasn’t about the outside world. It was the insight, the hero’s journey. There are a couple curriculum connections. 

We hope you enjoyed Booker T. Washington. Don’t forget to visit our Conversation Library to listen to more conversations and to find resources that make having these conversations in your class possible. We will be back next week with another quote and theme for our conversation. Take care  everybody. Bye.