Learn about 9 foundational intellectual virtues.
Gain practical insight to test in your own classroom.
Learn the mindset of educating for intellectual virtues.
Discover new ways to form your students' growing minds.
Explore principles & tips to optimize student performance.
Grow as an effective teacher or administrator.
Written by Jason Baehr (Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University; co-founder of the Intellectual Virtues Academy of Long Beach; author of The Inquiring Mind: On Intellectual Virtues and Virtue Epistemology).
Cultivating Good Minds is a comprehensive resource guide for educators who are passionate about having a deep and lasting impact on the minds of their students.
Spanning 562 pages and 34 chapters, the guide presents both the philosophical principles and practical strategies at the core of an intellectual virtues approach to education. Special attention is given to 9 foundational virtues — curiosity, autonomy, humility, attentiveness, carefulness, thoroughness, open-mindedness, courage, and tenacity.
1. What Are Intellectual Virtues? 16
2. Why Educate for Intellectual Virtues? 26
3. Objections to Educating for Intellectual Virtues 44
4. Curiosity: Asking Good Questions 57
5. Intellectual Autonomy: Thinking for Yourself 70
6. Intellectual Humility: Admitting Your Limitations 79
7. Attentiveness: Looking and Listening 93
8. Intellectual Carefulness: Avoiding Errors 104
9. Intellectual Thoroughness: Going Deep 117
10. Open-Mindedness: Thinking Outside of the Box 126
11. Intellectual Courage: Taking Intellectual Risks 139
12. Intellectual Tenacity: Embracing Struggle 150
13. Framing Principles 164
14. Purpose 185
15. Culture 204
16. School Leader 223
17. Teachers 234
18. Other Stakeholders 245
19. A Virtues-Based Advisory 258
20. A Safe and Supportive Classroom Environment 274
21. Strategic Use of Time and Space 291
22. Direct Instruction 305
23. Self-Knowledge 336
24. Value and Meaning 351
25. Integrating Virtues Language Into Instruction 362
26. Creating Opportunities to Practice Intellectual Virtues 373
27. Deep Understanding 391
28. Ongoing Feedback 407
29. Authentic Modeling 423
30. Intellectual Therapy 436
31. Mission Mindfulness 451
32. Risk-Taking 460
33. Motivation and Feelings 474
34. Identity 485
A. Varieties of Character: Moral, Civic, Performance, and Intellectual 497
B. Two Classifications of Intellectual Virtues 513
C. Intellectual Character Education: Roles and Responsibilities 519
D. Assessing Intellectual Character Growth 524
References 543
Acknowledgements 556
About the Author 562