In the past few years, Livonia High School has read A Report to the Nation, Smart and Good High Schools by Thomas Lickona and Matthew Davidson. Using the information from the report, we have begun our journey of improving what we have already done well and becoming better at being a smart and good high school. We know we are a good school, but we want to be a great school. In a book called From Good to Great, the author talks about the fact that great companies place greater weight on character attributes than educational background. We do the same thing as parents when our child brings home a new friend. We probably never ask about the new friend's grades, but rather are they a good person.

What is Smart and Good High Schools?
Cicero worte, "Within the character of the citizen, lies the welfare of the nation." This report states that education has two goals as teaching our students content is only part of our responsibility as educators. The other part is teaching ethics, so that students leave the high school not only smart, but also good. In Smart and Good Schools, the report talks about two types of character; performance character (smart) and moral character (good).

What is performance character?
Performance character is not the same as performance as performance character enables us to pursue our personal best through such attributes as strong work ethic, self-discipline, positive attitutde and perserverance.

What is moral character?
Moral character makes sure we use ethical meants to achieve our goals and is needed for suffessful relationships with others. Moral characher includes integrity, showing respect for ones slef and others, being cooperative and demonstrating justice.

Why does a person need to have a balance of performance and moral character?
A person who has high performance character but low moral character may have high achievement, but may have cheated to obtain the goal. We have all read of instances when high ranking officials have faked credentials to obtain a position. A person who has high moral character, but low performance character accepts a situation where injustice is happening because they lack the perseverance or the knowledge of how to change a situation. Hence, we need students to leave Livonia High School with a balance of both performance and moral character.