Professor John Haldane, regarded as one of the World’s top 50 most influential philosophers, recently spoke at ACU on ‘Flourishing as an aim of education’.

He stated that virtue education and character formation had the potential to transform individual students and societies.

Professor Haldane said there was enormous interest in character education around the globe, with hugely oversubscribed model schools in the UK and US.

He said “Virtues like courage, honesty, compassion, self-discipline and gratitude are all habits you need to live a good life.”

Haldane, whom amongst many other titles, is Professor of Philosophy of Education at ACU, spoke of the growing global movement in character education as people begin to rediscover its value. He remarked that “This approach is still in its infancy in Australia, but internationally it’s been taken up with a great deal of interest.”

Hartford College is proud to be at the forefront of this approach, offering an integrated education in character development and the liberal arts – including philosophy.

We are immensely inspired to be part of this approach for the benefit of each student, their families and society.