Podcast Summary

Podcast: Hillsdale College K-12 Classical Education Podcast
Episode: Cultivating the Moral Imagination Through Stories: An Introduction to Core Virtues
Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Scott Bertram
Guest: Gabrielle Lewis – Teacher Support Lead and Core Virtues Director, Hillsdale College K-12 Office

Overview:

This episode explores the relaunch and vision of the Core Virtues program at Hillsdale's K-12 office. Gabrielle Lewis explains how the program uses literature to foster moral imagination and the development of virtue in younger students. The conversation delves into the philosophical roots of the cardinal virtues, the program’s history, and how storytelling effectively shapes the character and habits of children in classical education settings.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Is the Core Virtues Program?

• Literature-based Moral Education
  • For grades K–6, using classics, fables, fairy tales, myths, poems, and biographies.
  • Focuses on age-appropriate selections that present clear and vivid images of good and evil.
  • Aim: To make virtues tangible and attractive, awakening the desire in children to pursue them.
  • “We believe that such stories have a unique ability to stir the imagination, to make virtues tangible and attractive, and to awaken in children the desire to pursue virtue for themselves.” — Gabrielle Lewis (01:47)

2. History and Development of Core Virtues (02:44 – 05:19)

• Founded by Dr. Mary Beth Klee in the early 1990s as a response to educational gaps in both content and moral instruction.
• Designed to run alongside the Core Knowledge sequence to fill the moral education gap with monthly focused virtues taught through stories.
• Hillsdale College took over the stewardship of the program in 2023-2024, aligning it with its classical mission and expanding resources to schools, teachers, and parents.
• “We have the honor of carrying the torch forward... and make it our own.” — Gabrielle Lewis (04:14)

3. How the Program Is Integrated and Evolving (05:29 – 06:49)

• Maintains the original mission, emphasizing Western tradition and the cardinal virtues.
• Expanded to include “secondary virtues” (like hope, perseverance, friendship) to illustrate how cardinal virtues manifest in everyday life.
• Adds support resources for teachers, school leaders, and parents.
• “We are also working... to provide resources and guidance for teachers, school leaders, and parents who wish to help children engage with stories and grow in virtuous habits.” — Gabrielle Lewis (06:28)

4. Connection to Hillsdale’s K-12 Mission (07:05 – 08:05)

• Core Virtues addresses the “culture” component of Hillsdale’s five focus areas in K-12 education.
• The program is fundamental to building the culture and moral character essential in classical education.
• “Core Virtues addresses that culture piece which is so central to the heartbeat and health of the school.” — Gabrielle Lewis (07:29)

5. Philosophical Foundation: Cardinal and Secondary Virtues (08:16 – 12:20)

• Draws from Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and early Christian thinkers.
• The four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, courage, and moderation.
  • Each rectifies reason/morality in specific ways.
• Secondary virtues act as approachable “species” or “subsets” for young learners—e.g., hope (courage in sadness), perseverance (courage in difficulty), friendship, kindness.
• This layered approach helps children grasp and practice virtue in concrete situations.
• “By discussing them all, we hope to give a full presentation of the moral life through moral action.” — Gabrielle Lewis (11:57)

6. The Power of Story in Moral Formation (12:33 – 15:04)

• Stories shape the moral imagination:
  • Provide a rich storehouse of images for good and evil.
  • Foster both vocabulary and emotional resonance.
  • Age-appropriate, beautifully illustrated literature used intentionally.
• Examples span myths, fairy tales, fables, biographies (Harriet Tubman, George Washington, Florence Nightingale, Abraham Lincoln), and poetry.
• “We choose stories that use vivid language that appeals to the imagination and draws on the passions.” — Gabrielle Lewis (13:17)

7. Why Literature and Poetry? (15:04 – 18:31)

• Literature and poetry are preeminent disciplines for teaching children to love what is beautiful, stirring both reason and passions.
• Good stories make virtue attractive and evil repulsive—much more dynamic than didactic moralizing.
• Memorable literary examples:
  • “We admire Bilbo’s courage in fighting the spiders...”
  • “We are inspired by Huck’s sacrificial love when he rips up the letter...”
• “Literature and poetry elicit emotional responses... while at the same time they hold up goods and truths for the judgment of the intellect.” — Gabrielle Lewis (16:44)
• Repeated encounters with virtuous actions in literature help ingrain healthy habits and intentions.

8. Implementation and Practical Use in Schools (18:34 – 20:17)

• The website is the hub for teachers, school leaders, and parents:
  • Background, book recommendations, virtues by book, discussion guides, and resources for school assemblies and classroom integration.
  • Schools can use short stories in class, books sent home, virtue-themed assemblies, and resources for conversations about virtue.
• “We want the website to be used to support their knowledge of the virtues as they read the literature, books, the biographies, and the poems within our program guide.” — Gabrielle Lewis (18:40)

9. Early Feedback and Cultural Impact (20:17 – 21:59)

• Newly relaunched for member schools as of June 2025, but already generates excitement among teachers and leaders seeking tangible ways to shape school culture.
• Broader community feedback notes appreciation for the approachable, non-dogmatic approach to virtue, and the quality of selected stories.
• Testimonial: “As recently as last month got emails from people just saying, wow, this is such a great resource. I have been looking for something like this. How do you pick your books? Can I help provide books?” — Gabrielle Lewis (21:15)

10. Accessing the Program and Resources (22:10 – end)

• All resources, blog posts, booklists, and further recommendations are at corevirtues.hillsdale.edu.
• The website itself models the beauty and visual standards taught in the program: “What you behold is what you become.” — Gabrielle Lewis (22:17)
• Blog and additional instructional resources are being added regularly.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the program’s heart:
  “We believe that such stories have a unique ability to stir the imagination, to make virtues tangible and attractive, and to awaken in children the desire to pursue virtue for themselves.”
  — Gabrielle Lewis (01:47)

• On the centrality of virtue:
  “Core Virtues addresses that culture piece which is so central to the heartbeat and health of the school.”
  — Gabrielle Lewis (07:29)

• On the function of stories:
  “Just like food, right? If we put food that is not necessarily good for us into our bodies constantly, well, that produces a certain kind of body... When we put ideas and stories into our minds, we want them to be good for us...”
  — Gabrielle Lewis (12:33)

• Literature’s emotional and rational impact:
  “Literature and poetry elicit emotional responses... while at the same time they hold up goods and truths for the judgment of the intellect. So it’s not just emotion, right?... It is in line with our reason, in our intellect, which make it make sense to us too...”
  — Gabrielle Lewis (16:44)

• On beautiful surroundings and media:
  “What you behold is what you become. And so we want our website just to be a little piece of that.”
  — Gabrielle Lewis (22:17)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction to Core Virtues: 01:33–01:47
• History and philosophical roots: 02:44–08:16
• Cardinal and secondary virtues explained: 08:16–12:20
• Power and selection of stories: 12:33–15:04
• Role of literature/poetry in moral formation: 15:04–18:31
• Program implementation and resources for schools: 18:34–20:17
• Teacher and community feedback: 20:17–21:59
• Accessing resources and closing: 22:10–23:21

Conclusion

The Core Virtues program at Hillsdale’s K-12 office represents a classical, story-driven approach to cultivating moral character in young students. Rooted in venerable Western traditions, it provides concrete, attractive images of virtue and guidance for both teachers and families, all delivered through the transformative medium of great literature. The program aspires not just to teach children about virtue but to shape their hearts and imaginations so they naturally desire—and learn to enact—lives of meaning and goodness.