How Character and Wisdom Affect Young Leaders, with Dr. Tom Harrison, Director of Education at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham

This episode features a conversation between Dr. Scott Parsons, Character Education Integrator for the Military Program at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Dr. Tom Harrison, Director of Education at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham.

Dr. Harrison’s specialist interests include character, cyber-wisdom and the internet, character education and virtue ethics, and youth social action and citizenship education. He researches, publishes and gives presentations in the UK and internationally in these areas. He also develops resources and training programmes for schools, the voluntary sector and other organisations. 

In this episode of On Point and the West Point Association for Graduates ‘Character Cut’ series, Dr. Harrison talks about how he coined the term ‘cyber-phronesis,’ its relevance at West Point in training young leaders, and the models he came up with for cultivating character in children. He also talks about his most recent book that focuses on how to cultivate character in your children so they can flourish online.

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“The path to full wisdom is never really completed. I don't think any of us can say that we're ever fully wise in kind of a moral sense, mainly because new situations and challenges come at us all the time. Look at the number of new quandaries and dilemmas that just living in the digital age has thrown up and et cetera. But it is considered that, you know, we hopefully become more wise over time.” - Dr. Tom Harrison

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Episode Timestamps

(01:47) Introducing Dr. Tom Harrison

(02:44) About Tom’s book, Thrive –how to cultivate character so your children can flourish online

(06:25) Coining and defining cyber-phronesis

(08:58) The relevance of phronesis at West Point

(10:11) Phronesis in a combat setting

(10:55) Explaining the ‘thrive’ model

(15:10) Using the ‘react’ model as a young leader

(18:54) Virtues in Tom’s life

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Links

Dr. Tom Harrison Twitter

Dr. Scott Parsons LinkedIn

West Point Association of Graduates

On Point Podcast