What is meant by VIRTUES? We will ask ourselves many questions. The first question must be "what is the meaning of virtues?" as a word. And we will find that it means a good quality in someone's character or a formal morally good behavior. The second question is "how do people get this virtues or morals?" I think it depends on the surrounding environment. Also I asked myself "how it depends on the surrounding environment?" I found that virtues come from the television and also from the people that you live with and the people around you. I mean family or friends. It depends on how much good or bad they are. And one of the most important ways to get virtues is by reading. Because when someone reads, many times he will get different thoughts about different virtues. Also this person will become more open minded.

Rasha Ahmed, Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

Virtue is a great word and it has lots of meaning. When we mention virtue we remember morals. The word morals is a big one and it is full of meaning. Morals are in our life and we make moral decisions every day sometimes even without noticing. We do this when we are talking to someone older than we, or when we help someone.

But morals now are starting to decrease from our life, I mean that acting morally seems as if it is starting to fade out. Why are morals starting to decrease?

Maybe this is because now most of the two parents work, so they don't have a lot of time to teach their children morals in the right way. Or, maybe this is because most of people don't care to have a lot of morals, or maybe it is because morals are not seen as so necessary to be taught in the schools. It also could be because most don't work with their clients directly. I mean that many people don't care about having morals when they treat other people or in their work. Maybe morals decreased because lots of people became selfish, I mean they are only concerned about making money and securing their life and to make it safe. They lose their morals like honestly and telling the truth and all the other things.

We must find a solution to return morals back to their place and their importance like it used to be.

Assmaa Mohamed. Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

A virtue shows the goodness of a person. Being a good and honest person is the highest virtue. Being a good friend, classmate, or student is a virtue. Looking at myself and my friends, I would like to have the virtue of patience and calmness. I would even like to find patience in my friends. The main virtue is to care for the gift God has given us, which is LIFE—a person should know how to behave, read, talk, and spend his/her life.

Rabiya Masood, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lahore Pakistan

I find it very important to talk about:

A better world awaits those who are willing to love, hope, respect and care.

Nidal Alrabadi, Teacher, College De La Salle, Amman, Jordan

I read a story that I admired very much. This story helps to keep virtues, moral and good behavior. The story begins by a teenager whose parents were divorced because his uncles had a bad reputation and his father refused to come home. Then his mother married to another man, one whose work was illegal. After that, the boy and his father found themselves alone at home. His father married another woman, one who treated this boy very badly. This made him leave the home and take the street as his home. Finally, he went to his mother and lived with her and her husband for a while until she asked him to work with her husband. The boy felt that this was illegal, so he left his mother’s home and went to streets again. Then he started working in a garage.

After a while, his father found him and asked him for money to spend on playing cards. The boy gave his father the money to keep him away. He couldn’t stand doing this many times. So he went to his uncles who loved him and made him as their son. They asked him to work in stealing people and they started to make him do this work. But he refused to do this because it was immoral. He again returned back to streets.

There he found a man who was a great one and lived with him. And now he is a good person. He found a job and a place for living. All this is because he kept living according to his morals, virtues, and the good behavior.

Alaa’ saad el deen, Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

Virtues, virtues everywhere

All of them we share

We all respect, love and care

So keep your virtues strong and true

Cause they are the things that shape you.

Catherine Ritchie, Notre Dame Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts (USA)

This is a nice poem about virtues. But I disagree with one part. Not everyone in the world has respect, love, or care. Some are cruel, disrespectful, have hate and could care LESS about anything!

Rebecca, Memorial Middle School, Laconia, New Hampshire (USA)

The virtues you have shape you. How someone sees you and the virtues you have is how you present yourself.

Joshua, Memorial Middle School, Laconia, New Hampshire (USA)

Once, when I was reading a weekly magazine, I was attracted to a very strange story. It was a young man’s story. He was telling the readers his tragedy. He was about 17 years old and was addicted. He was suffering from bad luck. His parents didn’t take care of him. They didn’t teach him how to behave as a polite man who has virtues and morals. He stopped going to school because his father thought that it was better for him to learn his father’s craft and to assist him in his shop.

He found himself having leisure time and having lots of money without any obligations. He championed the bad guys. He started to smoke, then to drink alcoholic beverages, and then he started to take drugs.

At last, he regretted all that he had done. He also blamed his parents for not teaching him virtues and morals and he advised all his relatives to hold tight to their principles. Moreover, he advised all parents to take good care of their children and teach them how to become useful members of society.

Engy Mohamed, Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

To have virtues,

Is to know wrong from right,

To get virtues,

Is to be black or white,

The difference between virtues and vices,

Like the difference between truth and lie,

The same difference between earth and sky,

You must know the virtues' meaning,

You can't have it just by feeling,

To have virtues,

Is not to have anything,

If you do that,

You will be as the bill’s ring,

Ringing when anyone wants,

Not as you plan for your thoughts.

Rasha Ahmed, Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

Everybody in this life has a name. Each one talks and tells stories. Everybody has a heart that beats. The beginning of this beat is the main source of virtues and morals. Now we ask " what are virtues"?

We hear and see sometimes "This is a good man and this is a good woman who has good virtues, good morals." Then what are virtues?

It is time to know this little word which has a great meaning. We are going to search for the meaning of the word virtues. Although it is a small word, it has a great meaning, let’s try to take every letter and find out a meaning for it.

V: vote for your own feelings.

I: important source of information about life.

R: remember your good morals and behavior.

T: try make lie better.

U: understand the world with good morals.

E: enjoy your life.

S: search for good morals and virtues.

Virtues are the conscience of truth tellers, the conscience of strong spirit. Let virtues be the source of morals because virtues don’t mean only the words we mentioned before. For each individual they have a lot of meaning of their own. Virtue is the value of knowledge, value in realizing the future, the values that the son and the daughter can see in the eyes of their parents. Teachers also play an important role and teach us to love and respect.

Virtue is the only way to success. Virtue is the subject that must be discussed in schools and developed from fathers to sons. Virtue and morals must be in every person to have a good life. Whoever lives without morals and virtues has no life.

Marwa Mustafa. Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

Morals & virtues …. Two great words had a lot of meanings in different ways. Now in every society there is a lack of morals and virtues. But if we don’t know morals and virtues now, then when are we going to know them?

One of the virtues that must be in everyone in a good society is "VERACITY". This word has a big meaning which many people now ignore it. Veracity means: to be sincere with yourself first. And if you do that you will be sincere with all people who surround you. I have analyzed this word and would like to say what I feel …

So it means for me:

V: veridical [truthful] with yourself.

E: earnestness with other people own ideas.

R: remember when you lie in a day, you will be broken in the other day.

A: allegiance with yourself and people, so they will respect you.

C: candid with yourself and don’t show off because this may make you go on lying.

I: idealism must have a place in your life,

T: trust people and they will trust you,

Y: younger & younger you will be if you lie a lot.

Look at these simple words which have a lot of meaning. Now we must have this good moral in our lives and try to teach it to all of our friends and people we know.

Shereen Mohamed. Abbass Al Akkad Exp. Language School, Egypt

VIRTUES

we must correct our mistakes,

it doesn't matter how long it takes,

it takes long to change wrong to right,

but we must do it, we must fight,

if we do it, we will have the greatest reward

we will have the ability to change the world,

try it and don't be afraid,

try it and you will reach the gate,

the gate that will show you the right way,

the way that enter into your life the sun ray.

Rasha, Abbas AL Akkad EXP. Language School, Egypt

There is a growing concern that our children are caught up in the 20th century materialism to the detriment of character and that they are picking up values that place personal gain before ethics, integrity, or love. Many of them have little or no sense of faith or spiritual values in their lives.

Children are born with potential: their natural qualities can develop into positive or negative traits depending on how they are educated. We, as teachers and educators, are the spiritual guides that can transform their character. Virtue leads to spiritual growth. We can help children to applying values and virtues in their day-to-day behavior, support them in practical ways to set spiritual goals, and help them to learn to make responsible, moral choices. Self-esteem is a natural outcome of living by spiritual principles.

Ms. Afshan Haneef Khan, Al-Murtaza School (Teacher Snr Boys Branch). Karachi-Pakistan

A virtue is a feeling, option, belief, and thought about the inner and outer world. There are many virtues in the world, such as like friendship, responsibility, respect, loyalty and etc. Virtue is a feeling that helps a person to develop his or her character.

We were each a child who grew and become more visible in the world. If we respect children as individuals who have their own thoughts, emotions, and dreams, they will feel good about themselves and in turn they will respect us. This back and forth respect and communication bridges the generation gap.

We tend to lump children together as one

Homogenous segment of humanity more

Often that not because of their achievements

Seeing the individuality of adults rather

Than the uniqueness of each child.

For adults, children should be our inspiration to act as best we can. Growth is from both sides. The adult is the example and the child inspires he adult to be their best.

Children are impressionable and react rapidly to stimuli. Children, as individuals, need a general and personalized plan in their schooling so that they can develop their inherent qualities.

Beside academics, children need to learn practical skills and spiritual practices, which provide a foundation to live in society as useful adults.

Children learn best when they see adults

Around them modeling what they want

The children to learn.

Aamir Abbas Jivani, Al-Murtaza School (Snr boys Branch), Karachi, Pakistan

Virtues, virtues, virtues

What is a virtue

Is it obeying

Or anything you are saying

Is it moral goodness

Or people’s happiness

Is it courageous

Or to be ferocious

Is it good habits

Or playing with rabbits

Is it determination

Or speaking with hesitation

Is it to finish sorrow

Or a better tomorrow

Maybe yes maybe no

I’m fulfilled with thoughts

Hope I’ll know about virtues soon

Or I’ll go and watch Disney cartoons

Mirza Mohammed Haider Raza, Al-Murtaza School (Snr boys Branch), Karachi, Pakistan

Virtue strengthens a person’s character. Some of the virtues important to me are happiness, sharing secrets, helping others, and caring for your loved ones. If one is happy only then can he/she spread happiness and shower this world with all the glad things one can find. I think a loyal friend is the only kind of person who can lend understanding. A person with or without a friend, should try to be friendly, steadfast and honest and soon he /she will have all the friends he/she deserves.

Mariam Shahzad, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lahore Pakistan

Virtue actually means moral excellence or the good qualities a person has. No one is perfect. Everyone has something lacking in them which they would want to acquire. I also have something lacking in me.

As I always like honest people, I want to be honest myself. Honesty really means being fair to yourself and others as well. Being honest is the biggest virtue I can see in other people. An honest person is always respected. Besides honesty, I want myself and others to be respectful as well.

Respecting your elders is also a good virtue. If you respect others, others will respect you too.

Hajra Naveed, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lahore, Pakistan

Assalam-o-alikum dear friends. In my opinion, virtues are the goodness, the nobleness of a person. Virtues are something that cannot be false. They are inside your heart. One just has to feel them.

I believe that every person has some virtues inside them. I think I do too. I feel that I can understand people’s problems and feelings once I know about them. But sometimes I cannot react in the way I would like. I would like to be emotionally coo, but on the inside I am not. Due to this, many people might misunderstand me. I would like to build up the emotional strength in me even more, so I can express some of it as well.

I love to see people smiling, laughing, and enjoying their lives. Overall, I love happiness. Sadness is something I cannot bear. I would also like to enjoy my life as the people around me do.

The third virtue I possess is that I take relationships very seriously and expect that other people will do the same. If that does not happen, I do feel really sad about it.

Nayab Gilani, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lahore, Pakistan