‘Summer School of happiness education’

    

National Archives

Grand Lodge wants to send us to summer school.

Joining the Happy Few, the Band of Brothers of Arizona Lodge of Research 1, the Grand Lodge of New York has entered the partnership with Arizona State University, which works with the National Constitution Center, in offering “What the Founders Meant by Happiness: A Journey Through Virtue and Character” online course. It is free of charge and it’s open now, so get started and work your way toward the certificate by clicking here.

According to ASU:

ASU

This course provides learners of all ages with a deeper understanding of what the Founders meant by happiness and why they considered it essential to both personal fulfillment and self-government.

Drawing on the lives and writings of the Founders and their successors, classical Greek and Roman philosophy, and Enlightenment thought, learners will explore how happiness was understood as the pursuit of virtue, character, and self-mastery rather than pleasure or comfort. Through close engagement with primary source texts, letters, speeches, and philosophical works, participants will examine how key figures of American history, such as Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln grappled with the virtues—and vices—that shaped their private lives and public actions.

Learners also will develop the skills to think historically and philosophically, analyzing how ideas about virtue, reason, and moral responsibility informed the American experiment in self-government.

Each module includes primary source readings, interpretive essays, and guided reflection activities designed to connect historical ideas to contemporary questions about citizenship, character, and the common good. This course is entirely self-paced, allowing learners to progress on their own schedule.

Created in partnership with the National Constitution Center This course is based on The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America, written by Jeffrey Rosen, CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. It combines Arizona State University’s Principled Innovation framework with the National Constitution Center’s deep scholarly expertise and longstanding commitment to constitutional and civic education. Together, these perspectives equip learners of all ages with a richer understanding of American history and the enduring values necessary to sustain a constitutional democracy.