The Knights of Lincoln is a citizenship project that will engage a core group of 15 at-risk students in book study and activities intended to decrease the occurrence of negative behaviors, while developing models for students to become upstanders (citizens who choose to do the right thing and influence others to do the same). During weekly meetings three Lincoln staff members will use the book, Rules for a Knight, as a basis for introducing students to a model of core beliefs that can be learned and practiced and expressed throughout the learning community. The project will integrate activities that include field trips for team-building and personal growth as well as community outreach events. The main goal of the project is to decrease the occurrence of negative behaviors in our most at-risk population by introducing, teaching, practicing and normalizing a model of core beliefs. These core beliefs are gleaned from letters purportedly written by Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke to his children in 1483 prior to being killed in battle. The letters were later chronicled by his heirs and eventually published by Ethan Hawke in a book entitled Rules for A Knight in 2010. The secondary goal is to spread the ideas and beliefs of the writing by creating a group of upstanders (The Knights of Lincoln), students who model citizenship and foster interpersonal growth.
