The Greatest of the Gilman Five

The Gilman Five—Honor, Integrity, Respect, Humility, and Excellence—make up the fabric of our school community. These five virtues are an essential part of the school’s culture, emphasized at countless assemblies and in the classroom. Most students strive to embody all these virtues to become the best version of themselves and create a positive impact on their communities. However, while all these virtues are undoubtedly important, they are not all equal in students’ estimates. So, which of the Gilman Five do students value the most?

Most of these five virtues were relatively close in how essential students deemed them to be, but there was one clear winner. According to a poll sent out to the student body, Gilman students’ favorite virtue was Excellence, taking 37.5% of the votes. It makes sense that students at Gilman, one of the top schools nationwide, would take pride in their accomplishments and success. Carson Dodge ‘28 said, “If everyone tries to do their best in everything, we will most likely have good results in everything.” Perhaps Excellence is such an intrinsic human virtue, as everyone wants to strive to be the best. Many students also believe that by having Excellence, the other four virtues will follow.

In second place was Honor, taking roughly 28% of all the votes. This was somewhat surprising, as excellence seems to be considerably less emphasized by the school administration than some of the other virtues. For example, we have several honor assemblies every year, but practically none that talk about excellence. Liam Rivers ‘25 agreed: “I value Honor the most because I feel like it's one of the first virtues I learned and the most emphasized at Gilman.” Honor is certainly deeply cemented in Gilman, having both its own pledge and council. 

Trailing behind Honor were Respect and Integrity, obtaining approximately 19% and 15% of the votes, respectively. Believing Respect is the most valuable, Timmy Edwards ‘25 said, “It's the most evident when interacting with people.” Indeed, Respect is necessary for all interactions and plays a key role in building relationships. Somewhat surprisingly, Integrity—the quality of having firm moral principles and being honest—came only in fourth place. However, those who voted for this virtue had strong explanations as to why. Griffin Leonard ‘27 stated, “Integrity is foundational to all other virtues because it influences how we approach every situation. It…builds trust and helps guide us through ethical dilemmas, ensuring that our actions align with our principles.” While it did not receive many votes, these responses prove that Gilman students recognize the significance of Integrity. One possible explanation for this ranking is its similarity to Honor, which had a big advantage due to its prevalence in Gilman.

All four of these previous virtues did much better than Humility, which did not manage to achieve even a single vote. However, it was not because students thought the virtue was pointless. Instead, Humility just seemed to be overshadowed because the others were too important. Adler Spotte ‘28 commented, “I feel that it isn’t unimportant, but the others feel more important to me.” Unsurprisingly, 60% of students said they valued Humility the least out of the Gilman Five. As Liam put it, “I feel like it's not very emphasized at Gilman, and although I personally strive to be humble, it's not something I consciously think about in my day-to-day life.” Ultimately, while Humility is a great principle to follow, the significance of the other four outranks its importance.

Ironically, the virtue that Gilman students adored the most was quite divisive and surprisingly unpopular with many others. While Excellence led the competition as the virtue students cherished the most, it received 20% of the votes when students were asked which principle they thought to be the least important. Brody Carr ‘27 ranked Excellence as the least appealing, saying, “Excellence isn’t a value; it’s a standard, which might not be achieved even if someone tries their hardest.” Similarly, Gavin Root ‘25 believed failure is often necessary, noting that “losing causes reflection, learning, and growth.” While Excellence is a good thing to strive for, what really counts is the process and the amount of effort. 

While these five virtues are what Gilman deems the most important, students have their own opinions and other principles they feel would be a strong addition. When asked which virtue they would like to add to the list, Empathy was the most prevalent answer. Most believed understanding other people was vital to building connections and resolving conflicts. Other popular answers included Compassion, Gratitude, and Accountability. Not all students see the Gilman Five the same way. They all have different preferences and other principles they feel are important. Ultimately, while students may have different opinions on each of the Gilman Five, these virtues are great guidelines for all to follow, and they help mold this school into one cohesive unit.