New York Times columnist David Brooks explains why the individualistic, “Victorian version” of character—with reason restraining passions—is “clearly … bogus” this March at a School Leaders Roundtable hosted by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.

“If this version of character as self-restraint worked, then New Year’s resolutions would work, and they don’t,” Brooks told dozens of educators from a variety of schools—public, private, religious and others—working to develop character in students across the United States.