Effective Ways To Teach Values Education
Introduction
“Wise societies, since the time of Plato, l have decided to make moral education a deliberate aim of schooling… to educate (not only for) character but intellect, decency as well as literacy, and virtue as well as knowledge (Likona, 12). Moral and ethical values are principles that are usually taught within the home at a young age, and continue to be nurtured as a child matures into an adult. In the past 20 years the United States along with the rest of the world has seen a change in the behavior and thought patterns of a new generation. There is an ongoing argument that these changes are happening because the children of our societies are more exposed to violence and sexual immorality now that ever before. Another argument is that personalism , or the rights and freedoms of a person’s individuality, has significantly increased since the 1960s (Likona, 9). In fact, Thomas Likona, who holds a doctorate in developmental psychology, says that any kind of constraint on a person’s freedom was perceived as intolerable (9).
The argument that seems to be the common problem of all the others is that moral and ethical values are no longer being taught at home and are not being taught or nurtured at school. When the educational system of the United States was first established it was based on biblical principals. The settlers wanted to preserve their way of life by teaching their children a belief system laden with values. Galatians 5:22-23 describe the fruit of the spirit which is the heart of the Christian value system.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (NIV)...
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... and skills it doesn’t mean that the understand the concept. A teacher has to promote learning these understandings as in in the same with value or character education (5).
Many systems use rewards systems and punishments to promote appropriate behavior. Society wants members who do what they do because there is an underlying sense of responsibility to do so (promoted by their belief system), not because they will be rewarded. Again Kohn emphasizes how educators use techniques, to teach character to children, that manifest a model that sees children as, “objects of manipulation (11).” When the education system decides that its goal is to change a student’s behavior by giving them a list of rules to follow (without an explanation as to why) it appears that they want to direct the student’s behavior instead of instilling in them why they should behave a certain way.
Discipline, the way to obey rules and codes of behavioral attitudes, using punishment to correct disobedience, an essential ingredient for “good” can be found within our childhood schools. At the start of Wes Moore’s school years, Wes Moore had problems with motivation to go to school and he would skip school with some of his classmates who skipped the same day. This lead to a lack
Jonathon Kozol writes, "Public schools in the U.S. do not exist to educate an ethical human being…Schools do exist to educate defeated, unprovocative, well-balanced human beings…". This statement is certainly true, but should public schools be required to teach students ethics and morality? I would argue that an education devoid of ethics and morals is detrimental to our society. Scholar Joao Coutinho writes in the Harvard Educational Review, "Education is either for domestication or for freedom…There is no neutral education."
One of the most pressing problems facing America today is our moral crisis. This problem is one that is related to many other social dilemmas. It has a correlation to our rising crime rate, drug usage, and a trend towards sexual irresponsibility. It is imminent for Americans to find a cure for this moral disease lest we are bound for chaos. In order to solve this problem we must first, as with any problem, determine the causes. One of the causes is the overall tolerance of things that are immoral. Immorality can be defined as anything that deteriorates the decency, honorable or artistic merit, and overall purity of things. Today our society is one that accepts this trait. Tolerance of music and television that is morally questionable and an overall acceptance of a growing trend of sexual irresponsibility. That cause is the one that is possibly the most challenging one to remedy. The antidote includes a change of the current American attitude towards immorality. Another cause is the decline of the American family. The way to rid ourselves of this causing factor is to promote a more traditional family and encourage sexual responsibility. A third source of the destruction of America’s moral base is the media, It is becoming a crude exhibit of America’s worst ethics. The remedy for this component of the problem is to more strictly regulate and censor the media.
For example, disciplinary punishment is used for reviewing our own actions by committing to personal change and training According to Foucault (1995), “The mechanics of training are to punish. Punish is to exercise because it produces a change and corrects an error” (180). The disciplinary power created a mechanism of control in institutions and can punish and reward in hierarchies. The penalties are used to normalize the behavior. For example, in school’s children are rewarded for their hard work and are disciplined. They are penalties when children do not do their homework. The students are able to learn from the penalties by completing all tasks on
Throughout the process of growing up, punishments and rewards clearly mark what we should and should not do. Whether it is being sent to time out for pushing a classmate or earning an allowance for cleaning the dishes, we are programmed to know the difference between good and bad. When
Without tradition of ethics, people would not be taught what to value. In the U.S., certain aspects of life are seen as more important, thus being passed through the family for all to cherish and learn from; however, some Americans are not happy with where this country stands in terms of what the people choose to render “valuable”. With 7 in 10 people saying that America’s morals have gotten worse over the years, 5 of those people will also bet that values will continue to take a downward spiral (Cohn). The broadness of this poll could very well be portraying any value, big or small. By “America’s values”, it could mean anything from as little as the style changes, to as big as respect for the government. One of the more effective representations of this negative turn is the influence religion has on the average American family. Atheism in this country has increased from 1% to 11% in the last 45 years. In this same amount of time, two-thirds of this country says the economy has gotten to be “uncontrollable, and on the wrong track,” (Cohn). These studies have exposed the values of the average U.S. citizen who is raising the next generation of beliefs. It is only them who c...
To begin with, we will explain the first level of moral development, which is preconventional moral reasoning. Children’s moral reasoning usually occurs at this level, particularly children who are “10-13 years of age...” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.”). At this level, moral values are influenced by external forces such as the authority; behavior of children depends by their judgments of their actions and direct consequences. “Behaviors that results in punishment are viewed as bad, those that lead to rewards as good.” (Berk 320). Children differentiate right and wrong in terms of what their authority (such as their parents) tell them what is right and wrong by either giving them rewards or punishments because of their behavior.
Thus, they will do things they aren’t supposed to do. However, if a child disobeys their parent’s rules, then the parents did not teach their child right enough; it is bad parenting on their part. If a child is raised right enough they will be able to recognize the right from the wrong. Children should be able to make the right decisions when outside the household where the parent will not be there to censor their child’s media. Every child needs to learn how to respect and obey the rules. Therefore, it is up to the parents to teach their children what is right and what is wrong and the consequences that come along with the choices they may make. There are many methods of teaching a parent can use to confront the children’s mistakes. For instance, corrective teaching is a five step process that combines clear messages with consequences. (Baker, p. 88). Educating children is the best way they can learn from their
Morals are defined as expressing or teaching a conception of either behaviour. Teaching moral values to a child are usually the responsibility of the parents. A parent influences a child at a young age, although as they mature they have the ability to accept or reject their traits. In the play, A Taste of Honey, author Shelegh Delaney illustrates the impact a parent has on a child, and how their decisions can affect the way in which they control their lives. Children are influenced by their parents and this is reflected in their behaviour, which is dependent on the morals instilled in them from birth.
The obedience and punishment orientation is the earliest stage of moral development and is also very common in young children; however, adults are also capable of expressing this stage of reasoning. In this stage, young children perceive rules to be fixed and absolute and that obeying them is a necessary means to avoid punishment (McLeod, S.A., 2013). The individualism and exchange orientation is the second stage of pre-conventional morality. At this stage, children take into account individual points of view and judge their actions based on how they serve individual needs (Cherry, K., 2014, October
Parents, who worry about the child’s future, attempt to set good morality on their child. Of course, as good parents, they want to educate their children to always choose the right decision.”Role models are highly important for us psychologically, helping to guide us through life during our development, to make important decisions that affect the outcome of our lives, and to help us find happiness in later life”(Thomas). Thomas advises people on how important role modeling is and how it can help adolescents find happiness in later life. “First, the use of role modeling as a teaching method in secondary education is assessed. Second, adolescents role models and their moral qualities are identified”(Sanderse). Sanderse implies that the moral qualities are identified as well as their role models. Morality may change due to the beliefs and culture, but the morality is set mainly by an adolescent's role
The methods and approaches to teaching values in the United States have varied over the last couple centuries. When early settlers arrived in America, village schools were established and religion, especially Christianity, was incorporated into the lessons.
For instance, parents need to feel in control and see their form of discipline is taking effect that exact moment. However, if adults focus on results rather than addressing the issue, they are ultimately setting their children up for failure. “Punishment usually stops misbehavior immediately, however, the long-term results are negative because we are often fooled by immediate results” (Nelson, 13). Furthermore, this could be the reason why punishment is so popular amongst parents because it’s almost immediate response to misbehavior and the authoritative power it holds. According to Nelson, punishment is used by adults because it’s easier, they know how to punish, or do not know what else to do. (22). As a society, people usually take the easiest alternative to accomplish a task but it may not always be the better, smarter, or more efficient alternative. Furthermore, when people do not know what to do, they stick to what they do know. However, parents need to think of the long-term consequences and take the time, effort and skills to use effective discipline. (22).
The aim of education is to prepare students as contributing members in a productive society. The essential core values of knowledge, skills, critical thinking capability, and citizenship help students grow into adults who contribute positively to the community. I believe that education’s focus on teaching content matter leads to the development of well-rounded knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, computing, thinking, science, and the social world in which we live. Specific content knowledge in these disciplines contributes to equity in education. Such knowledge becomes an internal asset for an individual and is priceless. Studen...
Parents, friends, and the media are great agents of the declination of today’s moral values in the youth that have caused a massive moral crisis which lead to the disappearance of the morals.