The issue of whether or not schools should be responsible for teaching ethical and social values is a contentious one. While each side has its strengths and weaknesses, I believe that school should be responsible for teaching values, because the primary role of the school is to prepare students for adult life. Furthermore, schools are best equipped to teach values, and many values are universal and can be presented in a neutral, open-ended manner.
First, schools have a clear mandate to prepare students for adult life. In school, students learn how to read, write and perform arithmetic, because these are vital skills for functioning as an adult. Likewise, students study history so that they can learn from the past and participate in society. Values are just as important (as other skills), so values must be taught and learn in school like we do with other skills.
Some values like stealing, murder, kindness etc, are universal and therefore should be taught in school. Since these values ultimately have a significant effect on one’s adult life and on society in general. For example, someone who regards stealing as acceptable will have a much different life from someone who regards stealing as unacceptable. Moreover, one’s values regarding stealing will greatly affect society. So, given the importance of values, schools have a responsibility to teach them.
Few values are already taught in school. For example, we all know school already have rules for general student conduct and most class room have rule as well. Those rule are related to certain values even if those values are not explicitly discuss they are implicitly enforce and as such already been taught indirectly. Since these values are taught indirectly, why not teach them directly.
Schools are better equipped to teach values, since the teachers are professional educators. Who have been trained to facilitate learning? If school were responsible for teaching values then effective curriculum could be created to further facilitate learning.
Teaching values thus not necessarily means teaching one set of values. It could means that exposing student to value issues and then letting them to decide what is right and wrong. It is useful for student to discuss the value issues early in the educational environment rather then have child to confront the issues for the first time later in the life and not know how to respond appropriately.
Many people believe that teaching values is the role of parents. It is one of the primary duty/responsibility of parents toward children. But on the other hand some parents don’t teach the values to their children or they teach the values poorly. We also know that some parents don’t demonstrate the values they teach. Therefore because of all this reason I believe that school should teach them. Even though the values were taught in the school the parents can and should be involved in the process.
Some may argue that if schools were responsible for teaching values, then some teachers would impose their own beliefs on students. This point is flawed, since teachers can always impose their values regardless of whether or not schools are responsible for teaching values. Moreover, if teaching values became the domain of schools, then a formal curriculum would help prevent teachers from imposing their values, since teachers would then be given clear guidelines regarding the ways in which values must be taught.
In conclusion, schools have an obligation to prepare students for adult life, they are best equipped to teach values, and they can prevent values in a neutral, all-inclusive manner. For these reasons, schools have a responsibility to teach ethical and social values.
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