Teaching Moral Values in Schools
Teaching Moral Values in Schools
Introduction
Pornography! Premarital sex! Lying! Cheating! Drugs! Shoplifting! Stealing! High school pregnancies! What is wrong with all these things? Based on the values that are being taught in most schools to today’s children, nothing. Many teachers believe that students involved in these activities are just making bad choices out of the many choices they have. How can children know that George Washington was the father of their country but cannot tell the difference between right and wrong? A large percentage of schools used to teach about values such as integrity, respect of others, honesty, obedience, and responsibility. Today many teachers teach that anything that is considered acceptable is all right. They believe that in order to make moral choices, the children do not need values. But, what are moral values?
Webster defines moral as: “Relating to, dealing with, or capable of making the distinction between right or wrong conduct… something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically desirable… having to do with right and wrong in conduct” (Merriam-Webster [MW], 2006, para. 1). And, it defines values as: “The social principles, goals or standards held accepted by an individual, a class, a society, etc.”(MW, 2006, para. 1). It seems fair to boil the definition of moral values down to: beliefs and personal opinions about what is right (honesty, ethics, truth) conduct, and what is wrong (dishonesty, falsity, harmful) conduct held by individuals and held collectively by socially cohesive groups of individuals. Teaching moral (or character) values to children in school, from an early age, will enable them to achieve greater success in all areas of life.
Teaching Moral Values in School
What would happen if these moral values were taught in the schools again? A school in California teaches good character (respect, honesty, compassion, responsibility, perseverance) during every activity at the school to over 600 students from pre-k
Introduction
Pornography! Premarital sex! Lying! Cheating! Drugs! Shoplifting! Stealing! High school pregnancies! What is wrong with all these things? Based on the values that are being taught in most schools to today’s children, nothing. Many teachers believe that students involved in these activities are just making bad choices out of the many choices they have. How can children know that George Washington was the father of their country but cannot tell the difference between right and wrong? A large percentage of schools used to teach about values such as integrity, respect of others, honesty, obedience, and responsibility. Today many teachers teach that anything that is considered acceptable is all right. They believe that in order to make moral choices, the children do not need values. But, what are moral values?
Webster defines moral as: “Relating to, dealing with, or capable of making the distinction between right or wrong conduct… something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically desirable… having to do with right and wrong in conduct” (Merriam-Webster [MW], 2006, para. 1). And, it defines values as: “The social principles, goals or standards held accepted by an individual, a class, a society, etc.”(MW, 2006, para. 1). It seems fair to boil the definition of moral values down to: beliefs and personal opinions about what is right (honesty, ethics, truth) conduct, and what is wrong (dishonesty, falsity, harmful) conduct held by individuals and held collectively by socially cohesive groups of individuals. Teaching moral (or character) values to children in school, from an early age, will enable them to achieve greater success in all areas of life.
Teaching Moral Values in School
What would happen if these moral values were taught in the schools again? A school in California teaches good character (respect, honesty, compassion, responsibility, perseverance) during every activity at the school to over 600 students from pre-k
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