Teaching Morality
In The Night is Dark and I am Far From Home, Jonathan Kozol writes that "The first goal and primary function of the U.S. public school is not to educate good people, but good citizens." (1). He implies that the public school has no function but to turn out people who will vote, pay their taxes, and follow the nations laws without protest. If this is so, and I believe that it is, should the philosophy of the public school system be changed to produce morally upright individuals? I believe that schools should try to produce the best people they can. Many people argue that morals should be taught at home, but that isn't good enough. Some say that good citizens make good people, but I say that that isn't the case.
Many
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Still, a back-up plan is needed. So the question remains: if parents aren't available or able, to make sure that their children grow up with a good strong moral foundation, who will?
The only answer that truly makes sense is school. For six hours a day, five days a week, 180 days a year, children are forced to spend their time in a classroom. Teachers are with their students sometimes more than the children's parents are. These adults that are entrusted with the education of our youth during their most formative years are in a position to exert a tremendous influence. We should take advantage of that, not shun it.
Some people argue that if schooling teaches a child how to be a good citizen, then being a good person will take care of itself, as if good citizenship begets a good person. This isn't necessarily the truth.
"The rougher kids called him 'a pinko,' 'hippie,' 'garbage,' 'Communist,' or 'faggot.'" (Kozol, 129)During much of my high school career, while I was never called anything like that, I was not very popular. I had friends who I was very close to, but I was never one of the people in the midst of the social whirl that can be found at any high school. I didn't go to parties, I seldom, if ever, went out on dates, and the only time that I mixed with the popular crowd was in class, if we had group work.
The issue of morality is a touchy one. Morality is defined as the values of a person or society of what is right and what is wrong. Each person’s sense of morality guides them in their actions and making decisions. Morals are very important because the actions of each individual can lead to consequences that can affect other people. Only by living by our morals can we maintain our sense of humanity and compassion for others, and be happy in ourselves.
In Chapter 1 of Spring, the author discusses the goals of public education and whether or not those goals have been met. The chapter is divided into sections. These sections include Political Goals of Schooling, Censorship & American Political Values, Courts & Political Values, and Political Values & State & National Curriculum Standards. Each section the author makes a claim about public education.
After reading the introduction and first chapter of The American Dream and The Public School, I don’t know whether to be more encouraged, more determined, more excited to be a teacher in a time where the future of public education needs strong student advocates, or to be terrified as I am reminded of the ever-growing disparities for children based on their socioeconomic standing, race, and ethnicity. Though strongly backing the project II topic my group presented in explaining how those who are morally educated well become better, more productive members of society, the authors of these chapters reminded me that for all the lip service Americans give to this topic, they do little to back it. I certainly agree that a good educational base generates
The belief that morality requires God remains a widely held moral maxim. In particular, it serves as the basic assumption of the Christian fundamentalist's social theory. Fundamentalists claim that all of society's troubles - everything from AIDS to out-of-wedlock pregnancies - are the result of a breakdown in morality and that this breakdown is due to a decline in the belief of God. This paper will look at different examples of how a god could be a bad thing and show that humans can create rules and morals all on their own. It will also touch upon the fact that doing good for the wrong reasons can also be a bad thing for the person.
Morality is defined as a system or code that we humans use to differentiate between right and wrong. This system could be derived from a number of factors: religion, culture, and upbringing. It is difficult enough to determine what an individual's morals are, but going further to determine how we came to possess those morals is even more ambitious. Still, regardless of its difficulty, this subject consumes many philosophers and psychologists. One such moral psychologists, Jonathan Haidt, is theorizing the possibility of evolution causing ones morality. Haidt is a moral psychologist at the Universtiy of Virgina further believes that complex social structures such as religion and politics as well as our need for social structures affect
Gatto argues against education’s true threefold meaning: 1. To make good people; 2. To make good citizens; and 3. To make each person his or her personal best. With all the failure developing in the United States, could these goals possibly be true? Gatto quotes H.L. Mencken’s The American Mercury to further his argument of the shade that education throws over a child’s mind: “The aim is… simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level…” In other words, Gatto is calling out the current flaw of American education: the fact that the entire system is standardised so that a mass-produced generation of children grows up to become ignorant, unresourceful, and wonted.
The question of morality is objective or subjective has been arguing for centuries. People who hold different perspectives stand on different sides. In this paper, I will exam this issue with my own finding in a University in China. I found lots of college students show lots misbehavior and poor in-class performance on campus in the University I teach. Students show misbehavior such as put trash in the wrong place, smoke in public area, drink alcohol in dorm, physical fighting, and etc. Student show poor in-class activity such as lose attention to their instructor, playing phone during class time, in-class chatting, sleeping, reading (non-course
Morals, values and ethics define who we are and what we believe. Culture, religion, and many other things affect our beliefs. One uses various types off ethics when surrounded by different groups. Knowing between right and wrong is a good foundation to practicing good ethics and morals. These things make morals, ethics, and values important in society.
lthough today's society includes much technology and new things are supposedly being discovered every day, many age old questions still remain unanswered; questions such as: "Can virtue be taught?" This question is examined in detail throughout Plato's Meno, and although the play leaves the question as to what virtue is unanswered, Socrates attempts an answer to Meno's question. Although he is not particularly keen on answering whether virtue can be taught without first having a complete understanding of what virtue is, he attempts to please Meno by solving this in the way that geometers conduct their investigations, through a hypothesis. Socrates states that if indeed virtue can be taught then one thing will happen, and if it
What does education mean if ethics is sacrificed for academic gains? As Aristotle once said, “educating the mind without the heart is no education at all”. Not to mention, ethics is the key in shaping moral identities in people, especially students. This essay examines the importance of teaching ethics to students and the challenges that come with it. Educating students on ethics can minimize academic misconducts, guide students to become self-reliant in decision-making and attain wisdom. Yet, less experienced teachers, ignorance towards the importance of ethics and the increasing pressure on teachers regarding students’ academic standards have become inevitable challenges in the implementation of ethics in education.
Code of ethics act as a promise to protect and support the safety of individuals in society, supports as a leading light it help the supporters of an occupation, resolve ethical problems and act as a protector the community. A code of ethics discloses and conserves the current viewpoint professionals on in what way to make ethical decisions. It stresses importance on obligation to moral values and vital beliefs. Application of a code of ethics helps us to guarantee that members of the profession will be accountable for their actions. It helps us to learn about the responsibility we have for ourselves, our colleagues and to the social structure of the profession. It is essential that the present and future psychologist should be
Would you describe a dog as capable of being evil? Or a cat? Or a chimpanzee? Most likely you could not. We humans belong to the taxonomic kingdom of Animalia and are therefore animals. Our species has evolved from animals that looked and acted more like the modern chimpanzee than we do. So at what point did we go from being creatures of instinct do developing the concept of morality? A great deal of literature has been written about morality, examples of which can be located in fiction and non-fiction as well as in scientific, theological and philosophical fields. Specific examples include the bible, as well as the writings of Plato (c. 424-348 BCE), Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and John Steinbeck (1902-1968). Morality is a trait that
Ethical behavior is often seen as amoral when used for persuasive purposes. This is possible because persuasion may be used in unethical situations as well as ethical situations. Either way, it depends upon the person who is trying to persuade others. Adolf Hitler is an excellent example of someone who persuaded millions of people to behave unethically. On the other hand, Mother Teresa used persuasion for ethical reasons by caring for the sick and the orphaned, and because of this has impacted an entire world.
To be moral simply means to do what is right; however, doing what is right is easier said than done. Perhaps if one was a child, one would, to the best of their abilities, follow what his parents demand of him, this would constitute them as doing what is right. Now let us say that the child is an orphan, or does not believe what his parents say is right, should following them still be considered moral, or is it even up to him to decide? Perhaps the child has evolved past parenting all together and therefore needs no more guidance. Defining what is considered moral has now become much more complex. Sam Harris presents the same basic argument of morality in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, by applying it not to a child and his parents,
“Ethics are defined as a set of principles of right conducts; the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession” ( Dictionary of the Human Language, 2000). Teachers are often put in situations that require more than just knowing the basic school rules. It is within these situations, that the ethical dilemmas occur. There is not always a right way to deal with many daily problems that face educators, but there are ways to handle situations that are better then others.