For all time, the purpose of school has been to instill moral values that would make students more capable and moral individuals. I’ve been writing lately on how developing good character should be the ultimate purpose of schooling.
Because of the worldwide social crisis, character education is making a comeback in schools. Alarming rates of drug misuse, crime, adolescent pregnancy, social violence, suicides, broken families, a lack of social values, racial tensions, problems with children’s discipline, and on and on can be seen as part of a larger, societal trend that is deeply troubling.
In the current age of increasing industrialization and globalization, this trend appears to be developing as a normal part of society. Many of these societal issues are not moral in nature, but there is a growing tendency and view that they are connected to moral instruction in our schools.
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All of us agree that a strong foundation in ethics and universal social ideals is crucial to a society’s ability to grow and develop. Unfortunately, the way the education system works now does not help children and teens develop morally.
Generally speaking, people believe that schools are primarily responsible for instilling moral values in their students. There still appears to be widespread confusion around the nature of this obligation and the best way to put it into practice.
When it comes to fostering social change and constructing a moral nation, schools appear to be the most congruent vehicles. Because of this, schools play a vital role in providing students with the intellectual, social, emotional, cognitive, and moral resources and support they need to pursue and achieve life goals in accordance with ethical ideals.
Ethics and virtue training, character development, and academic excellence were all topics of discussion. Have we talked about what modern moral education entails?
For children to grow up with the right set of values, beliefs, behaviors, and personalities, they need to go through a process or series of steps known as moral education. Children’s moral development depends on their cognitive, affective, social, and emotional functioning, all of which should be emphasized in moral education.
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Students who have received a good moral education develop the traits of critical thinking: they are inquisitive, open-minded, self-reflective, self-reliant, skeptical, and truth-seekers. On the other hand, it aids in the development of societal values, including honesty, decency, responsibility, accountability, and self-control.
I believe that a child’s moral education should aid in his or her cognitive growth both qualitatively and quantitatively. The development and improvement of children’s moral reasoning require a classroom setting that is welcoming to all students.
It is not enough for today’s educators to simply return to a curriculum based on historical values; they must also clarify their contemporary ideals and recognize universal principles on societal values such as respect for the elderly, family loyalty, purity in relationships, and world harmony.
A child’s capacity for self-control and reasoning plays critical roles in shaping their moral character. Contrarily, we acknowledge that parents primarily control their children’s cognitive behaviors and attitudes through their parenting practices, but that the hierarchical character of parent-child relationships might be a barrier to this kind of growth.
For this reason, formal education plays a pivotal role in shaping a child’s moral character. So, schools must take the lead in making policies and programs that encourage this kind of behavior and are open to everyone.
Instead of simply transferring the teachers’ dead information to the students’ brains, education must be seen as a means of social transformation. From a Marxist perspective, moral education helps students critically examine and evaluate their own behavior.
Therefore, education is a path to liberation. When it comes to facilitating social relationships, schools play a supporting role. Therefore, it is the duty of educators to foster the growth of students’ moral discernment.
Every student should be able to engage in free-flowing conversation and engagement with their peers in a safe and supportive school setting. It is the responsibility of educational institutions to foster students’ capacity for critical thought through the implementation of critical pedagogy.
Children’s actions and interactions with others at school are governed by both the general culture of the institution and the school’s own unique set of cultural norms and observances and ethical codes. The culture of a school is the sum of its members’ shared beliefs, practices, and even the unspoken assumptions and expectations of its members.
Primary school is the most important place for kids because they spend so much time there. As a result, schools have a remarkable potential to shape students’ character and ethics. The minds of children are blank slates, open and receptive.
Their mental processes are distinct from those of an adult. Young ears and minds are more open to what an adult has to say. Consequently, educators have a greater opportunity to shape students’ character.