Should, or Can, "Values" be taught in our schools (ideologies, leader)

[Greatday]

VALUES education has become so fashionable in the last year that it is rapidly overtaking cultural literacy, computer literacy, process writing and critical thinking as the educational fad of choice.

VALUES education has become so fashionable in the last year that it is rapidly overtaking cultural literacy, computer literacy, process writing and critical thinking as the educational fad of choice.

Here in New Jersey, the Governor has appointed a blue ribbon panel of educators, business, religious and government leaders to define ''a common core of enduring values which all New Jerseyans believe should be promoted.'' In the State Legislature, a bill was introduced that would encourage the development of character education curriculum in public school districts. At the national level, a policy panel of the 97,000-member Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development recently concluded that ''schools have an obligation to teach values to students.''

NEW JERSEY OPINION; Can Values Be Taught in Schools? - New York Times

[backfist]

Always a dangerous proposition. Especially since one person's values is another person's immorality.

[evilnewbie]

Values at school don't mean anything unless they are practiced at home. Home and family are where values stick to a person. Unfortunately the wrong values are also taught and reinforced at home... You want better values? Encourage parents to become responsible parents.

[LancasterNative]

When public schools were first conceived & developed in the 1830s, the idea was to educate children so they'd be not only literate and competent in the workforce, but also morally upright, responsible, self-sacrificing citizens. Character formation was a vital part of an American public school student's education—and continued to be so right up until the early 1960s.

Also, look at the textbooks used in early public schools: New England Primer, McGuffey Reader, and the Bible. These are the foundational texts of American education.

To all those who think public education should be values-neutral:

Boy, we've sure come a long way, huh?!?

[Visvaldis]

Moral values are not natural, but are invented by groups and/or individuals, usually narrowed down to whatever will give that group an advantage, not to mention authority. This is the culture war.
Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock should be aware that in America, the theme of morals is almost always limited to sexual behavior, little else.
Morals are mostly used (misused) to promote religious ideologies and dogmas as superior to all other ideologies, to condemn those who are different and to cultivate mindless conformism. For these reasons I can't generate much enthusiasm about morals being taught in schools.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Visvaldis

Moral values are not natural, but are invented by groups and/or individuals

Right there is where we differ.

Moral values are not only natural; I believe they transcend nature. They are timeless, immutable and true. Humans didn't invent morals; the Author of transcendent truth gave us morals as a guideline...which we've managed to pretty well screw up almost since the beginning. Eternal truths are much bigger than us; yet in our human pride, we still find ways to twist them and claim "my truth" is better than "your truth"! Only one can be right, right?

In America, the foundational morals of our society are Judæo-Christian, and they include mutual respect, allowance for pluralism, and tolerance of others. That's why followers of non-Judæo-Christian philosophies have always been welcome here.

Or as early American scholar, educator, preacher, geographer and encyclopedia contributor Jedidiah Morse put it...

"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys."

[buildings_and_bridges]

Originally Posted by LancasterNative

"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys."

Seems like it's different degrees for different people. Someone didn't shake well or stir thoroughly enough, because it definitely isn't evenly distributed.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by buildings_and_bridges

Seems like it's different degrees for different people. Someone didn't shake well or stir thoroughly enough, because it definitely isn't evenly distributed.

Achieving happiness depends on doing something with the freedom you've been given. Some folks have never learned they have to shake and stir it themselves...

[gnab gib]

Whose values get taught? If you teach the Ten Commandments, you upset one group of people, and if you teach tolerance for homosexuality, you upset another.

Last I checked, schools are supposed to be a place where you learn the three Rs, not indoctrination centers.

Teaching values should be up to families, not teachers.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by LancasterNative

Right there is where we differ.

Moral values are not only natural; I believe they transcend nature.

Then how can different cultures have different moral values? And how could values change over time?

If there were no people, would there be morals and values? Think of it that way ...