Preparing Children in Value Education in the 21st Century
(a paper developed by me when I was working at RiverDale International Residential School, in Pune, India as the Vice Principal) ABSTRACT
Facing a worsening moral dilemma in today’s complex world, everyone recognizes the need for educating youngsters about the importance of moral values. The decline in ethical standards, poor parenting, dishonesty by government and business leaders and violence have come to characterize the present day society all over the world. However, social changes and scientific progress during the past decade have been enormous. A new social media culture is silently taking over the world. Therefore, the current environment of political, social and religious decay has lead to a renewed interest in teaching moral values to our children.
As we enter the 21st century, character and good moral values must become an important part of social life during the periods of childhood and youth if we want to see improved changes to our world. Greater importance should be given to develop clear guidance to teachers, parents and communities to raise children in a nurturing and unambiguous environment.
Moral education has been incorporated in many public and private schools in this country and around the world. But how can we ensure that the knowledge acquired from the classroom teachings are deeply internalized within the students and give them long lasting benefits? In most cases, not only moral education in classrooms produce better citizens, but involving the youth in community services around the neighborhood enhances the teaching and learning of values. It improves the students learning of moral education and virtues in the classroom.
INTRODUCTION
Media reports around the world of increased violent juvenile crime, widening gap between rich and poor, religious war and human rights violation have made many educators and community at large to call for an effective moral education for young people in schools. There is a strong growing consensus in India and in most countries around the world for implementing an effective Value Education program.
As India is moving towards a knowledge-based high technology society, it is critical that young people should be encouraged to develop a strong sense of purpose, empowering their own transformation and leading them to contribute to the advancement of society. As they become the future leaders of their community or the country, it is vital for the school to prepare them with the necessary social and moral characteristics that can help them in their decision making behavior in the interest of humanity. Young people’s moral capacity, the basis for their own happiness and sense of well-being, is a powerful force for social change.
Around 160 years ago, Baha’u’llah, the Prophet of the Baha’i Faith said, “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” In accordance with that inspiration, trained teachers of value education and parents must work together to bring forth these “treasures”—the nobility and beauty that are part of every person’s inborn nature.
The purpose of this paper is to review the importance of character development and presenting the Value Education currently being developed at River Dale International School and also to discuss key strategies that we plan to introduce as we move forward in our school curriculum. This paper concludes with some suggestions and ideas for Indian Educators who are interested in Value Education.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE DEFINED
We Believe in:
The empowerment of individuals to develop their own moral conscience, such as that they personally make the right decision and follow a honest way of life, even at the sacrifice of their immediate interest.
A child must respect the inherent dignity of all individuals. A young individual who is selfish and greedy is ill equipped to be part of a globalized society.
School curriculum and policies need to make a deliberate attempt and conscious effort that promotes the dominant principle of our age: Oneness of Humanity, which become the foundation of all ethics.
Each student must develop their own inner guide - a moral compass - that all their actions must be viewed through the lens of human oneness. This means to forge unity among children of various race, caste and the imperative for honesty and justice.
That children must view themselves as world citizens who have the desire to develop virtues, or moral qualities, as foundations of peacemaking.
Promoting moral values and encourage them experience their own values through working in the community to promote the welfare of the citizens.
The teacher should demonstrate effective modeling behaviors. The teacher’s own behavior must demonstrate virtues expected of the learners, such as punctuality, patience, tolerance, cooperation. etc.
Moral education or character development be taught in public schools without any religious associations, but having spiritual values.
CHALLENGES FACING IN TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT
Parent’s involvement in moral development. Most children when they reach 6 years of age have developed the basic components of conscience and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Parents often feel it’s the responsibility of the school (especially boarding schools) to provide the most constant and visible models of behavior associated with character development.
It is necessary to change the highly competitive nature of academic environment. Just getting high grades in school examination or producing more ITT Engineers is not enough. Character formation and value education is what is needed now.
The school community must be a moral, fair and cooperative learning atmosphere. All teachers must be role models for good moral behavior and not merely moral bystanders.
The leadership style and the use of authority by teachers needs to be changed. Unlike the traditional approach, teachers must use authority to empower and not overpower. In today’s world, there is a lot of confusion among Indian teachers about an appropriate way to use authority. Instead of putting students down, we must learn to lift them up.
For value education to be more effective, it is necessary to build a close working relationship between teachers, parents and the community.
The management of the schools must provide time and adequate support in their curriculum to incorporate community service work on a regular basis.
When the society is not fully committed to leading a good moralistic life, it is hard for a youth to follow good values. The students who are taught these values in school cannot see the relevance of these virtues in their lives.
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| Virtue Tree at the entrance of the Elementary School at | School in Pune, India |
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OBJECTIVE
To produce peaceful, morally developed youths who are active promoters of oneness of humanity and peace and contribute to a more peaceful, unified, progressive nation and world.
To focus on individual's moral responsibility to search for and recognize truth, and then to apply that truth in all aspects of his or her life.
To encourage students to find principles that can serve as the basis of their lives and then to base decisions and actions on them, while remaining open to the investigation of new principles so as to allow for continuing growth.
FIVE STRATEGIES OF CREATING A CULTURE OF MORAL VALUES
Bring out the Best in Children: One of the greatest qualifications of a teacher is the commitment of bringing out the best in their students. All major religions of the world agree that God has created human beings in His own image and endowed them with innate nobility.
Developing a planned curriculum to have group discussions to solve conflicts fairly and without violence without a higher authority or a third party.
Create cooperative learning opportunities to shape the character by fostering students’ ability to work with and appreciate others.
Develop projects that promote service to humanity proving that it is not the pursuit of money, position or status that is the ultimate source of happiness, honor and meaning of life.
Develop a holistic approach to character education. Integrate the cultivation of virtues into the existing curriculum.
TACTICS
1. Create a shared Vision Statement
Give ownership to form a shared vision that students choose to live by
Identify a Virtue of the Week and present it during assembly.
Virtue Integrity Tree
Read a virtues affirmation and have students recite it aloud.
Have a bulletin board for the Virtue of the Week.
Create Peace Squads
Set up and train Peace Squads of responsible students to keep the peace and detect and intervene if any conflict occurs in the school.
Identify them with a sash or jacket.
Community Service Projects
Plan a service project for your community that involves the entire school.
Virtues Voucher in a Bucket
Have teachers acknowledge particular students for the virtue of the week by reading aloud virtue vouchers with examples of students practicing the virtue.
Have them displayed in the classroom in their “virtue buckets.”
Develop short movies as classroom projects to present viewers with an opportunity to look at ethical issues and to provide them with the means to approach life problems and find positive solutions through specific dramatic examples.
Develop cooperative games as part of the curriculum.
THE OUTCOME
As the students move through the Value Education curriculum in school they will see themselves as good morally sound peacemakers, developing moral qualities or virtues as well as skills and attitudes which are the fundamental of oneness of humanity. In addition, they will see themselves as world citizens as they embrace the concept of the oneness of humankind in all its diversity. They will understand that peace happens gradually, and each student will feel empowered to play a part in its establishment.
Character Development: The children learn about virtues such as kindness, honesty, love, service and courtesy. We believe that every child is a storehouse of virtues waiting to be developed. The development of virtues in individuals is the foundation of a peaceful world.
A Peaceful World: The children learn how to help make a peaceful world. They learn that we are all one human family no matter our color, race, education, or nationality; they support unity but value diversity, promote the equality of women and men, realize the need for the elimination of all forms of prejudice, care for our environment and develop the skills of peaceful problem solving.
Inner Peace: Produce peaceful, morally developed individuals who are active promoters of peace and contribute to a more peaceful and unified nation.
CONCLUSION
The moral teachings of the world's great religions offer a basic framework for character development once we look beyond the differences in religious ritual and cultural practices. One starting point for moral development today, then, lies in a concerted reflection on the commonalities inherent in the great religious and moral systems, a reflection which inevitably reveals that each one espouses unity, cooperation and harmony among people, establishes guidelines for responsible behavior and supports the development of virtues which are the foundation of trust-based and principled interactions. Every religion has taught that morality begins with the so-called Golden Rule - that one should act towards one's neighbor as one wishes others would act towards oneself.
Children nowadays do not accept platitudes and lip service statement. They are well-informed and intelligent due to their exposure to various areas of life. They can observe and read for themselves the discrepancies between the actions and their talk of many adults including their parents and teachers.
Therefore, to teach value education in schools in today’s environment is not easy. Teachers who are assigned to teach character development and value education must demonstrate interest in professional responsibility and opportunities beyond classroom. Such a teacher knows that every activity in the classroom ultimately has some impact on the learning and life of students. The teacher aspiring to teach moral education must undergo professional training. A trained teacher understands and applies the appropriate methods and practices to the teaching/learning process to ensure the students work together to resolve conflicts, develop morally, treat each other with justice and fairness and respect each other without prejudice. It is, therefore, the teacher that must have an exemplary role in society as a point of reference in many ways. They must be the moral role model for their students.
Most important of all is to establish a strong partnership among schools, parents and neighboring communities. Schools have an important role to play in the moral education of their students to bring forth the nobility and beauty that are part of every child’s inborn nature. The curriculum we offer at RiverDale International School is a compelling response to the flood of messages that promotes materialism and violence and neglects the ideals of a healthy and prosperous society. This will ensure that our children grow strong intellectually, morally and spiritually.
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