Dear New Teacher,
Moral education can be a slippery slope, one that even veteran
teachers sometimes avoid. “Because we all are affected by the moral behavior of
others, American schools have historically been concerned with instilling
morality in their students” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 192). The question that I often
think about is, what do we mean by morals? Aren’t my morals different from
yours? How do I, as an educator, navigate this and instill a good set of morals
in my students.
There are several possible approaches that have popped up
throughout history, we will look at three of them here: inculcation, moral
development, and values clarification.
Inculcation is “an approach to moral education that teaches
students to accept specific moral values, such as honesty and trustworthiness”
(Dolgin, 2011, p. 193). Though this is one of the earliest approaches, it has
become more prominent in the past decade or so. Dolgin brings up the point that
I am sure you are probably thinking as well, “In a pluralistic society, whose
values will you teach?”
Moral development is “an approach to moral education that
uses moral dilemmas and the like to give youths experience in higher-level
reasoning” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 193). This approach grew directly out of
Kohlberg’s theories and strives to help students develop higher level
reasoning.
My personal favorite is values clarification, “a method of
teaching values that helps students become aware of their own beliefs and
values” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 195). In values clarification students are allowed to
choose their own values, which to some is the major downfall of the approach.
Other approaches include analysis which involves critical
thinking and the increasingly popular service learning.
As an educator, which approach would you take to teach moral
development to your students? Can you think of other approaches that aren’t
listed here?
Best,
Mallory
Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development,
relationships, and culture (13thed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson.
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