DISCUSSION: If public schools teach values, whose values will they teach?"

[woman.at.the.well]

Additionally, do you think it is right for public schools to teach values, morals, and ethics (essentially character)? Or should parents be teaching as well as exampling such things?

 

[Voegelin]

The values taught today are those of the God Father of American public education, John Dewey. And no, I don't believe they should be instilled in other people's children.

 

[levi501]

nothing formally taught should be required.

 

[.Sabre.]

Well, I'd say that parents should teach their children about the norms of their own culture, and of course be an example. I'd also say that in schools, they should learn about not only their culture but other cultures as well.

 

[Skaloop]

Additionally, do you think it is right for public schools to teach values, morals, and ethics (essentially character)? Or should parents be teaching as well as exampling such things?

Schools shouldn't exactly teach them, per se, but more demonstrate them. Things like compassion, fairness, equality, honesty. They should lead by example, in a non-specific way.

 

[KarateCowboy]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

 

[KittyPryde]

Schools shouldn't exactly teach them, per se, but more demonstrate them. Things like compassion, fairness, equality, honesty. They should lead by example, in a non-specific way.

Sounds good to me.
---------
School related values should be enforced. Such as:
Cheating. Which is a problem with students throughout education.
Respect for peers and adults.

 

[Thirst_For_Knowledge]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

What are those? America is polarized over what our values are.

 

[SOAD]

Additionally, do you think it is right for public schools to teach values, morals, and ethics (essentially character)? Or should parents be teaching as well as exampling such things?

Why did the OP single out "public schools"? Why wouldn't these questions pertain to private schools as well?

The parents should be responsible for teaching values, morals and ethics to their children and schools should stick to general knowledge.

 

[Thirst_For_Knowledge]

Why did the OP single out "public schools"? Why wouldn't these questions pertain to private schools as well?

The parents should be responsible for teaching values, morals and ethics to their children and schools should stick to general knowledge.

Being a private school, they are free to teach whatever they want. We don't fund them, so we don't control them.

 

[Lynden1000]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

Well the obvious problem here is that not everyone agrees on what is or isn't a traditional American value.

Most of us can probably agree on "don't steal," "don't cheat," "don't pick fights or call names," but beyond that things get more complicated.

 

[Mling]

Schools should require that students demonstrate general kindness and curtesy, and teach problem-solving and conflict resolution.

 

[Obsequey]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

Please provide your definition of "traditional American values" so we can decide if we're "with you."

 

[SOAD]

Being a private school, they are free to teach whatever they want. We don't fund them, so we don't control them.

I am not looking at these questions as political, so whether or not we "control" the school is irrelevent. Parents who send their children to private schools still have a degree of control over what is taught to their children.

 

[jwoodcould]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

I agree, and the simple American values. Leave the supernatural out of ethics.
Simple humanistic principles:
Social justice, equality, and liberty.
A marketplace of free ideas, this is what I love about my country.

 

[Mling]

I agree, and the simple American values. Leave the supernatural out of ethics.
Simple humanistic principles:
Social justice, equality, and liberty.
A marketplace of free ideas, this is what I love about my country.

That's a good summary of "American values." Simply, the values on which America was founded.

 

[jayem]

I went to public school back in the 50s, when everything was supposedly so wonderful. I don't remember any kind of "values" lessons. I don't see how this can even be a pedagogical issue.

People develop a value system from their upbringing, from examples they observe, and from their life experiences. Classroom didactics have little or nothing to do with it.

 

[chaz345]

I believe that values education, or social skills or political correctness or sensitivity training or whatever else you want to call it needs to be greatly reduced in the public schools. The time that it is taking up is making it virtually impossible to teach kids the basic functional skills that they need. I say that such values education needs to be left almost entirely to the parents unless a lack of it is causing a specific problem in which case the kids that are causing the problem can be put into special classes to deal with the problem.

In addition to the problem of sucking up so much of the already limited instructional time, values are very rarely imparted by direct teaching. They are passed from one generation to another by example.

 

[wanderingone]

An excellent topic for discussion. I believe they should be taught traditional American values. Who's with me?

Oh man, slave labor, women and children as property, genocide,

great values to give the kiddies (well.. which generation of traditional values are you looking to instill?)

 

[jwoodcould]

I believe that values education, or social skills or political correctness or sensitivity training or whatever else you want to call it needs to be greatly reduced in the public schools. The time that it is taking up is making it virtually impossible to teach kids the basic functional skills that they need. I say that such values education needs to be left almost entirely to the parents unless a lack of it is causing a specific problem in which case the kids that are causing the problem can be put into special classes to deal with the problem.

In addition to the problem of sucking up so much of the already limited instructional time, values are very rarely imparted by direct teaching. They are passed from one generation to another by example.

The same population that is seeking the protection of the proposed "hate speech" law in Canada are the same who called for the beheading of cartoonists mocking their illiterate cave-dweller prophet.

Kind of off-topic, but relative to sensitivity training. The more sensitive an area is, the more it hurts when it gets stabbed with a needle. (Or blown the fark up)

/I'm waiting for a messaih who can write his own books =/