The Morality of Education
The purpose of education is to further a student’s knowledge not only in academics, but also in everyday life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1947) had great insight on this matter. He stated, “It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture,” (p.1). King is expressing that education involves more than just academics. Education is about teaching people to become a better citizen and being a functional member of society.
King is most often associated with issues of race, but his teachings go way beyond that. His belief on education is something that has become lost in today’s academics. Students are drilled on informational text and forced to memorize facts, thinking that they are learning what they need to succeed in life. This usually does not include teaching students about morality. King (1947) says, “Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction,” (p.1). These ideas reflect off of Dr. King’s views on racism. He believes that with students being able to understand morals, they can learn to know that racism is wrong and immoral.
There are some people that oppose the teaching of morality in schools. In an article from the Orlando Sentinel, a Christian man by the name of John Curtis (1989) disagrees with this idea. Curtis does not like that those students could be taught about morality without the consent from their parents. With his Christian values, he feels that his family should have the most important influence on his children (p.1). Religion plays a big influence on the morals of people. With there being so many different religions with different morals, it is hard to find common ground. This is where morality has to be taught with caution. Teachers need to understand not to over step boundaries on controversial topics like homosexuality and abortion.
There is an issue with Mr. Curtis’ thinking. What about the parents of children that do not teach their children morals? Richard Weissbourd (2012) from Harvard Graduate School of Education talks about this issue. He says, “Research suggests that many overworked, frayed parents, doubting their capacities as moral mentors, are looking to schools to take on a larger role in their children’s moral growth,” (p.1). This makes sense, because these parents love their kids and want them to grow up knowing right from wrong. Since these parents do not feel like they can do those themselves, they want schools to educate them in the best way possible. Weissbourd (2012) also found a couple of stats that said 70 percent of public school parents want the schools to have standards to teach right from wrong. Also, 85 percent of those same parents want their children to be taught core values of life (p.1). If the majority of the parents want their children to be taught morality then why do we not teach it?
The issue with teaching morality in schools is that students should not be taught morals that go against their parent’s morals at home. This can create conflict between families and teachers should not be influencing children to revolt against their parents. On the other hand, students do need to know right from wrong. Without knowing their morals, a person cannot be a functioning member of society. Instead of having classes and standards specific to morality, teachers should include morality in their lessons. A student will have many teachers throughout their educational career. With having all of these different moral lessons from different teachers can allow the student to judge what he or she believes is right and wrong. Teachers should suggest students to talk to their parents at home about these moral lessons. Our morals define us in life, so we should have a diverse experience with morality to truly understand what we believe.
Curtis, J. (1989, March 08). Parents, Not Schools Should Teach Morals And Ethics. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-03-08/news/8903090193_1_children-be-taught-taught-at-school-teaching-our-children
DrMartinLutherKingJr.com — The Purpose Of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/thepurposeofeducation.htm
Weissbourd, R. (2012, January/February). Promoting Moral Development in Schools. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/28_1/helarticle/promoting-moral-development-in-schools_522
