The Moral Classroom

We still call it a classroom, but what occurs there and passes for education only slightly resembles the traditional educational process that used to work so well in preparing young people for life.

This situation is particularly evident in the earliest grades. Education today is delivered to students as if in a vacuum, leading them to believe that their intake and behavior have no consequences or bearing on future endeavors.

Topics are discussed without relationship to a set of tangible or concrete values or systems of thought. The materials, current texts, and examples used in the classroom are anchored to little, if anything. Coupled with this is the fact that most teachers are products of the early non-directive training philosophy of the 1960s and ’70s. With educators unsure of exactly what they themselves believe, students receive scraps, instead of meals, to ingest and use toward building healthy bodies, minds, and souls. Sadly, many parents exhibit this same lack of moral compass because of their non-directive education. The firm foundation of virtues that has proved in the past to be successful in guiding young children to become mature, other-centered adults is now lacking.

What is the primary lesson that has been cast off in favor of self-directed “freedom?” Could “obedience” be the pivotal missing concept? In teaching young people to obey, we introduce them to the world of order. From understanding order as necessary in relationships of all kinds, they move to a sense of priorities. They will understand that some things are more important than others, and, through the recognition of a basis for moral and ethical decision making, they will develop a process that defines maturity. This is the basis for civilized society and the development of responsible, mature individuals to assume the roles of authority. Otherwise, we each become captain of our own, very lonely—and rudderless—ship.

In contrast, modern education has a tendency to present students with a wide open series of options with no distinctions made as to each option’s positive or negative result. The students perceive these options as equally good and, therefore, have no means of discerning the right choice. The decision-making process may be opened up as a result, but, absent any guidance, it is really short-circuited.

An alternative way of approaching education is for schools to adopt the notion that “school” is a student’s first job or apprentice experience. Far from presenting material in such an “objective” manner that the school disconnects from society and culture as an aloof laboratory, our educational institutions need to view their role as an adjunct to the home for introducing young people to the realities of life. We need our schools to accept once again their position as a partner of the home, where the primary goal is the nurture of the child.

Rather than acting as a value-free zone, the school should be there to reinforce, as well as expand upon, the lessons of the home. As important as the inculcation of knowledge in the form of information is, the school should be concerned with the development and value of the whole person. Our young people today sense the lack of direction in the messages they are receiving and are desperately seeking parameters and boundaries. However, when they are offered directive education, they are eager for the opportunity to make good decisions that improve their lives.

We experience tremendous enthusiasm on the part of middle and high school students relative to the healthy decisions they make through our abstinence-centered education programs. When they are presented with morals, direction, and guidance, they are excited to discover these time-tested, nature-affirming customs that have long been known as virtues. They see the positive benefits that can be derived from acting on what for centuries was perceived as common sense, but, for them, is new information.

In abstinence-centered education we discuss sexuality not just as an aspect of body functions but as an aspect of relationship and healthy living. We recognize and affirm the emotions as part of the human experience and teach young people how to reserve certain special elements for fulfillment to be attained one day in the sanctity of marriage. A directive approach toward character education is now being recognized as a vital foundation for all that is taught in education programs. We are pleased to welcome a growing number of educators and organizations that are seeing a return to directive education based on virtues as our hope for the future of today’s adolescents.

Author

  • Kathleen M. Sullivan

    At the time this article was published, Kathleen M. Sullivan was the Director of Project Reality, based in the Chicago area.

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