Morality and ethics in education and the character of educational ideals

Morality and ethics in education and the character of educational ideals

Philosophy of education examines and addresses philosophical questions concerning the aims, nature, and educational problems. My concept of education is inferred from the goals and objectives of education, curriculum content, and teaching and learning techniques. The course echoes the relevance of the three types of training, which includes formal education, informal and non-formal education in producing a holistic student. Throughout the course, I have become a more responsible learner through writing weekly reflection within the timeline given and making appropriate peer feedback to my course mates. Reflections throughout the course have made me understand how my course mates best learn and allow me to be more accountable for my progress. Having gone through the course, I can definitely identify and clarify educational beliefs, values, and understandings of teaching and learning concepts. My course reflection paper will explore the aims and guiding ideals of education. Besides, it explores to address the problems that the society and the learners face as far as education practices are concerned, the best way to understand morality and ethics in education and the character of educational ideals.

The current educational system should be changed from result-oriented to focus on producing an all-round learner. Education should instill values, morals, and skills to different learners. Values and norms cannot only be taught in a class set-up but can be disseminated through informal and non-formal education. The adults have a role to play to produce moral learners for the betterment of society. According to Whitehead (1967), he affirms that the current curriculum should be changed from focusing on students’ results as the only instrument to instill values. Literary imaginations foster morality and ethics by making the student-reader to think beyond history to philosophical thought. According to Chinnery (2008), literature enhances moral ethics in education since it promotes moral imagination to a learner. Literature imaginations act as a stepping stone to moral emotions and values. Schools should provide students with appropriate books that can encourage discipline and love among themselves. Besides, literature affects how we see the world since it changes our thoughts and beliefs in a foreseeable way. For empathy and compassion to be achieved, moral instincts and desire to work for social justice must be considered. Since literature promotes morality and empathy, it may influence democracy on an individual as well. I loved reading books for the sake of passing my leisure time until when I met a book, “Thinking Beyond your Comfort Zone,” that changed my perceptions of books. There is a character who, at the beginning of the book, is selfish and arrogant but later changed her attributes due to the influence of the older people. I believe the kind of books that we offer to our students in schools should influence and change their characters.

People base their intellect on their emotions. If a student is intelligent and at the same time are emotional, they tend to be less emotional because the intellect in them balances the emotions. The more intellect a person is, the lesser emotional they become. Emotional intelligence makes a learner not to think about the answer they will give to a particular problem but will feel the solution to a particular problem. Younger students tend to be wise wild emotionally but smart. Emotions can influence a student’s personality and dignity. According to Nussbaum (1995), literature should steer public imagination to all humanity from a different perspective of lives. Literature should represent and focus on human dignity and prosperity of life. The only negative aspect of literary imaginations is that they cannot solve or address the ideological difference. The perception of the writer may be perceived differently by the reader bringing up misconceptions and misunderstandings. Many authors have spoken passionately about separating intellect from emotions. Emotional intelligence should be included in education. Being a teacher, I have experienced emotionally intelligent students. They seem to live in a more happy life and stress-free. This enables them to grasp most of the things that they are taught in the classroom environment. Intelligence allows them to manage and understand their emotions to motivate themselves. Besides, emotional intelligence enhances positive social interactions among the learners that make them realize their true potential.

In some ways, education has made us smarter but also more arrogant. Orr (1994) argues that “education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom” (p. 8). This is something I believe because some of the most educated people are also the most removed from society and even lack critical thinking. Education is no longer about using our knowledge to make our community better but to increase profits. The society that we live in believe that education can solve everything (Orr, 1994). The society should adjust values to young people to enable them to solve problems that they solve on their own. Everything is not safe in the society we live in an Orr (1994) states that “we cannot say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities (p. 13). Besides, education should give every person an equal opportunity in life. Females have been despised and are given unequal opportunities to education than their male counterparts. I concur with Martin about a feminist of critiquing gender inequality.

Most often, teachers teach who they are. Students learn when teachers set out to teach but not the content that the teachers have (Anderson, 1995). They incorporate all aspects of the teacher, including behaviors, characters, and modesty. Besides, from my experience as a teacher, learning occurs best when students develop a positive attitude and perceptions of learning. The teacher should establish a good relationship with the students in the class in order to impart a positive learning environment. The classroom set up should have a connection to spirituality. While I was reading Bai’s article, I came across that thrilled me that says, “When we can see the world as a sacred space, then it is most unlikely that we would violate and exploit the world” (pg. 136). I want to whole-heartedly agree with this statement. However, I feel that it is not entirely “most unlikely” that people would violate and exploit the world just because they gain that sense that the world is a sacred space. Students should try to find out solutions to most problems that they come across through critical think. According to Eisner (1985), he talks about the orientations to the curriculum. He emphasizes that a good curriculum should provoke the learners to solve problems on their own without the teacher’s aid. The curriculum should focus on how we can learn things that they can apply in the real world situation rather than the theories in the classroom set-up. Social reconstruction may help students to think critically and problem solve.

In conclusion, the education system should not only equip learners with academic knowledge and skills but also good socio-economic competencies and skills. This aspect of education applies to all learners irrespective of their age groups. A good education should produce an all-round learner who understands the role of ethics in society. A teacher has a role in the classroom to prioritize the content to deliver to the learners. Teachers should know that students learn from who they are. They should be good role models for the students whom they teach. Teachers have to uphold their own professional roles and their educational beliefs and values when teaching.

References

Anderson, G. E. (1995). Studying current events. The Science Teacher. 62(3), pp.63-69.

Bai, H. (2001). Cultivating democratic citizenship: Towards intersubjectivity. In W. Hare & J. P. Portelli (eds.), Philosophy of education: Introductory readings (Rev. 3th ed., pp. 132-319). Calgary, AB: Detselig.

Chinnery, A. (2008). Premodern postures for postmodern ethics: On resistant texts and moral educationLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. Philosophy of Education Yearbook, 43-50

Eisner, E.W. (1985). Five basic orientations to the curriculum.Links to an external site. In The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs (2nd ed., pp. 62-82). New York, NY: MacMillan.

Martin, J.R. (1994). The ideal of the educated person. In changing the educational landscape: Philosophy, women, and curriculum (pp. 70-87). New York, NY: Routledge.

Orr, D.W. (1994). What is education?. In Earth in Mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect (pp. 7-15). Washington, DC: Island Press.

Whitehead, A.N. (1967). The aims of education. The goals of education and other essays (pp. 1-14). New York, NY: The Free Press.

Nussbaum, M.C. (1995). The literary imagination. In Poetic justice: The literary imagination and public life (pp. 1-12). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.