Being a Good Human: The Newest High School Class?

Ethics: moral principles that govern a person's behavior. They exist in every career field in the world. A lack of them results in crime, prejudice, and violence. The world today is full of controversy where everyone needs to be able to defend their beliefs in a logical way in order to have a place. However, there are far too few examples of such chivalry. Something needs to be done. Unfortunately, it is hard to instill a moral code on those deep into careers. This problem is remedied by simply reintroducing morals into primary schooling. By teaching morals alongside essential academic skills, students will not only have the knowledge to succeed, they will also have the character to succeed. Strong ethics are essential for navigating today's treacherous world; therefore there should be more of an effort to teach morals in schools.
Through teaching and discussing ethics in schools, students can learn more about their peers and their peers' reasoning behind their opinions and actions, which helps tear down stereotypes. "I have found that [ethics] invigorate a conversation--students feel alive and want to express their ideas. In the process, students are encouraged to look at issues that they may never have considered before. They can critique lazy arguments and challenge each other to take a more serious ethical outlook. In addition, students will build tolerance for others' values. It can allow students to understand others' (and society's) values and consider their own," said Conval High School Teacher Eric Bowman. Bowman is the founder of the Revolutions Ethics Project, which is based out of Peterborough, New Hampshire. The project runs seminars for high school students where they have ethical conversations and prepare to make changes in the world. On his website, in an article titled, "Teachers: Why Should We Teach Ethics?" Bowman discusses his findings after years of doing seminars and how the students he works with feel more confident as they head out into the world. He explains that students are exposed to multiple ways of thinking and can see the reasoning behind those ways. In learning how each other think, "different" suddenly becomes "same with a different outlook," taking away the barrier that results in stereotypes and prejudice.
The teaching of good ethics will also lead to an improvement of character, which will lead to a safer and less stressful learning environment. "The 2012 Josephson Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth reveals a pressing need to integrate elements of character education into the country's public-school curriculum. According to the study, 57 percent of teens stated that successful people do what they have to do to win, even if it involves cheating. Twenty-four percent believe it is okay to threaten or hit someone when angry. Thirty-one percent believe physical violence is a big problem in their schools. Fifty-two percent reported cheating at least once on an exam. Forty-nine percent of students reported being bullied or harassed in a manner that seriously upset them," according to Paul Barnwell. High school is cut-throat. Students need to be better than everyone at everything if they want to get into a good school. For many, it is a competition for best GPA and, if one is in severe danger of losing their place, anything goes. In a world where students are discouraged to work together through ranking systems and businesses seem to have no moral code, it has become okay for someone to put another human down if it means making themselves look better. Stealing notes, copying homework, committing physical and psychological violence: all are activities that students take as commonplace and often make part of their own education. Through teaching ethics, students would have to question their own beliefs and maybe begin to feel guilty about their actions, hopefully pushing them to make positive changes in their learning environments.
Despite the benefits to teaching ethics in schools, many resist putting such policies in place due to the work involved and the supposed neutrality of the school system. To be able to teach ethics means teachers would have to reflect on their own beliefs and come up with a way to inspire students, even those who are already living with strong moral codes. "However, the scholars expressed discomfort with the idea that they have any moral authority over their students. This discomfort seemed to underlie their conviction that the function of their courses is not to teach students to behave in a certain way," said Salil Dudani. Due to the law that prevents schools from preaching religion, which stands very close to morals, many do not initiate an ethics program. However, religion should not impact a person's ability to have a moral code. There also is a fear that there will be backlash from the students. In fact, many teenagers might ignore the teacher if they feel that they are being preached to. "There's undoubtedly a fear about what specific ethical beliefs and character traits schools might teach, but one answer might be to expose students to tough issues in the context of academic work—not imposing values, but simply exploring them," Barnwell said. Rather than preaching "you must be honest" in schools, one could present moral dilemmas and allow the students to reach that conclusion on their own. Give them a way to realize that they are in the wrong and they will try and fix it. Simply teaching a set of morals will not reach students. Allow them to think and reason in a safe environment and they will be ready to do so out in the world.
High school should be a place that prepares students for life by teaching good ethics and character in addition to the usual academics. Doing so will increase tolerance and understanding between peers, which will lead to a more welcoming world. It will empower students to stand up for what they believe is right. It will remove the motive behind the bullying and cheating that thrives in the competitive environments. Students will be able to live confidently knowing that their opinions are founded on sound logic and honor as opposed to emotion and ignorance. Yes, schools will have to find a way to work the subject into the curriculum without preaching and turning students away; however, simply providing a space for ethics to be discussed where the students are safe to express their own beliefs will oftentimes be enough to inspire change. The world is full of people who live their lives in ignorance and prejudice because of their unwillingness to hear others out. Maybe, by making sure the workers of the future are willing to understand others, that beautiful idea of true equality will come to life.

Works Cited:

Barnwell, Paul. "Students' Broken Moral Compasses." The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 25 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/students-broken-moral-compasses/492866/.

Bowman, Eric. "Teachers: Why Should We Teach Ethics?" Revolution Ethics Project, Revolution Ethics, www.revolutionethics.org/content/teachers-why-should-we-teach-ethics.

Dudani, Salil. "Stanford Panel Debates: Does Teaching Ethics Do Any Good?" Stanford News, Stanford University, 13 May 2014, news.stanford.edu/news/2014/may/ethics-in-society-051314.html.