Education and the Intellectual and Moral Virtues

8/2/2019 Education and the Intellectual and Moral Virtues

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E DUCATION AND

THE INTELLECTUAL

AND MORAL

VIRTUES


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Many are tempted to separate affective and moral dimensions of learning from cognitive dimensions. They argue that the cognitive and affective are obviously separate since many intelligent, well-educated people lack moral insight or sensitivity and many less intelligent, poorly educated, or uneducated people are morally good.


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Educators and theorists tend to

approach the affective and moraldimensions of education as theyapproach all other dimensions oflearning, as compartmentalizeddomains, and as a collection oflearning more or less separate fromother learning.


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WHAT IS CHARACTER

EDUCATION?

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o Becoming a school of character, a place thatputs character first

o Teaching the values of respect and responsibility

o Developing virtues that enables us to leadfulfilling lives an build a better world

o Improving the moral and intellectual culture of

the school


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IMPROVING THE EDUCATION CULTURE

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SCHOOL ISSUES:

Increasing students responsibility toward academic workIncreasing respect for teachers and other school staff

Increasing respect that adults show students

Increasing peer kindness and reducing bullying and otherpeer crueltyIncreasing academic honestyIncreasing respect and responsibility regarding sexual

attitudes and behaviorIncreasing parental involvementImproving language in the buildingImproving staff moraleBuilding school pride


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A school committed to character educationpublicly stands for core ethical values

such as respect, responsibility, honesty,and caring; defines them in terms ofbehaviors that can be observed in schoollife; models these values; studies them,

celebrates their manifestations; and holdsall school members accountable tostandards of conduct with the corevalues.

THOMAS LICKONA

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PERFORMANCE CHARACTER

AND

MORAL CHARACTER

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TWO MAJOR PARTS OF CHARACTER:


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PERFORMANCE CHARACTER MORAL CHARACTER

* Effort *Respect

*Self-discipline *Responsibility*Goal setting *Honesty*Work Ethic *Fairness

*Determination *Resilience*Self-confidence *Compassion*Resourcefulness *Humility*Moral courage

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WHAT IS GOOD CHARACTER?COMPONENTS OF GOOD CHARACTER

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MORAL FEELING

MORAL ACTION CompetenceWillHabit

MORAL KNOWING Moral AwarenessKnowing moral valuesPerspective taking

Moral reasoningDecision-makingSelf-knowledge

MORAL FEELING ConscienceSelf-esteemEmpathy

Loving the goodSelf-controlHumility


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ONLY BY DEVELOPING PERFORMANCECHARACTER WILL SCHOOLS:

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Promote academic achievement for all

students

Foster an ethic of excellence, not justhigher test scores

Produce a competitive, creative workforce


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ONLY BY DEVELOPING MORALCHARACTER WILL SCHOOLS:

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Create safe learning environments

Decrease discipline problems

Reduce cheating

Foster social AND emotional skills

Develop ethical thinkers

Produce public-spirited citizens


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A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TOCHARACTER EDUCATION

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CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

1. TEACHER AS CAREGIVER, MODEL, ANDMENTOR( TEACHER includes any adult in the school

who interacts with kids )


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2. CREATING A CARING

CLASSROOM COMMUNITY

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3. CHARACTER-BASEDDISCIPLINE

Using rules and consequences todevelop moral reasoning, self control,and a generalized respect for others

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4. CREATING A DEMOCRATICCLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

A democratic classroom environment uses

the class meeting to engage students inshared decision making and in takingresponsibility for making the classroom the

best it can be

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5. TEACHING CHARACTER

THROUGH CURRICULUM

Teaching character through curriculum usesthe ethically rich content of academicsubjects as vehicles for values teaching

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7. THE CONSCIENCE OF CRAFT

The conscience of craft develops students

sense of academic responsibility and the habit of doing their work well.

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8. ENCOURAGING

ETHICAL REFLECTION

Developing the cognitive side of character through reading, research,writing, and discussion

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9. TEACHING CONFLICT

RESOLUTION

Teaching students how to solveconflicts fairly, withoutintimidation or violence

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THE GOOD NEWS

Values Education is making a positive

difference in the moral attitudes and behaviorof students, with the result that it s easier forteachers to teach and students to learn

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Documents

Education and the Intellectual and Moral Virtues