Editorial: Character Education in America's Public Schools

Abstract

The need for instruction in ethics and morals in our nation's schools is acknowledged by virtually everyone. Yet there is a great deal of confusion ana disagreement about how to do this, especially in the public schools. Many educators want to teach morals from a religious perspective, and are frustrated by U.S. Supreme Court decisions that make advancing a particular religious worldview inappropriate in the public schools. The Court has made it clear, however, that religion can be taught, provided it is done in an objective and neutral way, such that the schools are not using their authority to shape and direct the course of students' religious training. The specific elements of personal religious training, the Court has said, is to be left to parents, extended family, and the various religious and non-governmental institutions that shape people's lives. Thus many secondary schools offer courses in world religions, comparative religions, the history of religion, religious themes in literature, and the like, but these courses are designed more to expose students to the important role of religion in human fife than to train them in moral thinking. Many schools have made the decision to teach courses in character formation. This is commendable. But in many cases the texts adopted contain material that is very sophisticated and over the students' heads. A great many texts approach the topic philosophically, attempting to present to students the various ways in which morals can be grounded. Thus students study Essentialism (God commands a certain kind of behavior), or natural law (morals are imbedded in the universal order), or Utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number), or Kantian liberalism (grounded choices that respect others' worldviews), or other forms of philosophical foundationalism. While these approach es are not without merit, most students are not particularly impressed or won over by such elaborate and arduous systems of thought. At the very least, these theoretical materials should be supplemented by texts that illustrate in practical ways how one can become a moral person. No matter what one's philosophical or theological basis is for moral