Contested Values Tugofwar in the school yard

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Contested ValuesTug-of-war in the school yard

• Brian Johnson
• Ed 448
• Helms

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School WarWhich Values Should Children Learn

• American public schools, traditionally
  responsible for teaching common values, have
  become battlefields. At issues are differences
  about moral authority, family life, sexual
  expression, and how to live together despite our
  differences.

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The Issues

• Moral Education Values have been an integral
  part of the school curriculum since the nation
  was founded. Today while there is a clear
  consensus about importance of moral education in
  the schools, there is not consensus about which
  values should be taught
• Teaching Sexuality The battle over moral
  education intensifies when the issues is sex
  education, which as recently as 1980 was
  mandatory in only three states. Today, 47 states
  require or recommend it, and all 50 states
  support AIDS education of some kind. Yet despite
  its wide spread adoption, sex education is a
  contentious issue

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Issues Cont.

• Prayer In The Schools A lot of American s
  believe the public school have overstepped their
  boundaries on teaching social values. Far from
  reinforcing the moral lessons parents are trying
  to teach at, they say, school programs and
  materials are corrupting their children. Also at
  issue is where the line between church and state
  should be drawn.
• Multicultural Education Some of the most sharply
  contested values in the school wars concern whose
  version of history will be taught. This new view
  is that of multiculturalism, it is both notable
  and troublesome, for it poses divisive questions
  of historical interpretation and point of view.
  What should be taught?

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The Four Perspectives

• Each of these disputes are look at to form the
  for perspectives or choices about public life and
  our schools.
• 1) Pluralist Perspective
• 2) School for Virtue
• 3) Christian Traditionalist
• 4) Parental Choice

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The Pluralist PerspectivePreparing For Life In
The 1990s

• In a diverse and rapidly changing culture,
  advocates say, children must learn to think
  critically, to make carefully considered personal
  choices, and to examine phenomena from various
  perspectives.

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The Proposed Solution

• Respecting Diversity Multicultural education is
  a must in the new era of education and society.
• In this new view point the school and teacher
  must not advocate any on view over the next.
  Ultimately the teachers job is not to tell
  students what is right and wrong, but to help
  students figure out right and wrong for
  themselves.
• Also there must be a separation of Church and
  State in the classroom. This is expressed in the
  establishment clause of the 1st Amendment.

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What This Perspectives Mean

• If the schools promote the importance of
  diversity, tolerance and respect there will
  hopefully be unity in this diverse nation.
• Forbidding religious expression and practices in
  schools is important and necessary in a liberal
  democracy that will maintain a clear boundary
  between Public and private.

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Criticism

• Pluralism has caused the school day to be
  cluttered with questionable activities.
• Schools dont emphasis the importance of values
  and moral to children. And ultimately fail in
  forming charter and defining shared moral
  guidelines.

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School Virtue An Idea whose Time Has Come Again

• A generation of educators who emphasized moral
  relativism neglected the traditional obligation
  of character education. There is a set of ethical
  precepts that command allegiance from people of
  various races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic
  backgrounds.

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The Proposed Solution

• The public school should teach values.
• To help develop virtue and good habits children
  need to be shown clear examples of right and
  wrong.
• Schools must prepare student for being
  responsible citizens by teaching a common set of
  civics and political principles. However they
  must recognize strict neutrality about all topics
  where there is no overall consensus.

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What This Perspective Means

• The institution which is long been responsible
  for providing virtuous education are no longer
  doing there job.
• This in effect has caused our currant social
  ills.
• Because of this they need clear and moral
  guidelines from adults.
• There should be not values taught that are not
  commonly held by all Americans. Consensus values
  must be recognized and taught in school.

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Criticism

• To Multiculturalisms, who will define the core
  values.
• Church and state must be separated even if a
  majority favors certain types of religious
  devotions in the schools.
• The most important values are religious. In a
  nation whose dominant culture is Christian, it is
  appropriate for these values to be taught in the
  schools.

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Christian TraditionalistConvictions of the
Moral Majority

• The Moral erosion that pervades American Society
  today stems directly from the decline of
  religious influence in the public schools and
  elsewhere. Considering how important the
  Christian religion is to most American in their
  daily lives and how important it has been to this
  nation historically, public schools must clearly
  convey Christian values.

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The Proposed Solution

• Religious values should be an important part of
  students curriculum.
• Schools should not condone values that are not
  morally acceptable to most Americans.
• Schools should permit group prayer at any school
  event and where student see fit.
• Evolution should not be the only creation
  perspective taught in science class.

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What This Perspective Means

• Americans share a single religious tradition and
  common religious based convictions.
• The US was founded on Christian values. If they
  are taken away not much is left.
• Not teaching the side of creation in science
  class undermines the values parents teach at
  home.
• To combat social problems that have ties to
  sexual activities advocates say schools have a
  responsibility to teach abstinence to students.

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Criticism

• In this diverse society to teach Christian values
  in public schools is offensive to many Americans
  who do not follow those views.And it is a blatant
  violation of the 1st Amendment.
• Schools must not teach creation they must stick
  to what is scientifically true.
• Accurate sex education is needed to ready
  children for the real world and realistic results
  and situations.

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Parental ChoiceBreaking the Public School
Monopoly

• As things stand, Parents are forced by compulsory
  attendance and compulsory taxation to support a
  school system that does not reflect the values
  held by millions of Americans. Parents have the
  right to raise children according to their own
  set values.

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The Proposed Solution

• Recognize the parent to make decisions on behalf
  of their children, which includes there right to
  raise the according to their own values and
  rules.
• Schools should reflect the wide and diversity of
  our values.
• A voucher system should be started to allow all
  parents to use tax dollars to send there children
  where they want.
• Encourage Parents to teach at home.

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What This Perspective Means

• Pluralism can only occur if parents are allowed
  to choose which schools there children attend.
• Public schools have a virtual monopoly over
  school-age children.
• There should variety in the choice for parents to
  choose form to send there students to that
  reflect there values and feelings.
• The bad side of vouchers is that schools that
  children do bad in and schools which undermine
  parents will lose most if not all support.

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Criticism

• The system of vouchers will undermine the publics
  school system that has been the backbone of our
  educational society.
• The formation of a network of special school and
  particular groups at schools will cause
  widespread re-segregation all over again.
• Vouchers will in effect violate the 1st Amendment
  again. As well as undermining the sense of
  commonwealth that we all share in some way.

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Conclusion

• In conclusion each of these four views have no
  consensus, however the on thing that they have is
  the underling feeling of interest in the well
  being of our education that will in effect
  benefit our children. And with that it will in
  return help the future for all, and so on. So we
  must first try to define a common ground about
  what should be done and grow form there because
  the future is in our hands and it is very
  important.