I think its a teachers obligation to teach compassion and empathy - to treat other people in a way that you would like to be treated. I think most teachers do try and teach this, however, most of moral teaching is AT HOME. PARENTS need to teach children to be kind to each other, to feel sorry for those less fortunate.
My friends son had a birthday party - he invited 12 kids and me and my boyfriend. This boy is kind of weird and unpopular. 10 kids RSVP'ed and then the "If she isnt' going, then I am not going" started. ONE kid showed up. The others were allowed to behave in an immoral fashion by their PARENTS - they were able to choose their own pride over someone elses feelings. In general (there are exceptions) most teachers dont' allow students to pick on each other. In general, teachers dont' allow students to step on each other for personal gain. Parents are the ones saying "oh, he is just a kid and all kids get picked on sometimes". Not teachers - teachers see the damage it can do to be picked on. Now I realize I am talking about simple, small things -birthday parties and picking on dorky kids, but quite frankly its the same attitude that causes folks to leave dying men attached to their car for three days and do nothing. --Beth, Pseudo usenet cop Merlin MTB, BikeE AT, RANS gliss, Trek R200, Kickbike Owned by Kavik (Samoyed Boy) and Toklat (Keeshond Boy) Anchorage, Alaska ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:47 PM Subject: RE: I'm speechless ... > But the schools already teach a morality -- they teach moral relativism. > That is a value system. I was certainly first exposed to situational ethics > in high school (that was in the late '70s). Many of my peers and younger > have told me the same stories, including a 21-year-old friend today who said > he just can't relate to the lack of moral centers in his peers today). And > even if Beth were correct that they don't teach moral relativism, I think we > would all agree that they don't teach morals. And that, too, is teaching a > value system -- a value system that says there are no morals (a lesson by > omission), there is no right and wrong, all moral and ethical decisions are > relative. > > We can only surmise what this poor woman thought as she visited her victim > every few hours as he lay dying in her windshield -- but is it such a leap > in logic to conclude that she thought, "I can't help this man because if I > do, I'll get in trouble." That is the thinking of a moral relativist, a > situational ethicist. She is thinking, as situational ethicists do, of her > own well being first. And the scary thing is, she worked in the health care > profession. > > I don't even think we need to bring G-d into this. Morality isn't purely a > religious question. It's also a rational question. We have a responsibility > to our fellow humans, especially to render aide when it is within our > physical abilities to do so. That is a bright line of morality that you > don't need the Bible or the Quran or the Torah or the Bagnagita to teach > you. It is something you know instinctively unless it's been propagandized > out of you. > > There is no comparison between the evil that has been wrought in times past, > when maybe morality was a little more forcefully taught, and what this woman > did. This woman is no Charles Manson, no Jack the Ripper, no Boston > Strangler -- criminals who ruthlessly hunted down their victims. This is a > woman who probably in her every day life is a very nice lady. She probably > even donates to charity. In other words, she's just an average American. But > when faced with a tough moral decision, she choose the self-serving action. > It's a choice nobody with even a modicum of understanding of personal > responsibility could make. > > And even more telling about the state of morality and ethics in this country > is that this women apparently had no trouble finding friends to help her. > > H. > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jon Hall [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:04 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: I'm speechless ... > > > More like decades of parents not having the time to teach their children > morals. If I had kids, the last thing I'd want teaching my kids morals > is the government. Underpaid government workers at that. > Our schools can barely teach basic geography, how do you expect them to > teach morals? > > Why play the blame game anyway? No one is to blame except the girl who > did this. Legislating morals is not going to stop this kind of event > from happening. People cannot sit back and expect the government to take > care of everything. I say if you really want to stop this kind of thing, > from happening, you should take an active role in a child's life that > needs help. > I fully plan on getting back into the Boy Scouts once I am financially > secure, and have some spare time later in life. I know they kept me out > of trouble when I was a kid (mostly...). > > People have done horrible things since history has been recorded and > probably before. People do horrible things in places where there is no > public or private education. We can go all the way back to Adam and > Eve... People will always do bad things as long as we have free will. > > Besides, everything is relative. Lets not go there though :) > > jon > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Do you think, maybe, that this is what decades of our public schools > > teaching moral relativism has wrought? > > > > H. > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Training from the Source Step by Step ColdFusion http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201758474/houseoffusion Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
