education and value system

VALUE SYSTEMS IN SCHOOLS
“Education the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle”
In today’s world, teaching values to our youth is more important than ever. From the moment they are born, children are extremely impressionable. They begin to form their opinions and view of the world before they even hit their adolescence. What we students and children are subjected to, what we see, and what we are taught at shapes up our personality and how we perceive the world.
Saying this, core values must be taught so children will grow up to be caring, confident and respectful adults.
Since children spend majority of their time at school, where they are taught, it is important to teach values for their development into adults. Educators are tasked with the job of helping children see that values are not only an important part of the educational process but also to their overall development as an individual. Education must instill in children a proactive social conscience.
Students’ understanding is limited to learning about the subjects. We should know how we should live their lives; commit ourselves to the welfare of the country, care about the environment along with other social and moral issues. We should be clear as to what sort of people we hope to become when we complete our education. Education without teaching moral values turns children into machines. Such a perspective defeats the very purpose of education - the wholesome development of personality including ethical development which is fundamental for making responsible decision making in case of moral conflicts.Who we are and who we will become as people can be greatly influenced by what we are taught in our school years.
The mass media (television, magazines, etc.) has senselessly gripped our children, and assaults them with information, views and prejudice in a manner that young minds can hardly discern or judge. While the questioning attitude and critical thinking needs to be encouraged in children, we find that many young people and students treat teachers with disrespect and question out of arrogance and see it as a way of questioning authority. Thus, the academicals and overall development of a child should be given equal importance.
Without values and respect, children have no sense of purpose and clarity. Not to mention, their ability to think clear and straight will be distorted. By fostering an environment where core values are a focal point, it enables students to logically grabble with the moral life and encourages healthy brain development and growth.
Value education is also education in the sense that it is education for 'becoming '. It is concerned with the development of the total personality of the individual—intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic, moral and spiritual. It involves developing sensitivity to the good, the right and the beautiful, ability to choose the right decision. We also get a clear idea of what is ‘right” and “wrong”.
Students can also be taught values through sports: such as sportsmanship, teamwork and integrity.
True education equips individuals to live creatively, responsibly, and peaceably in a society and become involved in the development of a better society.