Commentary Magazine

Teaching Ethics

Reader Letters

April 1981

To the Editor:

In his brilliant article, William J. Bennett somewhat dampens my optimism about the latest approaches to ethics instruction. . . .

It had been my understanding that beyond providing a background in the ethics of Western civilization, the new values-clarification classes were conceived to crystallize ethical awareness during secondary educational years so as to awaken students earlier to their partnership in shaping personal attitudes and individual pursuits.

Through such rousing exercises, I imagined the possibility of generations of individuals becoming more aware of their rights to moral choices and creative initiatives as they emerged from the age of innocence. I envisioned students made alert to positive and negative values transmitted to them during formative years in family and cultural environments. The new texts promised to be an improvement over the scholasticism that dominated the teaching of ethics and logic when I was a student in the 1940's.

Perhaps I am less distressed with educators who fear “moral indoctrination,” however, because I see a possibility that while trying so hard not to influence moral behavior, they may be impelled as well to abandon a dogmatic style of teaching. Rather than project a teacher-preacher stance, they may take on the educator-facilitator mandate that will encourage students to engage more freely in controversy and expose conflicts of conscience that may be interfering with their moral awareness.

Further, I entertain the possibility that, with mankind's ethical and moral heritage taken out of the realm of vague and theoretical concepts, students may be energized to put their own values to work in comprehending and dealing with the crises of their life and times.

Martha S. Cherkis
New York City