A democratic-reflective approach to moral instruction in the public high school, with illustrative units

Abstract

As far as the author is concerned, there is only one way of teaching moral values and moral behavior. It is not by indoctrination of uncritical attitudes toward conventional moral standards, but rather by teaching how choices may be made when confronted with conflicting attitudes and values. We cannot help students except as we confront them with these conflicts and encourage them to work out independent, considered solutions. This we have tried to do; presenting conflicts, some of which are of personal import and others which affect our culture as a whole.

Each of these units possesses certain elements of procedure that are common to all the other units. In each unit, one or more conflicts is presented, either at the outset or within the body of the unit. Secondly, questions are raised to stimulate thinking on the part of the students with a view toward resolving the conflict. The cards are not stacked; preconceived conclusions are not aimed at. Questions are raised in an attempt to get students to consider alternative viewpoints and alternative ways of resolving the conflicts. Thirdly, as conclusions are about to be drawn, criteria to be used in judging the various ideas and resolutions ·presented are suggested. And fourthly, conclusions, although generally stated, are arrived at in terms of unit material and selected criteria.

We desire to leave one major challenge to the public schools of our day; namely, to help and encourage students to live and participate effectively in a democracy and to enhance their ability to do so. Achievement of these goals can never be through indoctrination. Indoctrinated loyalty is almost sure to be a non-reflective one. It will be a "pat-answer" type of loyalty, which will not withstand careful and persistent scrutiny. The democratic-reflective approach to teaching avoids indoctrination through a deliberate attempt to unleash latent student abilities in a classroom situation where, although guidance is available, they are stimulated and encouraged to practice the art of making enlightened decisions and reaching tenable conclusions, independently. This type of teaching, in the writer's opinion, will meet such a challenge to teachers of our day by actually encouraging continuous and rigorous re-examination of our understandings and loyalties with a view toward improving them.