Importance of Moral Education: Essay, Article, Short Note

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Importance of Moral Education: Essay, Article, Short Note

Introduction (Essay on Moral Education)

Morality is one of the fundamental aspects of human life and society. It is this moral code that allows people to trust each other, cooperate and form a culture and community with a common set of values and beliefs. Going by the definition, morality is defined as “Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior”. In this modern day and age with rising uncertainty and crime rate, a serious contemplation is required over the kind of education and values being instilled into children and teens.

Importance of Moral Education: Essay, Article, Short Note
Importance of Moral Education: Essay, Article, Short Note

History of moral education

Ever since the beginning of civilization moral teachings and ethical values have been a major part of the education system. Teaching virtues of moral values like honesty, responsibility, and respect for others, was the founding base for the education system. The idea is to develop a system to instill these virtues into children so that they can go on to become productive members of society and contribute towards the common good. In those early days, teaching morality was one of the main objectives of schools. In India, we had “gurukul system” where the students were supposed to live in gurukuls along with their gurus (teachers) and learn to live an ideal life while also acquiring knowledge and relevant skills. Our history is the proof that such a system was indeed very effective and it contributed a lot towards societal advancements in those days.

Present system

Moral education for children

In stark contrast, our modern education system is severely lacking moral education. This globalized system of education is now an industry. Education has become a profit making business where information is sold as knowledge. We are living in a world where people are valued solely based on a number of degrees and domain knowledge. Although it isn’t bad to prioritize knowledge and innovation, none of it can take place of moral values. Humans are social beings and as a society, we need a basic set of principles and values to be respected and followed by all. Living a healthy and fulfilling life is an art which cannot be learned without incorporating life lessons and moral values.

Problems

These are troubled times for our society. We are dealing with not just an increased crime rate and violence but also an increased rate of depression and suicidal tendencies among kids and teenagers. Lack of moral teachings is a major cause of all these problems. Schools and universities can be likened to factories churning out workforce for the ever-changing and dynamic market. Schools are no longer teaching students how to live in society, how to face problems and importance of empathy and care for others. Due to this, kids these days do not know how to deal with life problems and hardships and increasingly they are taking extreme measures. They do not know the solution to their problems and they lack the self-esteem to ask for help. It is like they are stuck in this perpetual misery.

Solution

It is still not too late. What is required is we acknowledge the problems prevailing in our society and take responsibility for it. As adults, it is our responsibility to ensure that necessary steps are taken to help and support the young generation in their life struggle. Our present education system needs a major overhaul. We need to incorporate moral education in a more effective manner and instill necessary values into kids so that they become better humans first and contribute to the society. We are already facing hard times and these steps are important to ensure that our society doesn’t fall apart. We have a rich history to learn from and we can definitely become a better society. All it requires is a little bit of effort and will to be the change for good.

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