A Call for Emphasis on Private Morality and Virtue Teaching

Christina Hoff Sommers, a philosopher, argues that teaching ethics is super important in education. She talks a lot about private and social morality. Even though teachers cover Ethics courses with topics like abortion, euthanasia, and corruption in big businesses, she says they don’t really focus on private morals.

Private morals are getting ignored, and if we only focus on social morality, balancing the two will be tough. Also, the article keeps mentioning dogmatic ethical relativists. Sommers says, “in ethics, right and wrong do exist.” Which sounds right, but it doesn’t mean everyone will agree. That’s where relativism comes in. Some folks think what’s right or wrong is flexible. What seems right to most people might seem wrong to someone else. Sommers thinks teaching Aristotle can help with this. Aristotle’s all about courage, generosity, and temperance. His teachings make dogmatic relativism less appealing and students seem to like it naturally.

Even though Aristotle’s ideas are controversial, students can’t really use relativism to argue against them. The article also mentions that Ethics teaching has changed a lot over time. There was a time when Ethics classes were clear and mandatory, but then they became optional. In the 60s, Ethics teaching picked up again. But even then, students stayed morally confused, even on non-controversial issues.

As a teacher, Sommers felt it was important to present well-rounded arguments on all moral issues. But even then, students would say morals are subjective. To open their minds, Ethics classes need to establish that there is a right and wrong. Otherwise, the class can fall apart and lead to moral confusion. If students recognize the idea of right and wrong, it should lead to common moral sense. Also, instead of teaching abstract dilemmas that confuse students, it’s better to use stories and parables that teach moral principles.

It’s even said that the Jewish culture survived because of meaningful stories. Some people think telling such stories can lead to indoctrination. But teachers are just giving students stories to help them draw their own conclusions. Literary figures contribute a lot to providing strong moral examples. To teach virtue successfully, schools need behavior policies, and teachers shouldn’t be criticized for teaching civility.

Personally, I agree with what Sommers says. Moral intelligence is super important today. It’s essential to make the world run smoothly. I find it hard to understand ethical relativists because their beliefs have many flaws. They think there are no moral absolutes, what’s right for you might not be right for me, and no moral principles apply to everyone, everywhere, all the time. This assumes our morals change with social norms. Ethical relativism sounds good until it denies universal morals exist.

I think Sommers provides good ways for schools to teach virtues better. She suggests character learning and teaching through parables. Character learning works well in many expeditionary learning schools. I go to an EL high school that uses character learning. This kind of education has helped me a lot, boosting my critical thinking and personal growth. I believe if all schools used character learning, we’d see fewer dogmatic relativists.

Teaching Ethics through parables is also a great way to introduce morals. Many cultures have grown strong because of parables. They help people understand subjects better by connecting them to familiar stories. Lastly, I agree with Sommers on moral relativism. Since students aren’t taught right from wrong, it’s easy to rely on moral relativism. Moral dilemmas in schools contribute to this. When students face dilemmas with no clear right or wrong, it can confuse their moral compass, leading to moral relativism.