Moral Issue Discussion

Scenario #1: You teach 10th grade social studies in a small high school. The end of the year is approaching and many of your students’ older siblings will be graduating next week. After graduation, there will be a community wide celebration with live music, dancing, and food. Many of your tenth graders, including Jane (who’s sister is graduating), are dating students from other schools and plan to invite their boyfriends and girlfriends to the celebration. Everyone is excited. Several days before graduation, you find out that Jane’s parents are not allowing her to invite her boyfriend to the celebration. While Jane’s parents personally like her boyfriend very much, Jane is “white”, her boyfriend is “black”, and Jane’s grandparents, who will be at graduation, strongly disapprove of interracial dating. It was a very tough decision for Jane’s parents to make, but they decided since it is only one night, they don’t want to upset the grandparents, and they want to make sure nothing ruins her sister’s graduation, that it would be better and easier for everyone if Jane’s boyfriend wasn’t invited. Several days before graduation, your class finishes early. Before heading out to lunch, Jane uses the free time to tell her classmates about her parents’ decision. They tell her “that sucks”, and that “her parents and grandparents are stupid”. Jane agrees with their assessment. Jane’s classmates then continue discussing how much fun they are going to have at the graduation party. You are in the room while this conversation is taking place. You don’t take part in the conversation, but the students know you can hear it. After most of the class leaves for lunch, Jane asks your advice directly.

Morality and teaching: Two basic approaches to consider before we get started (Both taken from Moral Matters) Rodney Morris’ approach: “Caring for students involves taking a personal interest in each one…[Morris] feels responsible for facilitating his students’ intellectual, moral, and social development so that those students will become…good people and decent citizens. This includes (1) modeling the kind of moral character he wishes to instill in his students…and (2) directly teaching moral values” (Stengel & Tom, 4). Mary Brown’s approach: “Where Morris understands himself as a moral steward, Brown defines herself as a ‘professional servant’, carefully avoiding the potential red flag associated with moral matters in a public setting. She is a servant because [she works within] the framework…of the different publics with which she is affiliated (parents, school district, administration, students)… Thus, her primary responsibility is students’ academic growth in mathematics. While she cares personally about her students’ social, moral, and emotional development, these concerns go beyond her professional boundaries” (Stengel and Tom, 5). Brown’s goals: (1) facilitate student’s development of mathematical understanding. (2) facilitate students’ moral and social development by modeling only. Brown attempts to remain “value neutral” (does not teach values directly).

The question I would eventually like to explore… As teachers, what approach should we take when the values we teach or model in the classroom directly conflict with values taught or modeled in a student’s home?

Before we make any judgments about this situation, let’s identify which competing values her parents might have considered when making the decision. Values supporting the “Don’t let Jane invite her boyfriend” position. “Encourage Jane to invite her boyfriend” Position.

Which competing values were the students faced with after hearing Jane’s story? Values supporting the “Do nothing/Continue looking forward to the party” position Values that would lead to Taking a stand/taking part in some type of activism focused on voicing disagreement and forcing change.

What do we do? For the sake of this conversation, let’s assume we think the parents made an unethical decision. Let’s assume wee think it was morally wrong to not allow Jane to invite her boyfriend. Once we make this judgment, what are our options?

Options and their consequences Tell Jane it is none of our business. Decisions like this are up to every individual parent. (Pros and cons of this decision?) Tell Jane we think her parents are wrong. Tell her we are sorry they made that decision. (Pros and cons of this decision?) Tell Jane we think her parents are wrong and that we all have a responsibility to stand up for injustice. Encourage her to fight for what she thinks is right. (Pros and cons of this decision?) Because her classmates are all very aware of the situation already (it is already a community issue), turn this into a civics lesson on equality and the importance of standing up for what is right, even when it is difficult. Encourage them to resist. Call Jane’s parents, express your concerns, and ask them to reconsider. (Pros and cons of this decision?)

Does the reasoning we applied to our first situation work when applied to others? Do we treat the situation differently if Jane wants to invite her girlfriend (if Jane is in a same sex relationship)? What if we are teaching in a region of the country where the majority would not consider same sex dating in high school to be appropriate? What if Jane’s family is very conservative, they think women should not dance in public, and they are not going to let her attend the celebration at all (Jane’s brother is welcome to attend). Jane is 17, all her friends are going to an “R” rated movie this weekend. You (and the law) think Jane is old enough and mature enough to attend, but her parents will not let her…

If time…the actual situation ……..