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Ethical
Reflection and the Power of Practice
David B.
Wangaard, Ed.D.
Reprinted from SEE News, Fall 2000 Vol 4(1)
"The students have been profoundly changed because they have seen how important these kinds of [service] acts are for people who are less fortunate." A teacher in SEE's
Youth: Ethics in Service (YES) Program made this comment at the end of their school project. This was a positive observation as it provided evidence that our project goal of ethical reflection was being practiced.
Ethical reflection is a powerful tool to develop a respect for the concerns of others and has long been recognized as an important goal of character education. Thomas Lickona summarizes his own observations about ethical reflection and notes the ability of children with greater maturity in ethical thinking to help those with less maturity to develop their ethical
awareness1. This process requires sustained practice and is assisted by well-designed reflection activities. Mature ethical reasoning is generally defined by those who recognize the concerns of others, as opposed to those with less mature thinking, who focus on punishment and rewards. Employing the ethical thinking of mature students can be achieved during guided classroom discussion, reflection on in-class activities, or reflection during and after service activities.
Practicing ethical reflection is a necessary requirement to promote maturity in ethical thinking. During the
YES program, teachers recognized that improvement of ethical reflection skills required multiple practice sessions. The application of a practical ethical decision-making framework also assisted the reflection process. The framework used during YES included values such as respect, honesty, and caring stated as behavior goals along with the principle of the Golden Rule.
Guided discussion using good literature is another useful strategy to cultivate ethical reflection. Robert Coles describes some of the reflection activities which have followed the reading from a short story
The Old Grandfather and the Grandson by Leo Tolstoy2. Coles notes, "In time, after we've talked, I've asked the students to write an essay about the Tolstoy story, about its meaning to them, about what they imagine themselves doing with the story if they were parents or teachers. Soon enough,…I am reading introspective memoirs or suggestions for this or that course of action - all of us become witnesses, with Tolsoty's help, to the moral imagination at work."(pg 12)
Class discussion within the traditional curriculum along with well thought out questioning strategies can also help cultivate moral thinking. Phil Vincent in
Developing Character in Students provides excellent examples of graphic organizers to link ethical reflection to academic
content3.
Ethical reflection can be employed during and after service-learning activities, class discussion about literature, or during a variety of academic subjects. The skill becomes more powerful with practice and a focus on core values as outcome goals. Parents and teachers are encouraged to include reflection about character issues to cultivate ethical maturity. Regular ethical reflection can help all of us put our ethics in action.
1 Lickona, T. (1991).
Educating for character.
2 Coles, R. C. (1997). The moral intelligence of
children.
3 Vincent, P. F. (1999). Developing character in
students.
A Compass for Decision Making
David B. Wangaard, Ed.D.
Reprinted from SEE News, Spring 2003 Vol. 6(3)
 As we were growing up, how many of us heard the adult exhortation, “Make a good choice!” This or some variation to encourage positive choice making is meant to help promote youth reflection and ultimately a wise decision with positive outcomes. Now as adults, we probably find ourselves making similar statements to students on the verge of making a choice. How often do we get a blank look in response? Let us consider an example of a student with a choice.
Michael is a nice kid with above average potential who enjoys athletics more than academics. His parents have recently increased their attention to his grades and have threatened loss of some privileges if Michael’s next test scores do not improve. On an errand to the school copy room for his coach, Michael happens to notice copies of his next history test on the copy machine. No one is in the room. He could take one copy and not be noticed.
Clearly Michael is faced with a choice. Does it help him to remember, “Make a good choice!” It may trigger some obligation to honor his parents by practicing trustworthiness; however, he may feel a more immediate pressure to improve his grades and believe that stealing the test would be a good choice to help him study.
How do we teach the skill of making positive choices? Students and adults are confronted with choices everyday. Our values, family training, organizational rules, emotions, and/or self-interest will sometimes guide us. Among the many benefits of character education is the underlying premise that there are universal values that can help guide our choices. The core values are typically identified to include respect, responsibility, honesty, and caring. If you add the principle of the Golden Rule (do unto others…) you have a powerful reasoning device for character-based decision making.
Character-based decision-making is a profoundly simple life skill that can become a compass for choices. It has ethical roots in a Plato and Aristotle and avoids some of the ethical difficulties associated with a focus solely on rules (Kantian ethics), maximization of benefits (Utilitarian ethics) selfish goals (Egoist ethics), or subjective relativism where no one can judge a good decision anyway.
If we apply character-based decision making to Michael’s dilemma, Michael would need to
Step 1 - Stop and recognize he has a choice and consider his options. Michael could steal the test and study from it or he could leave the test alone and complete his chore for the coach.
Step 2 for Michael is to identify what character he would demonstrate by acting on each choice. If he stole the test, would the potential short-term gain to have the test as a study guide represent a positive demonstration of character? Michael could argue he would be responsible to himself to have the test as a study guide, but this ignores the principle of the Golden Rule in choosing his character goal. If you were the teacher, would you want a student stealing the test? Would Michael be demonstrating responsible or trustworthy character to the teacher who left the exams unsupervised? If Michael rejected the temptation to steal the test, would he demonstrate trustworthy character and wisdom to avoid being caught with the test?
Step 3 is to act on our choice to demonstrate positive character. This step often requires the supporting character traits of courage or self-control.
Step 4 is a choice to reflect on past decisions and compare outcomes with the consequences that were anticipated at the time of the choice. This step can help reinforce the value of practicing character-based decision-making.
Character-based decision-making thus provides a simple four-step process to help guide students and adults with a compass to make a “good” decision. How can this be taught? Teachers can introduce and practice this life skill in their classrooms. Students need to learn the steps, practice the steps with role modeling, and be reminded with adult encouragement and with visual aids such as room posters or written class procedures. Practice can be accomplished with age-appropriate scenarios found in class stories or literature, current events, or with circumstances students face at school. Character-based decision-making is a great life skill that can help students apply a compass of character to put ethics in action.
Character based on Respect & Responsibility | Moral Knowing, Moral Feeling,
Moral Action | The Teacher as Caregiver, Model, and Mentor | Teaching Conflict Resolution | Ethical Reflection & Conscience of
Craft | Service Learning | Cooperative Learning | Teaching Values through Curriculum | A Democratic Classroom Environment | Moral Discipline | A Caring Classroom Community
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