Ethical
Reflection and the
Power of Practice
By
David B. Wangaard, Ed.D.
"The
students have been profoundly changed because they have seen how important
these kinds of acts are for people who are less fortunate.” A teacher in
SEE’s Building Ethical Communities (BEC) Program
made this comment at the end of their school project last year. This was a
positive observation as it provided evidence that our project goal of
ethical reflection was being practiced (see Grants).
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 BEC,
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 BEC 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 moral thinking. 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.
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