Ethical Education Essay -- The Importance of Education

Ethical Education The goal of education is to develop the highest level of mental, moral and physical ability within students. Ethics are just as important as factual knowledge and physical well-being. Sadly, public schools in this country are against ethical expression of any kind. Ethics are a threat to the school system because they may encourage a need for change in the present standard of education, which is decidedly anti-ethical. In U.S. public schools, students are processed through a well-built machine designed to perpetuate the status quo. Any ethical conflict that a student might have is treated like a malfunction in need of repair. The present school systems prefers cold self-interest to any sense of compassion and I believe that self interest is not a form of morality that children should be taught. Public school made me feel like a small and harmless individual, ranked somewhere in the middle relative to other students. On the standardized tests, I always did well on the verbal section but I had trouble with the math section. My mediocrity in mathematics cursed my chances of becoming the perfect well-balanced student that the system was looking for. I was restrained by grades because I thought that they were some profound measure of my life granted to me by the system. Of course, it is natural for an individual to have strengths and weaknesses, but the bulk of my daily life spent in that institution often left me with that feeling that I was average. Instead of being empowered by the school system, I felt a sense of helplessness to the problems of the world. How can I possibly change the world with my grade point average? What the public school didn’t tell me was that not all historical figures of great im... ...lly deny their accomplishments and cherish those who made it on their own with little regard to anyone else. What public schools need are a strong focus on the highest form of ethical behavior, which, in my opinion, is compassion. I believe that if compassion for oneÕs fellow human being were encouraged from an early age in schools then it would affect society positively. We must create an open environment where all forms of ethics can be discussed by students and the teacher must encourage respect for all forms of moral thought. If we are taught that anyone can act on their concerns and change society then I think we can improve the system. The self-esteem and moral courage of every individual must be built up so that we can achieve a higher state of humanity. Works Cited Kozol, Jonathon. The Night is Dark and I Am Far From Home. New York: Touchstone, 1990