Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Value Education

Some context for the topic:

When I chose to do another 'masters', it made a lot of people ask 'why'...'what is the objective' 

As part of the counselling program I'd done a couple years back, while most others in class enjoyed the practical part of the course, I loved the theory.....the process of how thinking in psychology even evolved. It's after all a fairly nascent science. The earliest predecessors... Freud, Carl Jung, Piaget, Skinner, Erikson, to name a few, were all through Mid to Late 1900's, and that makes it almost 'now'.

That in fact became appetizer. I tried pursuing reading on my own...but found it hard put to find the right books... there was just too much out there.

Above that, I'm a believer in 'structured education'. Best way to learn a new area is what I felt. Beyond that there was no purpose.

Just sitting and doing my assignments...the topics....the reading....the research, and I'm already feeling validated for the decision. (exams are still in the future see :)

One of the fun facets of learning....you also get to share. Last night, one of the topics I did 'Value Education', I thought might be of general interest. Taking the shortcut... putting excerpts of an assignment in here :)

Value Education

Values are defined as a set of principles or attitudes which govern our behaviour and guide the way we look at the world. They are typically non-conscious and implicit motivators and serve self expansion and fuller self actualization.

While each individual is unique in their own values, there has been extensive research on a 'value influenced learning'  that can be used in education to inculcate certain foundational values in children. 

Bertrand Russell - "I'll take four characteristics which seem to me jointly to form the basis of an ideal character.....I don't suggest that the list is complete, but I think it carries us a good way"

1. Vitality

This is more a physical than a mental characteristic, and is presumably always present where there is perfect health. When there is vitality, there is a natural pleasure in being alive, irrespective of external pleasant circumstances. It makes it easy to take an interest in whatever occurs and thus promotes objectivity and the ability to be interested and committed to the external world.

2. Courage

"Courage is a must have for whoever wants to live life to the fullest", Russell again

He says there are several components of courage, be they the absence of fear or the power of controlling fear. To be fully courageous we must instill courage in our heart. He says "fear should be overcome not only in action, but in feeling, and not only in conscious feeling but in the unconscious as well".

The perfection of courage is found in the man of many interests who 'feels' his ego to be but a small part of the world, not through despising himself, but valuing much that is not himself.

This state can be achieved when the instinct is free and intelligence is active.

3. Sensitiveness

"Sensitivity belongs to emotions"

A person is emotionally sensitive when many stimuli produce emotion in him, and the desirable quality about it is of being affected pleasurably or the reverse by many things, and by the right things.

4. Intelligence

Throughout his work Russell put an undue amount of importance on intelligence. Intelligence as an aptitude for acquiring knowledge. An aptitude for acquiring knowledge can be developed by giving direction to curiosity which is the foundation of intellectual life. Curiosity is inspired by a genuine love of knowledge, and with the death of curiosity we may reckon that active intelligence is also dead. Curiosity about general propositions shows a higher level of intelligence than curiosity about particular facts.

A natural outcome is one of open mindedness and co-operation which create a society with ideal characters.

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