INTRODUCTION
Value
Education: Need of the Hour
Mankind
is passing through a crisis. The tremendous emphasis on the scientific and
mechanical ways of life is fast reducing man to the status of a machine. Moral
and religious values are being undermined. The fundamental principles of
civilization are being ignored. Conflicts of ideas, manners and habits are
pervading the atmosphere. Disregard for everything old is the fashion of the
day. At this situation, the solution of all these social and global evils is
through value education. Emphasis should be laid on such education through
which moral values can be developed among the students so that they can conduct
their life morally. They can decide what is right or wrong; what is good or
evil; what is justice or injustice. If we can make a student as a good human
being, the development of moral values within him is the prior task of
education. They are the foundation of human existence. They make our life
meaningful.
Due
to dearth of values in the present generation the curriculum must give
prominence to value education. Value education has never been out of style. It
is very relevant in almost all the fields concerning human activity. We have
outstanding doctors who are in to organ robbery, brilliant engineers whose
bridges collapses soon after their bills are passed, accountants who rob
government treasury by manipulation, civil servants who rule as emperors,
politicians with fake promises. All of them are the best educated and trained
but their intellectual dishonesty is horrifying. Hence, the need of development
of moral values is very significant. Some important needs have been mentioned
below:
1.
Preparing Our Children for Future Roles in Society:
Knowledge
gained in school is only one goal of education. The primary goals of education
should be enabling students to gain knowledge and moral values. Our kids will
need both in preparing themselves to be good parents and citizens in society.
2.
Many Parents Aren’t Teaching Moral Values:
If
all parents were teaching their children moral values in the home, it would not
be necessary for the schools to do this work. The sad fact is that a lot of
kids are not learning from their parents the difference between right and
wrong. This is because most mothers and fathers in their busy work days spend
only a few hours with their children. In many families there is only one parent
and no other role models for kids to follow:
3.
There is Too Much Violence and Dishonesty in Society:
Every
day students are exposed to violence, dishonesty, and other social problems in
the media and the real world. How many times have we heard about school
shootings? What about other times when students are caught cheating on exams?
Then, too, we read about bullying in school and fights between gangs. If moral
values were taught in schools, we would have fewer of these problems.
4.
To Counter Bad Influences in Society:
Unfortunately,
many of the role models of young people are setting bad examples. These bad
examples range from sexual promiscuity, degrading of women, advocacy of
violence, and the condoning of dishonesty in order to succeed.
5.
Moral Values Will Stick with You for Life:
The
significant of moral values in our life is very important. Moral values teach
us what is right or wrong. Thus, we can conduct our life in a right direction.
We can understand what is good or evil. This type of learning helps us to
conduct our life morally in this world.
SOME
IMPORTANT MORAL VALUES IN CURRICULUM
If
we want to make our students as a moral human being, college curriculum is one
of the best ways to serve this purpose. Because he think that moral values can
be inculcated among our students through a value based college curriculum.
Therefore, following is suggested.
1.
Unconditional Love and Kindness: In most cases, if you love someone, he or she
will love you back in return. This, however, is not the real meaning of love.
Love should be unconditional. With more love in the world, kindness will follow
and replace cruelty.
2.
Honesty: Students
must be taught that dishonesty and cheating is wrong, and will get you nowhere
in the future. As a student, one is only hurting himself or herself by
cheating, because this action will eventually catch up to you in the end with
bad consequences.
3.
Hard Work: Nowadays,
so many students want to cheat and cut corners in their studies, because they
are lazy and don’t place any value on hard word. This thinking must change.
4.
Respect for Others: Unfortunately, in our highly competitive dog eat dog
society; many people will tread on others to get ahead in life. Respect for
others should include respecting different religions, races, sexes, ideas, and
life styles.
5.
Co-operation: To
achieve a common goal, it is necessary for all people to work together. If this
is not done, a few people may profit, but the end result for everyone will be a
failure. I still believe in the motto, “united we stand and divided we fall.
6.
Compassion: Compassion
is defined as being sensitive to the needs of people. If there were more
compassion in the world, there would be less homeless, hunger, wars, and
unhappiness.
7.
Forgiveness: Anger
in most cases is caused by unwillingness to forgive. There would be less
violence and fighting in school if students could learn this moral virtue.
Role
of Faculty in Imparting Value Education
Ordinary
Teachers can bring about extraordinary transformation in the society. A teacher
should practice what he preaches. Teachers are a role-model for the students.
Their actions convey more than their words. Students learn values from what the
teachers are rather than from what they say. Teacher makes a maximum impact on
the personality of a student in the formative years. Students imbibe virtues
and vices knowingly and unknowingly from theses role models. Teachers
demonstrate the appropriate behavior of their students by their actions.
Teachers must have healthy attitude and should possess rich values. Teaching is
all about attitude-positive/ negative towards their job of imparting quality
education. Teacher should act as a friend, philosopher and guide.
A
teacher is not only a source of information but is also a mentor and guardian.
For this teacher must respect the teaching profession, love her subjects and
students, Students will seek inspiration from teachers who have high
self-esteem. A decade back or so the role of a teacher was limited to being a
source of information. But today this place is shared by books, coaching
classes, multimedia technology etc. So the role of a teacher is marginalized. Role
of a teacher has increased manifold. In modern times we are experiencing
transition. A teacher can maintain values and nurture them. A teacher has an
immense potential of bringing about a sea change in the society by
demonstrating essential values of head and heart. Teacher can impart values in
students by giving them instructions through discussion, experimentation and
lectures and by the following mentioned ways:
Teachers can maintain a case-study register
to closely observe the students and note down the positive and negative traits
of their personality.
By organizing cultural and sports events
values like team spirit, sharing, spirit of cooperation, patience, courtesy etc
can be imparted.
National and religious festivals must be
celebrated to foster a feeling of homogeneity.
“Thought for the Day” should be employed in
assemblies. Moral thoughts trigger in them moral thinking.
Teachers should give importance to
cooperative learning.
Skits, role plays propagating moral values
can be performed by students under the guidance of teacher.
Teacher must tell the students to go to the
libraries- the treasure house of knowledge. Classics available in the library
are morally rich and inspiring.
Teacher must explain the students the
importance of meditation& yoga practices for realization or the attainment
of oneness with God.
Every day a Teacher must spent at least 5
minutes on moral lecturing.
Impart knowledge of foreign languages to make
them know different cultures.
Organize games, excursions, visits to places
of historical importance. Club activities like nature club, literary club,
wildlife prevention club, social service camps, blood donation etc.
Suicidal
tendencies in students should be curbed. They must be prepared by the teacher
to face the challenges of life fearlessly and with courage.
The
most important agent for building the character of the student is a teacher. Character
is nothing but a bundle of habits formed through repeated acts. Character
building can change the nation. As strong foundation is required for a strong
building, strong character is required for nation-building.
CONCLUSION
When
a problem arises, it needs to be recognized, addressed and resolved. Instead of
blaming people or institutions for the results of a lack of morality in schools
and colleges. We should focus our efforts on finding ways of successfully
implementing character education into schools. Changes have to occur in
parents, legislators, communities, and the media and educational system so that
children are taught how to behave. Actualizing character education programs
into schools is necessary in order to overcome this nation’s crisis of
character. Thus Teachers play an important role in the nation building by
character building of the students. The best and the greatest profession in the
world is that of a teacher, because the future of a nation depends upon the
type of teachers who shape the future generations. Every teacher plays the most
important role in shaping the students as enlightened citizen. I have a simple
message for all faculties, “Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal are
achieved”.
