The family is a tight, succinct unit whose members each have a role in keeping the family intact and whole. The parents are the head of the family. They should be steady and dependable in their advice and manner in which they carry out their actions. They do not abuse any substance and the children feel safe and secure. The children are pulled in to help make familial decisions and their ideas are respected.
History
During the colonial years, because most of the New World was founded by Puritans, morals were seen as the domain of family with schools an extension of that paradigm. This continued well into the 19th century until many immigrants began changing the educational landscape. Catholics, worried that their children would be pulled away from their faith, began forming their own schools. In the early parts of the 20th century, Jews, Muslims and different branches of Protestants began questioning the moral teachings of the schools.
Significance
In addition to the change in family morals due to the influx of immigrants with new ideas, the basis of morals changed due to the shift from a rural environment to that of an industrial environment. Within the rural context, each member knew his place and each member depended on the other to create unity and to survive. When families began moving to the cities, families became less unified.
Effects
The rise of the industrial revolution created a fragmented family life with parents working long hours. The idea of individualism began to hold more weight and seem more important. Civic leaders thought that societal problems were coming from a lack of moral values and so they began to rely more on schools to teach morals.
Capitalism and Morals
It was important to the development of our capitalistic society that all members were educated so that the work force would become top notch. The morals that were taught correlated with what the factories needed from their workers: obedience, attentiveness, hygiene and punctuality.
Warning
Today, it seems that we have come full circle with the teaching of morals being placed squarely on the shoulders of families. Because we live in a pluralistic society, and there are so many concepts of morality, the schools are not expected to teach morals. Many parents prefer to teach their children from home, with their own values and morals guiding them. However, this could have negative outcomes by further fragmenting society if we don't seek to find the similarities in all family morals: justice and compassion.
References
- Parent News: Morals & Values
- Penn State University: Moral Education - A Brief History of Moral Education, The Return of Character Education, Current Approaches to Moral Education
- University of Southern California: Educational Policy
- Educational Psychology Interactive: Moral and Character Development
