21-Aug-2012, 10:49 PM
An immediate stimulus for this post is this comment trail suggesting that freethought outreach programmes for kids devote due attention to values besides facts about the world, however fascinating those may be. A fuller discussion on what shape can value education from a freethinking and humanistic perspective can take seems in order. We are all aware of challenges in this regard: Building a fact-based discourse devoid of factoids and urban legends is itself not a given, and building a value-based discourse involves additional challenges of ourselves not being entirely confident of having figured out the most beneficial ways of going about it, and the difficulties in forging any kind of intersubjective consensus. Also, we have a clearer idea of what implementations of such programmes are not preferable, than what we would actually like to have implemented.
So here are some questions to get started:
1. Among the activities and readings you have seen employed in value education curricula during either your schooling or that of your children, what are the items which in your judgment are worth retaining and popularizing in a freethinkers' value education curriculum?
2. Are there excerpts from biographies, travelogues or other real-life (including first-person) accounts which you would like to share that can serve as useful illustrations of particular values we would like to impart to children?
3. What is the social context in which it is advisable to ground the discussion on values and draw instances from? This involves questions like, to what extent is compliance to parental authority valued [1], to what extent is instilling a sense of belonging to a nation useful in eventually developing all-embracing humanistic solidarity [2] and how a balance maybe struck between values traditionally espoused by groups with different political affiliations [3], some of which emphasized on accountability and living up to expectations and others which emphasize respecting of preferences and entitlement to rights.
4. What are the ways in which available media can be used to compile resources and conduct programs that can serve as a basis for developing our curriculum of value education? Please add to the discussion here, suggest or author articles on related themes for the main site and recommend or volunteer to deliver a lecture or lead an interactive session with children.
Selected references:
1. Sheena Iyengar : The Art of Choosing (TED talk)
2. Patriotism: Is it necessary/ethical? (Nirmukta thread)
3. Jonathan Haidt: The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives (TED talk)
So here are some questions to get started:
1. Among the activities and readings you have seen employed in value education curricula during either your schooling or that of your children, what are the items which in your judgment are worth retaining and popularizing in a freethinkers' value education curriculum?
2. Are there excerpts from biographies, travelogues or other real-life (including first-person) accounts which you would like to share that can serve as useful illustrations of particular values we would like to impart to children?
3. What is the social context in which it is advisable to ground the discussion on values and draw instances from? This involves questions like, to what extent is compliance to parental authority valued [1], to what extent is instilling a sense of belonging to a nation useful in eventually developing all-embracing humanistic solidarity [2] and how a balance maybe struck between values traditionally espoused by groups with different political affiliations [3], some of which emphasized on accountability and living up to expectations and others which emphasize respecting of preferences and entitlement to rights.
4. What are the ways in which available media can be used to compile resources and conduct programs that can serve as a basis for developing our curriculum of value education? Please add to the discussion here, suggest or author articles on related themes for the main site and recommend or volunteer to deliver a lecture or lead an interactive session with children.
Selected references:
1. Sheena Iyengar : The Art of Choosing (TED talk)
2. Patriotism: Is it necessary/ethical? (Nirmukta thread)
3. Jonathan Haidt: The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives (TED talk)