moral_teachers moral students

7/30/2019 Moral_teachers Moral Students

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Rick Weissbourd 1

MoralTeachers,MoralStudents

Schools can best support students moral development by helping

teachers manage the stresses of their profession and by increasing

teachers

capacity

for

reflection

and

empathy.

RickWeissbourd

Onceagain,thepublicfretsaboutwhetherchildrenarebecominggood

people.Bothconservativecommentators,suchasWilliamBennett(2000),and

researchers,suchasWilliamDamon(2001),decryasteadyriseingreed,

delinquency,anddisrespect.Andonceagain,thepublicholdsschoolslargely

responsibleforremedyingthesetroubles.

Solutions abound.Manycharactereducationeffortsinschoolsnowfocuson

everythingfrom

community

service

to

teaching

students

virtues,

building

goodhabits,rewardingpositivebehavior,anddevelopingstudents capacity

formoralreasoning(Schaps,Schaeffer,&McDonnell,2001).

Thereisvalueinthesesolutions.Studentssurelybenefitfromperforming

communityservice,beingremindedofimportantvirtues,andpracticinggood

habits.

Butwehavebeenwringingourhandsandtryingthesesolutionsfordecades,

insomecasesfortwocenturies,withoutfundamentallychangingstudents

moralprospects.Themoraldevelopmentofstudentsdoesnotdepend

primarilyonexplicitcharactereducationeffortsbutonthematurityand

ethicalcapacitiesoftheadultswithwhomtheyinteractespeciallyparents,

butalsoteachers,coaches,andothercommunityadults.

Educatorsinfluencestudentsmoraldevelopmentnotsimplybybeinggood

rolemodelsimportantasthatisbutalsobywhattheybringtotheir

relationshipswithstudentsdaytoday:theirabilitytoappreciatestudents

perspectivesandtodisentanglethemfromtheirown,theirabilitytoadmit

andlearnfrommoralerror,theirmoralenergyandidealism,theirgenerosity,

andtheirabilitytohelpstudentsdevelopmoralthinkingwithoutshying

awayfromtheirownmoralauthority.Thatlevelofinfluencemakesbeingan

adultinaschoolaprofoundmoralchallenge.Anditmeansthatwewillnever

greatlyimprovestudentsmoraldevelopmentinschoolswithouttakingon

thecomplextaskofdevelopingadultsmaturityandethicalcapacities.We

needtorethinkthenatureofmoraldevelopmentitself.

GuidingStudents MoralandEmotionalGrowth

Duringthepastdecade,Ihavespentmuchtimeinschoolsandtalkedto

manystudents.Ihaveobservedagainandagainstudents exquisite

sensitivitytothequalitiesoftheirteachersboththeirfierceloyaltytothe


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Rick Weissbourd 2

teacherstheytrustandtheirkeenalertnesstohypocrisy,injustice,and

indifference.Researchshowsthatevenwhenschoolsaremassively

restructured,studentsoftenremainstrangelyoblivioustonewstructuresand

practices.Whenaskedaboutthestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirschools

afterthese

reforms,

students

focus

on

the

strengths

and

weaknesses

of

individualteachers(WarrenLittle,1998).

Intheserelationships,moralqualitiesareshaped.Adultsdonotsimply

transmitmoralqualitiesandbeliefstochildren.Thesequalitiesandbeliefs

emergeandcontinuallyevolveinthewidearrayofrelationshipsthatevery

childhaswithbothadultsandpeersstartingnearlyatbirth,andinchildrens

feltknowledgeofwhatisharmful,true,orright.Intheserelationships,

childrencontinuallysortout,forexample,whattheyoweothers,whatthey

shouldstandfor,whattraditionsareworthkeeping,whethertofollowrules,

howtocontributetotheirfamily,classroom,andcommunityinotherwords,howtobeadecenthumanbeing.

ShouldItellmyteacherwhenIknowanotherstudentislyingtoher?DoI

havetosayyestothegirlwhoinvitedmeoverandwhodoesnthavefriends,

whenIwouldratherplaywithanothergirlIlikemore?ShouldIspeakmy

mindaboutanissuethatsimportanttome,eventhoughImaylosefriends?

Fair,generous,caring,andempatheticeducatorsmodelthesequalitiesand

caneffectivelyguidestudentsinsortingoutthesequestions.Oftenadultsare

also

effective

when

they

express

how

their

own

moral

questions

are

related

to

childrensmoralquestionsandwhentheymodelhowtothinkthroughmoral

issuesanddilemmas.

Teacherstudentrelationshipsshapestudentsmoraldevelopmentinanother

sensethroughtheirinfluenceonstudents emotionaldevelopment.Mostof

thetalkaboutmoraldevelopmentinschoolassumesthatwecanteach

studentstobehavemorallybyinstillinginthemvirtuesandstandards,aclear

senseofrightandwrong.Thisassumptionignoresthefactthatemotionsare

oftenthehorse,valuesandvirtuestheridertryingtohangon.Harvardchild

psychologistJerome

Kagan

(1995)

observes

that

violence

prevention

programsthatexplaintostudentstheharmfulconsequencesofviolenceoften

donthelpbecause childrenknowviolenceiswrongwhattheycantcontrol

istheshameanddestructiveimpulsesthatfuelviolence.

Peopledonotusuallylie,cheat,orabuseothersbecausetheydontvalue

honestyandrespect;morelikely,theysufferfromfeelingsofinferiority,

cynicism,oregocentrismthatblindthemtoothers feelings.Research

suggeststhatsuchemotionsasshame,anger,andcynicisminparticulareat

awayatcaring,asenseofresponsibility,andotherimportantmoralqualities

(Gilligan,1996;Rozinetal.,1999).Whenpeoplesmoralbeliefsconflictwiththeirimmoralactions,manywillchangetheirbeliefstoaccommodatetheir


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Rick Weissbourd 3

actions,notviceversa.Theywilljustifystealing,forexample,because society

iscorrupt orbecause allpeoplearebasicallyselfinterested.

ComplexInteractions

Whatmakes

matters

more

complicated

is

that

the

influence

of

teachers

and

otheradultsonstudents emotionalandmorallivesgoesbothways,in

complexreverberationsandinteractionsthatareoftenpositivebutsometimes

clearlydestructive.Forexample,Randall,a7thgraderwhogetsunder

everyonesskin,findshimselfinacommonkindofescalatingwarwith

adults.Hisconstantantagonismmakesithardforteacherstoseehis

perspectiveoneteachercallshim ajerk, andtheprincipalreferstohimin

evenharshertermswhichmakeshimstepuphisprovocations,further

angeringhisteachersandtheprincipal.Randallisspinningoutofhisschool

community.When

Iask

him

whom

he

trusts,

he

holds

up

apiece

of

paper

thatistotallyblank.

Oftenachainofcomplexinteractionsamonghome,school,andpeersshapes

studentsmoralqualitiesandbehavior.ConsiderSally,a10yearoldwith

AttentionDeficitDisorder.Sallyhasahighlyanxiousmotherandafather

pronetospikesofanger.Accordingtoherpsychologist,Sallyisfuriouswith

themandisolatesherselfathome.Atschool,shehasbecomeincreasingly

disruptiveandrude:Shewroteonthechalkboardthatherteacherisabitch.

Herteacherhaslittleempathyforher,notonlybecauseoftheseattacksbut

alsobecause

she

feels

harassed

and

criticized

by

Sally

smother.

At

war

with

bothherparentsandherteacher,Sallylookstoherpeersforsupport.Other

students,however,findherneedyandrude.Sallybecomesmoreprovocative

withherteacher,andthespiralcontinuesdownward.

TeachersWhoMakeaDifference

Manyteachers,ofcourse,areeffectiveatidentifyingandturningaround

thesedownwardspiralsandatpromotingkeyemotionalandethicalqualities.

Manyteacherscommunicatehighmoralexpectationsandprovidesteady

listeningand

opportunities

for

accomplishment

that

reduce

students

shame

anddistrust.Manyteacherslearnfromtheirownmoralerrorsand

continuallydeveloptheircapacitytoseetheperspectiveofeverystudentin

theirclassrooms.Irecentlytalkedtoa4thgradeteacherwhotoldmethatshe

thinksthata10yearoldboyinherclassroomhasamorerefinedand

complexsenseofjusticethanshedoesthatheismoreeffectiveatworking

outconflictsintheclassroomthansheis.Shesaidthatshetriestolearnfrom

him.

Iknowteacherswhoworkhardtoentertheparticularmoralworldsof

students.A

high

school

teacher

recently

told

me

about

his

efforts

not

to

condonebuttounderstandwhyastudentheadmiredhadbroughtagunto


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Rick Weissbourd 4

school.Itturnedoutthatthisstudentwentstraightfromschooltoworkand

returnedhomelateatnight.Onhiswayhomefromthebus,hehadtowalk

pastagangthathadthreatenedhimseveraltimes.Bringingthegunwasnot

anactofprovocationbutanactofselfdefense.Thissameteachertoldme

abouthis

struggles

to

understand

the

religious

orientations

that

underlie

somestudentsmoralthinking.Herecalledhowvexedagirlinhisclass

becamewhenherelatedthathedidnotbelieveinGod.HowcanIrespect

yourjudgmentandguidance,thestudentaskedopenly,ifitisnotrootedina

beliefinGod?Theteacherrealizedthedepthofhisstudentsreligious

feelings.Ihaveobservedthatotherteachersconsciouslytrytotakethe

perspectiveofthechildrenwhomtheyfindmostfrustrating.

Manyteachersandadministrators,however,clearlydontpossessthese

qualitiesordontexpressthemintheirinteractionswithstudentsdayto

day.Theseteachersandadministratorsdontreachouttostrugglingstudents,dontattempttoseestudents perspectives,andhavelosttheiridealism.What

getsinthewayofadultsdevelopingorexpressingthesequalities?Andwhat

canwedoaboutit?

DepressionandDisillusionment

Exactdataaredifficulttoobtain,butIthinkthatdisillusionmentand

depressionunderminelargenumbersofteachersinurbanschools.Ireferhere

lesstotheserious,acutedepressionthatafflictsabout20percentofU.S.

adults(Beardslee,

2002)

than

to

the

steady

drizzle

of

helplessness

and

hopelessnessthatcanwearteachersdown.

Thelitanyofstressesthattheseteachersbearhasbecomewellknown.They

cantgettextbooksandothermaterials;theyfeelstranded,maroonedintheir

classrooms;theydontgetadequatesupportfromadministrators;theydont

believethattheyhavetheskillstodealwithproblemsthattheyconfront

everyday.Eventhoseteacherswhodeveloptheskillsandknowledgeto

workeffectivelywithindividualstudentsoftenbecomeoverwhelmedwhen

theyrealizewhatitwouldtaketoworkeffectivelywitheverystruggling

studentintheirclassroom. Asahuman,Imayneverbeuptothis, onetoldme.

AcolleaguewhorecentlydirectedaninstitutefornewteachersinBoston

believesthatnewteacherssufferakindoflearnedhelplessnessatermcoined

byMartinSeligmanattheUniversityofPennsylvaniaagradualsenseof

losingcontrol(Peterson,Maier,&Seligman,1993).Youcanhardlysetfootin

anurbanschoolthesedayswithoutalsohearingabouttheburdenof

managingstudentswithbehaviortroubles.Someteachersfeelphysicallyat

risk.Oneofmyformergraduatestudentswashurtwhilephysically

restraininga2ndgradestudent;another7yearoldtoldherthathewasgoing


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Rick Weissbourd 5

tokillher.Shecameintomyofficeinakindofmoralshock,adisbeliefthat

thisstateofaffairsexisted.Mostteachershavebroughttothisworktheir

heartsandsouls,andmanyhavelostthebeliefthattheycanmakeareal

differenceinstudents lives.

Researchdocumentingwhathappenstoadultswhentheygetdepressedmayshedlightonwhathappenstoteacherswhofeelthischronicsenseof

helplessnessandbecomeburnedout.Depressedadultsoftenbecome

unilateralandcommandingintheirinteractionswithotherpeople.Their

behaviortendstobegovernedbytheirownmoodsandneedsratherthanby

anawarenessofothers.Theytendtotakethepathofleastresistanceanddo

whatrequirestheleasteffort.Oftentheybecomewithdrawn,irritable,critical,

orsometimesoutrighthostile(McLoyd,1990).Whatshardforthemare

exactlythequalitiesempathy,patience,persistence,consistency,idealism

thatarecrucialforteacherstoshepherdstudentsmoralgrowth.

MisconceptionsaboutAdults MoralDevelopment

Yettheremaybeabiggerobstacletoadultsdevelopingimportantmoral

qualities,andthatobstacleisafundamentalculturalmisconceptionaboutthe

natureofadultsmorallives.Mostadults,includingmostteachers,dontview

themselvesasengagedintheirownmoralgrowth.Wehavethepeculiar

notionthatourmoralnaturesareestablishedbylatechildhoodandthatas

adults,wesimplyliveoutthediethatiscast.

Yetnewmodelsofadultdevelopmentsuggestthatadults ethicalqualitiesdonotremainstaticatalltheyzigzagdependingonmanyfactors(Noam,

1995).Someadultsbecomemoregenerousandcompassionateovertime;

othersbecomemoreselfish.Someadultsbecomewiser,moreabletodistill

importantmoraltruths;others notionsoffairnessbecomemoreformulaicor

coarse.Manypeoplelosetheirmoralenthusiasms.Everystageofadulthood

bringsbothnewmoralweaknessesandnewmoralstrengths.

Thiscapacityforchangemeansthatthetypicaladulthasnotreachedhisor

hermoralpotential.KingLeardoesnotdevelopcompassionoramature

senseofjusticeuntilhenearsdeath.Schoolsfacethechallengeofcreating

culturesinwhichteacherscometoviewappreciatingandbeinggenerousto

others,actingwithfairnessandintegrity,andformulatingmatureand

resilientidealsasevolvingandsubtlecapacities. Thereisnothingnoblein

beingsuperiortosomebodyelse, civilrightsleaderWhitneyYoungsays.

Theonlyrealnobilityisinbeingsuperiortoyourformerself.

Muchofwhatpassesforcharactereducationinschoolssimplyhasno

influenceonadults emotionalormoralqualities.Theconstantexhortations

that

teachers

receive

to

become

better

role

models

generate

by

themselves

neithertheinternalcommitmentsnortheexternalguidanceandsupportthat


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Rick Weissbourd 6

teachersneedtodevelopthesequalities.Minimally,aneffectivemoral

educationeffortwouldincludespecificstrategiesforhelpingadultsdealwith

disillusionmentandhelplessnessandwouldfocusoncreatingaculturethat

supportsteachersintheiremotionalandmoralgrowth.

TowardEffectiveMoralEducation

Schoolsclearlycantrespondtoallthetroublesthatleadtohelplessnessand

hopelessnessinteachers.Buttheycanfocusontwoprimecauses:thestrainof

dealingwithstudentswithbehaviortroubles;andisolation.

Manyschoolsnowputapriorityonhelpingteachersworkwithstudentswith

behaviorproblems,notonlybecausetheseproblemsaresofrayingtoteachers

butalsobecausetheproblemsundercutthelearningofallstudentsinthe

classroom.Happily,programsexisttohelpteachersdealeffectivelywith

thesestudents.Thebestgiveteachersspecificstrategiesandbreakdownteachers isolation,creatingstronger,morecaringschoolcommunities.An

exampleistheChildDevelopmentProject,anelementaryschoolprogram

designed,implemented,andevaluatedbytheDevelopmentalStudiesCenter

inOakland,California(Battistichetal.,1991).Amongthemanysupports

provided,teacherslearneffectivedisciplinestrategiesandreceivehelpin

developingstudents intrinsicmotivestoactconstructivelyandcooperatively,

includingengagingstudentsinrulesetting,decisionmaking,andproblem

solving.Overthepastfouryears,IhaveworkedintwoBostonelementary

schoolswith

Robert

Selman,

Bethany

Montgomery,

and

Alison

Auderieth

on

asimilarproject,whichtrainsadiversecadreofgraduatestudentstowork

withschoolsonthesegoals.

Schoolsmightalsoassistingettingthesmallnumberofteacherssuffering

fromseriousdepressionintotreatment.Suchtreatmenthasdramatically

improvedinthepast25years(Beardslee,2002).Iamcertainlynotsuggesting

thatschooladministratorsidentifydepressedteachersandpressuretheminto

gettingtherapy.Butschoolscouldplayamuchbiggerrolebyparticipatingin

theNationalInstituteofMentalHealthsongoingpubliceducationcampaign

ondepressionawarenessandscreening,includingusingpostersandothermaterialstoinformbothparentsandteachersaboutthesymptomsof

depressionandabouttreatmentresources.

Althoughamountainousliteratureexistsondepression,psychologistshave

remarkablylittleunderstandingofdisillusionment.Theydontevenhavea

vocabularyfortalkingaboutit.Butdisillusionmentespeciallythelossofa

beliefthattheycanmakeadifferenceinstudents livesisoneofthebiggest

reasonsthatnearlyonehalfofteachersintheUnitedStatesleavethe

professionwithintheirfirstfiveyears(EducationWeek,2001).Disillusionment

isnotnecessarilybad.Strictlyspeaking,disillusionmentisfreedomfrom


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Rick Weissbourd 7

illusion.Itistheabilitytofaceandabsorbagreaterportionofrealitya

foundationforwisdomandmaturity.Butdisillusionmentturnspernicious

whenitslidesintohelplessnessandpassivitywhenteachersdonthavethe

confidence,support,oropportunitiesforthecreativityneededtomasterthese

realities.

Thereisagreatdealoftalkthesedaysaboutstronger,morecoherent

mentoringprogramsfornewteachers,andthesenewprogramsarevitalfor

helpingteachersworkthroughdisillusionment.Mentorscanassistteachersin

developingtheircompetenceandtalents,buttheycanalsoberesponsiveto

teachersatpreciselythosemomentswhennewteachers imagesand

expectationsaboutteachingcollidewithdifficultrealities.Mentorscanhelp

newteachersberealisticandtakeprideinseeminglysmallaccomplishments.

Mentorscanalsohelpnewteachersthinkaboutcreative,diversecareerpaths

withintheteachingprofessionthatmightenablethemtousetheirtalentsand

havealargerimpactonstudents lives.Researchsuggeststhatusingtheir

talentsandgrowingprofessionallyaresignificantlymoreimportantthan

statusorsalaryinboostingteachersmorale(Heath,1994).Agrowingchorus

ofeducatorsandresearchersnowcallforrevampingteachers career

opportunitiestoallowteacherstobecomeinnovativeandentrepreneurial

forexample,enablingthemtostarttheirownprograms,conductresearch,

takesabbaticalsintheprivatesector,orassumeleadershiproles.

Such

changes

as

these

should

be

one

piece

of

a

broad

effort

to

support

both

teachers ethicalgrowthandtheirabilitytoguidestudents ethicalgrowth.

Newmodesofprofessionaldevelopmentfocusedonimprovinginstruction

canteachusmuchinthisregard.District2inNewYork,forexample,has

attractedattentionforrevampingprofessionaldevelopmentsothatteachers

regularlyobserveandreflectononeanotherspractice.Veteranprofessionals

withexpertiseinsuchimportantcontentareasasliteracyalsocoachteachers.

Schooldistrictsneedtodomuchmoretopromoteprofessionalculturesthat

focusonbothacademicinstructionanddevelopingadults ethicalawareness

andskills.

Teachers,

guided

by

coaches,

could

provide

feedback

to

one

anotheronsuchtopicsasearningrespectandtrust,creatingacaring

community,dealingwithchallengingstudents,andidentifyingandreversing

thedownwardspiralsinwhichstudentsandadultsgetcaught.

Teachersneedopportunitiestoreflectonwhytheyhavedifficulty

empathizingwithparticularstudents,ontheirsuccessesandfailuresin

cultivatingstudentsmoralthinking,andonthestateoftheirownideals.

Teachersneedemotionalsupportfromtheircolleaguesindealingwith

chronicstress.Andadministratorsneedtolearntheartofcreating

opportunitiesforthisemotionalsupportwithoutturningschoolsintothekindsoftherapeuticculturesthatwouldestrangemanyteachers.


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Rick Weissbourd 8

Noneofthis,ofcourse,willbeeasy.Butitdoesnthavetobeyetanothertask

forschoolsalreadyburdenedwiththehardworkofimprovinginstruction.

Muchoftheworkcanbedoneinthecontextofwhatschoolsshouldbedoing

anywaytosupportnewteachersandtopromotegoodinstruction,andmuch

ofitcreating

strong

communities,

helping

teachers

manage

students

with

behaviorproblems,increasingadults capacityforreflectionwillcertainly

serveacademicgoals.Bestofall,thisapproach,unlikesomanycurrent

charactereducationefforts,standsarealchanceofnurturinginchildrenthe

qualitiesthattheyneedtobecomecaringandresponsibleadults.

References

Battistich,V.,Watson,M.,Solomon,D.,Schaps,E.,&Solomon,J.(1991).The

ChildDevelopmentProject:Acomprehensiveprogramforthedevelopment

ofprosocial

character.

In

J.

L.

Gewirtz

&

W.

M.

Kurtines

(Eds.),

Handbook

of

moralbehavioranddevelopment(Vol.3).Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum.

Beardslee,B.(2002).Outofthedarkenedroom.Boston:LittleBrown.

Bennett,W.(2000).WhatreallyailsAmerica?InG.Muller(Ed.),TheMcGraw

Hillreader(7thed.,pp.342346).Boston:McGrawHill.

Damon,W.(2001).Tonotfadeaway:Restoringcivilidentityintheyoung.In

D.Ravitch&J.Viteritti(Eds.),Makinggoodcitizens(pp.122141).NewHaven,

CT:YalePress.

EducationWeek.(2000,January).Qualitycounts2000:Whoshouldteach?Bethesda,MD:EditorialProjectsinEducation.

Gilligan,J.(1996).Violence:Ourdeadlyepidemicanditscauses.NewYork:

Putnam.

Heath,D.(1994).Schoolsofhope:Developingmindandcharacterintodaysyouth.

SanFrancisco:JosseyBass.

Kagan,J.(1995).Personalcommunication.

McLoyd,V.(1990).Theimpactofeconomichardshiponblackfamiliesand

children:Psychologicaldistress,parenting,andsocioemotionaldevelopment.

ChildDevelopment,61,311346.

Noam,G.(1995).Reconceptualizingmaturity:Thesearchfordeepermeaning.

InG.Noam&K.Fischer(Eds.),Developmentandvulnerabilityinclose

relationships.Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum.

Peterson,C.,Maier,S.,&Seligman,M.(1993).Learnedhelplessness:Atheoryfor

theageofpersonalcontrol.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.

Rozin,P.,etal.(1999).Themappingbetweenthreemoralemotions(contempt,

anger,anddisgust)andthreemoralcodes(community,autonomy,divinity).JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,76(4),574586.


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Schaps,E.,Schaeffer,E.,&McDonnell,S.(2001,September12).Whatsright

andwrongincharactereducationtoday.EducationWeek,pp.4041.

WarrenLittle,J.(1998).CaliforniasSchoolRestructuringDemonstrationProgram:

Lessonsaboutcomprehensiveschoolreformanditseffectsonstudents,educators,and

schools.ExcerptofpaperpresentedatUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.

RickWeissbourdisalectureroneducationattheHarvardUniversity

GraduateSchoolofEducationandtheKennedySchoolofGovernment;

[email protected]:What

ReallyHurtsAmericasChildrenandWhatWeCanDoAboutIt(AddisonWesley,

1996).

moral_teachers moral students

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