Title: Moral Teachers, Moral Students - Educational Leadership
Headings: Moral Teachers, Moral Students
Moral Teachers, Moral Students
Guiding Students' Moral and Emotional Growth
Complex Interactions
Teachers Who Make a Difference
Depression and Disillusionment
Misconceptions About Adults' Moral Development
Toward Effective Moral Education
References
KEYWORDS
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Content: When people's moral beliefs conflict with their immoral actions, many will change their beliefs to accommodate their actions, not vice versa. They will justify stealing, for example, because “society is corrupt” or because “all people are basically self-interested.” Complex Interactions
What makes matters more complicated is that the influence of teachers and other adults on students' emotional and moral lives goes both ways, in complex reverberations and interactions that are often positive but sometimes clearly destructive. For example, Randall, a 7th grader who gets under everyone's skin, finds himself in a common kind of escalating war with adults. His constant antagonism makes it hard for teachers to see his perspective—one teacher calls him “a jerk,” and the principal refers to him in even harsher terms—which makes him step up his provocations, further angering his teachers and the principal. Randall is spinning out of his school community. When I ask him whom he trusts, he holds up a piece of paper that is totally blank. Often a chain of complex interactions among home, school, and peers shapes students' moral qualities and behavior. Consider Sally, a 10-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder. Sally has a highly anxious mother and a father prone to spikes of anger.