Teaching Students to Know Goodness (and Be Good)

Truth, Beauty, and Goodness are three essential elements, first emphasized by Plato, for a virtuous life and a flourishing society. The first two articles in this series focus on Truth and Beauty in schools; however, Goodness in schools is more challenging as it incorporates teaching students to know goodness and to be good. 

Knowing What is Good

The academic disciplines that examine the essence of goodness are theology and ethics. Clearly, schools, colleges, and universities that are not religious do not teach theology, and ethics is rarely taught at any school. Unfortunately, most students are not formally taught what is good (at least at school). That is troubling in itself. This is why teaching goodness is going to be more challenging than teaching truth and beauty; it will involve incorporating new lessons, units, courses into the curriculum. 

If we are to teach students to know goodness, we must start with a rigorous study of theology and ethics.

Christian schools have the advantage in teaching students to know what is good. as most have Bible classes, along with classes taught from a biblical perspective. However, not all teachers in Christian schools believe that the Bible is the ultimate standard for goodness or have the training to know how to teach from a biblical perspective. Christian school leaders must hire well and provide ongoing professional development in both Bible knowledge and subject/grade specific pedagogy from a Christian perspective. Keeping this as an institutional priority is key to teaching students what is good.

Ethics or moral philosophy should also be taught, with age-appropriate curricula, so students understand how to view everything from an ethical framework. Thankfully, ethics curriculum is being developed as whole courses and as lessons inserted into units, so students can learn how to evaluate and make good decisions, including topics such as ... 

• Utilitarian and deontological ethics, ethical dilemmas, and fallacies
• Ethical decisions, values-based decisions, just cause, and moral choices 
• Personal ethics, professional workplace ethics, and public ethics

Each of these instructional topics will help to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate skills essential in our world today.  And ... those are sure needed today. 

Living in a break-neck, technological age, the primary question is not, can we do something? (we can) but rather, should we do it? or Is it good to do something? These are their own set of modern ethical questions ... should we clone animals/people? should we use AI to write our papers for us? should we have relationships with humanoids? should we freeze embryos? should we genetically alter pre-born babies? 

Everyday brings a new set of these ethical questions. Answers to these questions take biblical and ethical wisdom, and humanity is (currently) woefully under-trained in these areas. I do believe that educators (especially Christian educators) have an amazing opportunity to fill this gap by teaching goodness.

Knowing goodness should lead to being good, and schools should help develop that, too.

Being Good

I spent 8 years as a dean of students at the college level and 13 years as a high school principal; both of these roles involved establishing a set of rules and then enforcing those rules. Because of these roles in educational leadership, I've spent over 20 years thinking about orthopraxy (or right-actions) in schools. One of the responsibilities of a school is to teach students to be virtuous (good) citizens.

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer and educational philosopher, used the term pietas literata, emphasizing that schools should not only produce smart students but also pious ones. Luther was a strong proponent of universal education to teach all students to read the Bible (priesthood of all believers) and to encourage right actions aligned with God's word. 

Most Christian educators and Christian schools agree with Martin Luther's concept of pietas literata, with a goal of educated and godly graduates. They are training students to be good, and good is defined by the Bible. 

Unfortunately, the majority of American educators and schools do not believe that the Bible is the moral standard. The prevalent worldview in classrooms is individualism, where morality is defined by the individual person, essentially, whatever makes you happy is "good." Consequentially, they are training students to be individuals pursuing individual happiness. Not surprisingly, examples of this mentality are ubiquitous in our narcissistic and ego-centric society.

The best way to learn about goodness and even to be good is to emulate others who make good, ethical decisions and live pious lives. Knowing that adult exemplars are rare today, spotlighting those individuals who are living the "good life" is really important. Teaching students how to know goodness and be good is definitely needed in our society today, and Christian educators, at all levels, should lead the way!