The Moral Life of Schools:
Teaching Ethical Thinking &
Moral Courage
Patrick F. Bassett
Bassett@HeadsUpEd.com
202.746.5444
The Challenges We Face
Overhead in the Hallways & NAIS Moral Life of Schools Survey
Results: Student Responses
• 3rd grader: “I’m not altogether certain what immorality
means, but I think it means……..
….‘living in the suburbs.’”
• 9th grader: "I haven't been here long enough…..
to tackle a moral question. Sorry."
• 9th grader: "Whether or not to cheat. I've decided not to.
….Not much, anyway."
The Challenges We Face
Overhead in the Hallways & NAIS Moral Life of Schools Survey
Results: Student Responses
• 6th grader: "The whole class had the opportunity to
cheat, but no one did…..
It was an easy test."
• 7th grader: "I found $20 on the library table and
turned it in. I should have kept it. The kid was a jerk
and was ungrateful…..
I beat him up after school."
The Challenges We Face
• 10th grader tour guide response (Episcopal-related
school) to Jewish parent’s query about whether or not
there was any anti-Semitism at the school: “Why yes…
this is a great school, and we have everything here.”
• Teacher of the Year, after being challenged for
physically punishing two boys who had published
unflattering remarks about her in newly troweled
sidewalk: “Well I loved them in the abstract…
but not the concrete.”
“Psst! Human Capital -What
Works for Success” ~ David Brooks,
New York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005
 Cultural Capital: the habits, assumptions, emotional
dispositions and linguistic capacities we unconsciously pick
up from families, neighbors and ethnic groups - usually by
age 3.
– PFB note: Is it “cool” to read, to study, or not?
 Social Capital: the knowledge of how to behave in groups
and within institutions.
– PFB note: UNC classes for students on how to behave in
restaurants; needed.
 Moral Capital: the ability to be trustworthy.
– PFB note: Key factor in leadership at any level.
“Psst! Human Capital -What
Works for Success” David Brooks,
New York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005
 Aspirational Capital: the fire-in-the-belly ambition to
achieve. “90% of life is just showing up.” ~Woody Allen.
– PFB Note: Millionaire studies: C+/B- students—who
were told they wouldn’t amount to much. Worrying
about “self-esteem” vs. encouraging “prove them
wrong.”
 Cognitive Capital: This can mean pure, inherited
brainpower. But important cognitive skills are not measured
by IQ tests and are not fixed.
– PFB Note: EQ more important in life than IQ, especially
empathy and social judgment. “Growth mindset” most
important of all.
The Intentional Culture of
Great Schools
Values-laden cultures. If you were to create a utopian
society, what values would you embed in it?
What are the five most commonly cited values
across all major religions and cultures?
1. Compassion (empathy & caring)
2. Honesty (integrity)
3. Fairness (equity & justice)
4. Responsibility (self-discipline & reliability)
5. Respect (civility, honoring expectations,
cross-cultural competency/cosmopolitanism)
Are all of these values still widely prevalent in current
American culture?
Why Great Schools Are Counter-Cultural
EdWeek Op-Ed, by Pat Bassett
Values of the Popular Culture vs. Independent School Values:
• Rationalizing of dishonesty
Embedding of honor
(excusing & inviting lying and cheating:
www.cheat.com; Bernie Madoff’s excuse: “fear
of failure”; Bill Clinton’s: “Because I could.”
(telling the right stories: Grimm’s Fairy Tales;
the Menorah story; stories of heroes; etc.)
• Lionizing the individual
Proselytizing community
(star-worship: flawed heroes in sports, music, movies) (team-play; community service)
• Indulging sexual profligacy
Expecting abstinence
(Gov. Sanford, Elliot Spitzer, Miley Cyrus)
(limits on “pda”)
• Excusing hostility & violence
Eschewing violence
(“rights” issues; road rage; culture of violence in
sports among athletes and fans)
(conflict resolution training)
• Enduring vulgarity & profanity
Insisting on civility
(crude language, coarse behaviors, improper dress)
(confronting boorish behaviors and enforcing
dress codes – for students and adults)
Schools as Countercultural?
Values of the Popular Culture vs. Independent School Values:
• Winning at all costs
Fair Play
(hazing of opponents, cheating for advantage)
(sportsmanship credo; no cut policies)
• Conspicuous Consumption
Environmental Stewardship
(clothes & cars)
(modeling good citizenship)
• Cultural Tribalism (Uniqueness)
School as Community
(asserting one’s differences)
(Latin root, communitas: finding what is
common to many, shared by many)
•Distorted Definitions of Success
School Definitions of Success
(getting ahead at all costs: The Wolf of Wall Street)
(doing well and doing good; contributing to
the common good)
Source: John Watson, TABS Conference 12/07/02
Why Good Schools are Countercultural
What do morally healthy schools share in common?
– Exceptional teachers
– Effective and appropriate moral climate
– The latter tends to attract the former
– The former tends to reinforce the latter
– An internal moral climate that is most often in opposition
to the dominant popular culture
– Heads and boards who identify “school climate” as one of
the top tasks of school leaders.
Adapted from: John Watson, TABS Conference 12/07/02
What We Can’t Change
 The pervasiveness of popular culture
 Our inability to entirely insulate our children
from popular culture
 The seductiveness of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n
roll and violent media in kid culture.
Adapted from: John Watson, TABS Conference 12/07/02
What We Can Do
 Be clear about school community values at “teachable
moments”
 Use parental tools via Common Sense Media and apps
like OurPact on what games, TV shows, and films are
appropriate for kids.
 Communicate values as the value proposition of
independent schools: John Phillips’ “goodness &
knowledge” = Thomas Likona’s “smart & good”
 Recognize and address the “mixed messages” we send
to kids.
The Moral Climate of Schools
If you are a parent, how would you finish this
sentence?
“I want my child to be….”
I Want My Child To Be…
Sociologist Anthony Campolo’s “test”:
In Japan, parents say, “I want my child to be….
…successful” (and youth culture pays a high price)
In America, parents say, “I want my child to be…
….happy” (and youth culture pays a high price)
Right answer? “I want my child to be…
 … good” (if morally good, then higher likelihood of also
being successful and happy). (cf. Douglas Heath’s School
of Hope and Lives of Hope)
How Well-Intentioned Adults
Undermine Children’s Moral &
Emotional Development
• Parents have most profound impact on morals.
• Mixed signals from parents: spectrum from “I want
my child to be happy” (Anthony Campolo) to Black
Swan / Tiger Mom expectations of “perfection.”
• Weissbourd’s research: Teens’ perception of what they
believe to be the most important value for them in
their parents’ mind:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
For you to be happy
Achieving a high level of income
Having a high status job
Being a good person who cares about others
Gaining entrance into a selective college
2/3rds public & private school kids thought #1
over #4.
½ of high income private school kids thought
#5 over #4.
• Weissbourd’s comment on academic “pressure”: 3040% of Harvard’s undergrads on anti-depressants.
Cheating: How Schools Subtly Facilitate, or
Undermine Academic Integrity
Connections, September, 2013, by David Streight, CSEE
School culture embedded in messages adults send, including about
the purpose of education (not what we say, but what students hear)
1.
Schools with a “Performance” Message: Emphasis on learning as
a means to good grades, honor role, awards assembly, and the
selectivity of college list
2. Schools with a “Mastery” Message: Emphasis on deep learning
as a means to engagement, self-direction, and love of learning as
an end unto itself.
3. Which message students hear has an impact on levels of stress,
anxiety, confidence, and honesty. Research shows performance
culture schools have more cheating.
4. Individual schools have some teachers who are performance -
oriented vs. other teachers who are master-oriented : Students
cheat more in the former classes then in the latter.
Teaching Students Moral Reasoning
The deepest ethical dilemmas are “right vs. right” decisions
(Source: see
Institute for Global Ethics website, www.globalethics.org)
 individual vs. community: e.g., separate the disruptive child who
needs socialization skills from his cooperative learning team that is
being held back and exasperated by him? Refuse to let on campus a
father who is accused of murder?
 truth vs. loyalty: hold a confidence of a self-destructive behavior or
report it? “Narc” on a friend to support the honor code?
 short-term vs. long-term: The Palace Thief / Emperor’s Club / Dead
Poets’ Society example of making an exception in the short-term (regrading a paper for a student you think you can “re-direct”) in the hope
of long term salvation?
justice vs. mercy: expelling a boy for stealing a sandwich in the
cafeteria, after you find out his family is now homeless and penniless?
The Institute for Global Ethics’
“Three Ethical Frames” Rubric
1. The “Rules-Based Ethos (based on universally accepted
principles of justice, what’s right vs. what’s wrong)
-PFB note: rooted in Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative”: “Do that
which you would want to see universalized” or “The Golden Rule”
2. The Ends-Based” Ethos (based on the “greater good” ethos of
doing what serves best the common good.)
-PFB note: rooted in John Stuart Mills’ utilitarianism, “Do that causes the
greatest general good”
3. The Care-Based Ethos (based on empathy)
-PFB note: rooted in Carol Gilligan’s caring ethic: “Do that which a caring
person would do.”
-PFB note: Assessing appropriate frame not the same as “situational
ethics”
Moral Reasoning: Rule, Ends,
or Caring Ethos (Case Study - Courtesy
of IGE - www.globalethics.org )
Which of the right vs. right continuua in play here?
• individual vs. community
• truth vs. loyalty
• short-term vs. long-term
• justice vs. mercy
Which ethical framework is the most compelling to use here?
• Rules-based (universally agreed upon values)
• Outcomes-based (greater good)
• Caring based (empathy based)
Cheating on a Test
Which of the right vs. right continuua in play here?
• individual vs. community
• truth vs. loyalty
• short-term vs. long-term
• justice vs. mercy
Which ethical framework is the most compelling to use here?
• Rules-based (universally agreed upon values)
• Outcomes-based (greater good)
• Caring based (empathy based)
Moral Reasoning: Rule, Ends, or
Caring Ethos (Case Study - Courtesy of
IGE - www.globalethics.org )
Charley told his classmates he would help wash cars
on Saturday
raise
for in
their
Which
of the righttovs.
rightmoney
continuua
playschool
here? trip. As
he gets on
bike to head for the car wash, he sees
• individual
vs.his
community
his neighbor,
• truth
vs. loyalty old Mr. Brown, climbing a ladder on the
side of hisvs.
house.
“What are you doing Mr. Brown?”
• short-term
long-term
• justice
vs.calls,
mercyalarmed. He’s concerned that Mr.
Charley
Brown could fall off the ladder. “My upstairs window
Which
ethical framework
theit.”
most
compelling
to use here?
is jammed
– I need tois fix
says
Mr. Brown.
• Rules-based
(universally
agreed
values)
Charley looks
at his watch.
If upon
he stops
to help Mr.
• Outcomes-based
(greater
good)
Brown it could take
hours,
depending on the problem
• Caring
based
(empathy based)
with the
window.
Schools of Hope: Moral Agency
Exercises for Schools
Name an important value at your school….
• How do you know this value is present?
• What and who supports the value?
Name another value, one that needs more attention…
• What tells you that this value is not present enough?
• What or who gets in the way of this value?
• Who needs to bring about change?
NAIS Video Vignette Case Studies: The Moral Model
Component: IGE’s 4-WAY TEST
1. The Gut-check Test 2. The Front Page Test 3. The Legal Test
4. The Role Model Test (Kids are the “hypocrisy police”)
Final Note: The Wisdom of Mark Twain:
"To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good
is nobler -and less trouble."
The End!
(See Appendix Slides – Next)
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: IGE/Gallup College Student
Survey (March 2000)
Honesty
Respect
Responsibility
Equality
Fairness
Compassion
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: Chile
Solidaridad
Responsabilidad
Libertad
Tolerancia
Verdad/Honesticia
Justicia
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: China
Responsibility
Fairness
Respect
Truth
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: Guatemala
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Honestidad (Honesty)
Responsabilidad (Responsibility)
Lealtad (Loyalty)
Humildad (Humility)
Justicia (Justice)
Respecto (Respect)
Sabiduria (Wisdom)
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: Bangladesh
•
•
•
•
•
Truth
Responsibility
Respect
Fairness
Freedom
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Camden Hills Regional High School (ME)
 Respect
 Responsibility
 Integrity
 Honesty
 Loyalty
Source: Institute for Global Ethics
www.globalethics.org
Shared Values: Japan
Return
Building Boys, Making Men
The Seven Virtues of Manhood
• The True Friend
• The Humble Hero
• The Servant Leader
• The Moral Mediator
• The Heart Patient
• The Bold Adventurer
• The Noble Knight
(Presbyterian Day School, Memphis)
PFB Note: a critical virtue is moral
courage (vs. physical courage: cf.
Rush Kidder & Gus Lee).
Return
High Expectations
Dan
Ariely on
cheating
(4.20 – 8:20
Seminarian
“Good
Samaritan”
experiment
Schools with HONOR CODES
 Woodberry Forest School alums have highest alumni
participation in the country - 64%. Higher than highest colleges.
“So Much Unfairness of Things” induction by Honor Council.
 Charlotte Latin Honor Code testimonials from graduates:
– “I see cheating at every turn in college – in the weight room,
on the volleyball court, and in the classroom…. I want to
thank you and the school for making being honest a habit for
me.” -Aristotelian insight.
– “Mr. Wall: I wrote my first English paper in college on my
experience when I was caught cheating in 9th grade on a
physics quiz and how helpful you were to me as a mentor
from that point forward – and how that turned me into the
young man I now am.” - Mark Twain on good judgment.
– “Honor above All.”
Return
The HONOR CODE
Return
Dan Ariely on Cheating
@ 4:15 – 13:20
Personal fudge factor – a lot of
people cheat a little, and not a
lot.
1. Related to self-image;
2. Related to contextualize
(identify the Ten
Commandments; signing
the honor code; cheater
wearing another school’s
sweatshirt; etc.) = cheating
goes down.
NAIS Case Study Vignettes
Download films: http://client.blueskybroadcast.com/NAIS/case/
IGE’s 4-way test: i.) gut test ii.) legal test iii.) front page
test; iv.) role model test
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
c: d:
NAIS Case Study #1 : Harsh Transitions in the Second Grade
NAIS Case Study #5 : Clash of Styles of Leaders
NAIS Case Study #9 : Administrative Evaluations
NAIS Case Study #11 : Digging Deeper for the Campaign
NAIS Case Study #13 : Taking Charge…by a Trustee
Return
NAIS Case Study #28 : Peanuts Allergy
NAIS Case Study #29 : Anonymous Letter from the Faculty
NAIS Case Study #30 : Breaking the Rules…by the Adults
NAIS Case Study #31 : Admissions Package Deal
General Rule of Thumb: “Boards should err on the side of underinvolvement in operational matters and over-involvement in
reputational matters.” ~Dick Chait