Someone said, “Commerce without morality, Science without spirituality, politics without principles and education without values is not only useless but also very dangerous”
It’s not hard to see that throughout history the beacon of light and the fundamental motivating factor for most successful human beings, has been Value-Oriented thoughts and actions. Basically, values mean our priorities. And most people practice it. But, unconsciously. However, what differentiates an extraordinary person from an ordinary one, is that he/she practices values consciously. They become a system of conscious motivators. They know how to live them
Value Education is most successful when woven into the totality of educational program in schools where value education does not form a mere appendage of all other subjects, but would become the founding principle of education. It is the integration of individual’s concern with the society with his/her physical and ecological environment and the diversity within the culture; it is the integration and harmony within self and others around.
Teaching values is not like teaching any other school subject. It is about teaching the learner how to think about something, to reflect, critically evaluate, appreciate one’s own values and those of others, develop better communication, better decision-making so that the concepts ultimately find their way into behaviors and actions. It is not confined to the cognitive level, but covers the affective and behavioral levels.
Unfortunately, there is either moot hullabaloo surrounding value education or is totally ignored/sidelined in the name and age of development/technology. What one fails to understand is how and when, did values become retrograde?
Yet, there are many who see value education as an activity in organizational setup. Bu this typically fails because the ecosystem where the organization operates in, may not necessarily have equally willing participants. So it is important to, like they say, ‘catch ‘em young’ and systematically impart values and knowledge of associated behaviors for individual as well as collective, long term, well-being
This essentially means that value education can and start at home and well progress while the child embarks upon the journey through school/s, colleges, universities and beyond! This can be done in two ways. It can be as simple as imparting values as taught in standard doctrines, societal fabric and handed down from generations. The other is through dialogues and debate (ascending method) where students are helped to gradually realize what is good behaviour and why it is important. Like Disney says, “Once we know what our values are, it’s not hard to make choices”
Objectives of Value Education:
- To help the holistic development and growth of students
- To help develop the right attitudes and towards self and others, and lead a balanced and sustainable life.
- To help increase pride and awareness about our national history our cultural heritage, constitutional rights, national integration, community development and environment.
- To help develop awareness about value systems and their importance in having a “Sustainable Success Approach”™