Ethical education: in the classroom
Seeing the big picture
The challenge of helping students to negotiate the moral maze is being tackled successfully by staff at the Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, India.
Learning to behave in an ethical manner is part of daily life for students at Jamnabai Narsee School in India. Among the ways used by staff to bring an awareness of ethical issues into their classrooms are theory of knowledge (TOK) classes and the community, action, service (CAS) programme.
“Ethical dilemmas make for a lively classroom discussion,” says Nirmala Rego, TOK and business management instructor at the school. “It’s revealing to see how students deal with controversial topics. Since ethical problems often have no definite answers, the area will remain a fertile academic ground for years to come."
"The intention is to make students aware of the ethical implications of their decisions.”
In classes, students are asked to debate such questions as: What are ethics? Do they differ from country to country? What are the values you embody and how do you react when they are challenged? The results were quite significant.
“We realized that we need to instill in our students an awareness of different situations, where ethics are questioned, and encourage them to make correct choices,” says Nirmala. “We believe that, as IB learners, our students will make ethical decisions as responsible individuals, where their actions will generate positive outcomes.”
As a result, questions of ethics are discussed in TOK classes within different subjects. The school has installed a student-monitored ‘Fire Wall’, where they are encouraged to post material on any ethical issue of interest to them. These are then followed up in class. One recent topic was the UK version of reality TV show Big Brother and the questions of racism, ethics and cultural differences that it raised. In these discussions, students are asked to embrace the idea of Big Picture Thinking.
“We ask questions that use multiple perspectives,” explains Nirmala, “such as: If you were a director/victim/mayor/shareholder/doctor/media person at the time of the Bhopal gas tragedy, how would you react to solve this ethical problem which has affected so many lives? And if a similar situation happened today, how would you react?”
Another example of Big Picture Thinking concerns India itself, a country of diverse cultures, religions and traditions, but whose value system remains essentially the same as that of people who live in a common society.
“Our country’s pledge clearly reinforces this point by saying that all Indians are my brothers and sisters,” continues Nirmala. “We believe this awareness will make a positive difference, and our aim is to constantly provide an environment that creates balanced and successful global citizens, who make intelligent and ethical decisions.”
‘Thinking Big’ also encourages students to research profiles on inspirational leaders using ethical practices in the business world. The leadership skills of figures as diverse as Mahatma Gandhi, Colin Powell and Nelson Mandela, as well as those of top Indian businessmen, are examined with the hope of developing appropriate entrepreneurial and inspirational qualities in students.
Another way of highlighting the message of ethical practice is through the recently started Ethical Practices Trend. As part of the EPT, IB students recently organized a walkathon, the aim of which was to bring to the attention of the people of Mumbai ethical issues relating to global warming, misuse of electricity consumption, traffic pollution, aerosols and emissions from coal- and oil-based industries. Climate change in Mumbai has already resulted in respiratory health problems for many citizens.
“Doing the right thing takes courage and fortitude,” says Sarojini Duggal, IB coordinator at Jamnabai Narsee. “The ‘Ethical Practice Trend’ is a continuous process for improvement. It is not a magic formula but a conscious attempt to make a positive difference, requiring commitment, dedication and loyalty to the value systems of our school. We sincerely hope our students will face the future remembering the values instilled in them by their alma mater wherever they go.”
Integrating ethics into classroom
Related issues affect every subject studied
EVS: Environment consciousness as an ethical issue.
History: Discussion on the values and ethics of world leaders, past and present.
Business and Management:
Corporate social responsibility, integrity and ethics in business and finance with links to environmental issues, stock market scams, insider trading, lay-offs, employee privacy issues and stakeholder analysis.
Literature: Plagiarism in books, magazines; the role of media in influencing ethical behaviour in youth, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and harassment.
Visual Arts: Copying of designs in art, fashion, etc
Natural Sciences and Maths: The importance of patents and copyrights on inventions.
Economics: The impact of unethical trading on the world economy and its effects on people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Psychology: The role of emotions in ethical behaviour; the role of integrity and the conscience.
CAS: Service through creativity and action.
TOK: Discussion on relativism and its forms, natural law, utilitarianism and universalism.
