Values-based Education… What Could Be Wrong With That?

[DrBlackbird]

Attended a talk at my uni by the new Pro VC Education whose vision for our education strategy is that it must be ‘values-based’. Caveat is our uni has swallowed the kool aid.

Got me thinking that not so many years ago, I’d have interpreted this vision in a positive light. That having and promoting ’values’ was a part of education. Admittedly, the values in my head would be tolerance, free speech, rigorous debate base on evidence and critical thought.

Now… I’m wondering if having a values based strategy was wrong all along? If ‘inclusive’ values has lead to the erosion of women’s sex based rights and neglect of consideration for some religious observances, not to mention the breathtaking lack of safeguarding for children and young people, should we avoid values as on objective?

Am thinking out loud here. I was going to post this in the academic common room threads, but thought FWR posters might have more to say on this question. Has anything value based always been contentious or is it increasingly contentious because of where we have got to with these putatively inclusive debates?

But what is a positive value?

One person may value no sex before marriage. May argue to do otherwise is to erode the family and lowers the value of that act in a loving marriage.

Another person could argue the opposite. The correct value is a woman's right to her own body and enjoyment. The act of sex is not a commodity exclusively given to a husband because women are not commodities and their experiences are not owed to the male sex class who oppress them.

Most of us here probably agree on which is the positive value but many people in our society would argue the opposite

From a completely pragmatic POV,I don't think schools should be worrying about teaching my kids values until they can teach them math and reading to a high standard.

If they can do that, I'd want music, art, history and science, and from a pretty basic approach to those topics, please.

Then they can add in something like yoga or rugby if they like, and I am happy to take it from there. They should be able to meet a pretty good standard by the time kids are 14.

I was thinking about immune-supressed people the other day. People who are still socially distancing, and are ignored. They have to isolate in order to live.

I'd say that it isn't possible to teach values, only model them. Kids instinctively already know what's good/bad.

But it is possible to teach critical thinking by asking questions. Why do you think this? What are you basing it on? Can it be wrong?

What's wrong with good old "Ethics". At least with Ethics theres an acknowledgement that there needs to be balance and that finding that balance needs careful debate by knowledgeable trained people. "Values" tend to be slogans that are so vague as to be useless in complicated situations.

Self control is a good value. There’s an old adage, a gentleman never insults anyone accidentally.

If you can’t control yourself, you’re useless pretty much everywhere.