Student Honest and Ethical Behavior: The Road to Politics (Perdition) or Spin City?
A recent survey raises the possibility that our nation's young people lie and cheat and steal in greater numbers, now, more than ever before.
Worse, these survey data show that our cynical young citizens feel no remorse for such behavior, or worse, accept such behavior as "normal" in business and life. These young people also think that they are ethical and moral, despite admitting to cheating, lying and other dishonesties.
Link the Josephson The Ethics of American Youth Biennial Report
What is happening here?
"Young people are almost unanimous in saying that ethics and character are important on both a personal level and in business but they express a very cynical attitudes about whether a person can be ethical and succeed."
(Source: http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/reportcard/
Note: Since this election season spotlights our elected officials, I wonder if cynicism stemming from the antics (and scandals) of our trusted elected officials has anything to do with these survey results.
Other Hallmarks of the Report
The Josephson Report finds that today's students...
- Place high important on character and trust
- Believe that ethics in the workplace is essential
- Believe that being good is more important the being rich
- State that adults in their lives provide positive role models
Sounds too good to be true, so far...
These young people also state that they are satisfied with their character and they state that they believe that they are ethical.
The Rest of the Story
During this same survey...
"82% admit they lied to parent within the past 12 months about something significant– 57% said they lied two or more times
62% admit they lied to teacher within the past 12 months about something significant -- 35% said they lied two or more times
33% copied an internet document within the past 12 months – 18% did so two or more times
60% cheated during a test at school within the past 12 months– 35% did so two or more times
23% stole something from a parent or other relative within the past 12 months – 11% did so two or more times
In 2002...
28% admitted stealing from a parent or other relative
19% stole something from a friend within the past 12 months – 7% did so two or more times
28% stole something from a store within the past 12 months – 14% did so two or more times"
On first glance, the self-reports of our students seem to indicate worsening values and worsening behavior.
But, is the Situation so Bad?
On the other side of this issue (or maybe it is the other side of the spin), one college newspaper cites the similar data, and notes that the trends are positive.
Here are the campus headlines from Georgia Tech:
"Integrity survey shows rise in student honesty"
Link to the campus article about the increase in students integrity and the campus honor code...
And this campus paper has been around since 1911!
Are they or Aren't They?
So, which is it? Are our young people becoming moral degenerates or noble citizens?
Are our students getting worse, or are they getting more honest in their self-reporting behavior?
Instead of drumming up the usual caveats and disclaimers about the ability to generalize from the one-time snapshot obtained from a survey, let's ask one question...
Has human nature evolved or deteriorated much in the past three, seven or ten years, fifty or one hundred years?
No, but social norms seem to evolve a bit faster. For example, the content of television programs today would not have been allowed 40 years ago. Does this observation indicate that our society degenerated, and is skiing down the slippery slope toward unbridled moral depravity?
More likely, the sludge on television indicates a shrinking customer base, and the need for television executives to provide ever more salacious, sexy, violent and action-packed programming to bring eyeballs in front of the tube with ever more channels and program choices.
Of course, this strategy won't pan out in the long run, because customers will continue leaving passive television watching in droves in favor of the interaction and dynamic content of the Internet (and interactive video games).
The Lesson for Schools
Incidents, such as the spate of recent school violence are exceptions, but every incident and foiled attempt at notoriety are pumped world-wide at electron speed.
What school districts should recognize, and what every master teacher (from ancient to modern) exemplified, is that imagination, interaction, , and creative interactivity whip the results and positive outcomes from passive learning, hands down.
There is no need to be discourages or distracted by negative headlines and scary headlines.
Teachers who look for and see the positive qualities that reside in each student will always draw out that best. Master teachers motivate students to become life-long learners and life-long productive citizens.
