How Do They Teach/Instill Values At Your Child's School?

[smiles4u]

Unfortunately no matter what the school teaches the children (or indeed what the school is like itself), this will not stop little turds like the ones you experienced. Schools can only do so much when it comes to getting the children to actually adopt and practice the values they are taught - and if those values are also not taught, practices and appreciated in the home then you have children who may 'toe the line' when in view of teachers, but once they are out of sight they carry on like that.

so true Trilian, my sister is a secondary school teacher and she has told me some interesting stories !

as for the school up the street from me i have sadly heard only negative stories and my DP said to me in his words " She won't be going there over my dead body ".

It's the parents of the children i blame for their bad manner, and that's were it begins ... i wasn't bought up that way and neither will my DD !

[Trillian]

It's tough deciding isn't it Smiles? If the school is generally *bad*, then even if the teachers are amazing and they do have a strong ethos, then it's not going to make up for the students because after all, they are the ones she's going to be socialising and making friends with.

Marcellus, I think that schools should only support what is primarily taught in the home too, but there is a bigger and bigger push for schools to take a bigger role in that and it has me scratching my head that people think like that because what is the point of having a parent or being a parent if you expect schools to do your parenting for you? The ethics classes are a top idea though I think because of what they teach - things along the line of ethical dilemma's etc - and I think it would compliment nicely what most parents would teach at home, plus there is the chance for kids to role play situations and all that.

ETA - Snap Lulu! I see your point totally, but I think Marcellus was talking along the lines of schools being the ones to teach it fullstop?

[fionas]

Just to clarify my original question - yes, of course I think that parents should be the ones who primarily teach those values BUT these days, I think I would like all the support I can get in terms of the school reinforcing those same values. In my case, it was the school, not my parents who articulated those values and that's why I suppose I remember that so well. My parents led more by example than by necessarily talking about what they believed in. I also agree Leasha that the ones I cited are not exclusive to Christianity and infact, all religions are based around quite similar core values. I very strongly identify with those values but don't necessarily believe in God, hence my reluctance to send DDs to a religious school.

[onthefly]

I guess I also wonder at the amount of stuff that teachers are expected to do now - as you say Trill, taking over so many aspects of parenting. It's not really feasible. So yes, they spend a lot of time at school, but are schools and teachers really equipped to instill values? They can talk about values or ethics, and they can enforce particular rules in the classroom, but does that really have the same effect?
How do you teach values except by example?
But, yes, I suppose I would prefer a school to follow a similar set of values to my own.

[Lulu]

but shouldn't any adult lead children by example? I think that is the most powerful thing ever and I don't want to hear a teacher reading it by rote I want to see them actually doing it because they believe it's the right way iykwim?

[fionas]

marcellus - the example I gave of my headmaster giving readings from the Bible in assembly about two wrongs not making a right, treating people as you would like to be treated yourself obviously had a lasting impression on me as I can still remember it more than 30 years later. I don't expect teachers to 'teach' ethics in the classroom as such, I suppose. But I'm just interested in what other methods are used, if not readings from the Bible (because that's not done in state schools), that's all.

[onthefly]

Yeah, I have the same question really.
I remember being told things, but that doesn't necessarily motivate me to actually live it.

[AliBaby]

Our schools core values are truth, respect, ressponsibility, kindness, effort and loyalty.

They are everywhere in our school. We teach each value as a unit of work (through a lot of role playing), a lot of teacher modeling and children can spot other children showing a core value and nominate them to the SRC leaders. When a child breaks a core value we have reflection time. The child completes a sheet with the teacher where they have to say/write/draw what they have done,why they think they behaved in that way, identify the core value they have broken, and work out how they will handle the situation next time. We have a pretty good school.

The one thing I have really noticed about our school (and its a big one with close to 700 students - public primary) is how tolerant the children are of each other. We have a lot of special needs students and they are so wonderfully supported by the student body. I think that this speaks volumes alone in how well the core values are being taught.

ETA- We trialled the ethics program this year at our school as we had such a high volume of children not attending scripture classes (which was a big shock considering our school is located in Sydney's "bible belt"). There has been very positive feedback from all involved.