A Lesson in Ethics

Rev Fred Nile has been in the news a lot of late specifically with an agenda to ensure that Ethics classes don't become an option in schools for students to attend instead of going to Scripture classes. I'm not really one for defending Fred Nile because I often find his own ethics to be poorly lacking. I am a Christian and am actually rather uncomfortable with the concept of Scripture classes or R.E. Reason being that while some people deliver this subject with the best of intentions and some even deliver it with ethics the priority, for others their intention is to indoctrinate students to a belief or to try and save their souls from damnation. A noble thing if you believe that but hardly appropriate when dealing with impressionable and sometimes vulnerable young people.

I am also not comfortable with dismissing some form of ethical classes alltogether. If young people are impressionable and sometimes vulnerable we cannot leave their moral guidance to the media and fashion magazines. It needs to be addressed. Most teachers and parents (not all though) do this already to some extent and Ethics classes seem like a good way to build on that.

One issue I have with ethics classes is that we could end up with students choosing to go to ethics class or scripture class and that means we potentially set up the division in the playground between those that believe and those that don't before they even leave school. That division in the public forum at present is often filled with fear and loathing, is that the road we want to continue down?

How about bringing them together in a class that helps everyone understand where everyone is coming from. How about we call it a Values class that covers ethics and spirituality in a broad and informative way so that students could be encouraged towards making an independant decision on what beliefs (spiritual or humanistic) inform their ethical value set. By bringing them together and trusting them to take on information and make up their own minds instead of telling them what they should believe they can form their own view and learn to respect differing ones.

Students should be educated on where our ethics have come from and why people believe what they believe. Our beliefs and values are tied up with who we are and informs our choices and actions and consequences. That's my other issue with ethics classes, that ethics stem from our beliefs and you cannot cottonball someone from all the beliefs that are out there so please don't put ethics up as anti belief. You can however give young people some tools in trying to understand it all and trying to find their place in the great big melting pot of humanity.