Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 4For teenagers, developing an independent identity—figuringout what they believe, who they are, what they wantto become—is a central developmental task. While theyare in this formative period, we have a window of opportunityto help them develop an identity that has moralcharacter at its core.We have a window of opportunityto help teens develop a strongmoral identity.To sum up: In developing ethical thinkers we should doeverything possible to avoid fostering “dis-integratedthinking,” that is, ethical thinking divorced from conscience,moral identity, and the competence to act ethically.Instead, our goal must be to develop ethicalthinkers characterized by the integrated functioning of thefour components of moral discernment, conscience,moral identity, and moral competence. Finally, wheneverpossible, we should employ teaching methods that havethe potential to develop more than one of these componentssimultaneously.The Interdependence of the Four Componentsof Integrated Ethical ThinkingThe four components of integrated ethical thinking mustwork together. Consider, for example, the interdependenceof conscience and moral identity.One of the functions of conscience is self-awareness—including an honest and humble examination of ourmoral behaviors. If our conscience is not honestly examiningour behaviors, we may easily compartmentalize ournegative actions in order to maintain a high opinion ofourselves as a moral person. To the extent that we distanceourselves from the less-than-ethical things we do, weare constructing what amounts to a “false moral identity”;we insulate our sense of the kind of person we are fromour actual conduct.Consider the following example, which we have used witheducators and students to demonstrate this human tendencyto compartmentalize negative moral behaviorsrather than honestly looking at what they say about us.First, we ask our audience: “Please raise your hand if youare a liar.” (Few, if any, self-identify this way.) Next, we ask:“Please raise your hand if you lie—even occasionally.”(Most people get a little flustered, but most, if not all,raise their hands.) Finally, we ask, “How many lies does ittake until you are a liar?” 8 Most people want to believethat even though they may lie some of the time, they arenot really “liars.”If we are integrated ethical thinkers, however, and ourconscience is doing its job, we will honesty examine ourconduct and allow all of our actions to impinge on ourmoral identity, however uncomfortable that may be. Nothinggets compartmentalized or suppressed. If we areunhappy with what our behaviors say about us (“I guess Iam a bit of a liar”), that can become an incentive forbringing our conduct into closer alignment with our idealmoral identity.6 PROMISING PRACTICES FOR DEVELOPINGAN ETHICAL THINKER1. Model integrated ethical thinking in your relationshipswith students.2. Study lives of character and challenge students topursue their own character development.3. Help students develop a “go-to” ethical frameworkand an understanding of the functioning of conscience.4. Help students develop an ability to make well-reasonedethical decisions.5. Use writing and guided discussion to teach thevalue of a virtue.6. Teach ethical wisdom through character quotations.OUTCOME 4Ethical ThinkerPromising Practice 1:Model integrated ethical thinkingin your relationships with students.4The first and most fundamental way we candevelop integrated ethical thinking in students is tomodel it in our relationships with them. Relationshipshave motivational power; young people tend to becomelike the persons they trust and admire.Modeling integrated ethical thinking has two parts: (1)explicitly teaching moral standards with conviction andeven passion, and explaining why we consider such standardsimportant; and (2) adhering to these standards inour interactions with students. If we do these two things,we can positively impact all four components of integratedethical thinking.130Smart & Good High Schools