Value Education

         Value education is ingrained in every tradition of lndia culture. Yet it is a matter of great regret that gradually we are lasing our values with the result that we tend to become cornet and hypocrite. This trend must be checked urgently. Perhaps a major responsibility for the corrective action lies on our leaders in different walks of life. Nevertheless educational institutions can also play a significant role in die promotion of values.

       The ultimate good of human society is the good of all. The idea has been beautifully expressed in one of our ancient prayers "Let all be happy free from diseases, let men sec well of one-another, let there be no sorrow or unhappiness in this world". Value education is rooted in Indian philosophy and culture.

       The Vedas and Upanishads which are the source of inspiration are full of value education. Value education is important at every point of life. In the Vedic period when a Shishya completed his education in Aashram at the feet of his Gum, he was exhorted by his Guru to follow certain values throughout his life, like "Speak truth; fulfil your duties, never lax in self- study". The central task of value based education is to develop men of goodwill who do not cheat, or steal, or kill; universal individuals who value as one both self and mankind.

R.W. Emerson has described the men of value as:

Not gold, but only men can make A people great and strong men Who far truth and honor's sake Steadfast and suffer long Brave men, who work while others sleep Who dare while others fly They build a nation's pillars deep And lift them to the sky.

Meaning of Term Value

Value means primarily to prize, to esteem, to appraise, to estimate, it means the act of cherishing something, holding it dear and also the act of passing judgment upon the nature and amounts of values as compared with something else. A value stands for ideas men live for. They are the part and parcel of the philosophy of a nation and that of its educational system. They are the guiding principles of life.

Various Values

The ideals contained in the constitution are: - socialist, secular, democratic, justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, dignity of the individual and integrity of the nation. Naturally, therefore, our values in life must draw their inspiration from these ideals. Earlier die University Education Commission 1948-49 mentioned the various aspects of morality as: loyalty, courage, discipline, self- sacrifice and spirituality.

The Secondary Education Commission 1952-53 laid special emphasis on the following values in the formation of character of the students:

1. Efficiency

2. Integrity

3. Discipline

4. Co-operation

5. Good Temper.

The Committee of Religious and Moral Instruction headed by Shri Prakash made a special mention of dignity of labour, love of humanity, patriotism and self-discipline. Moral values particularly refer, to the conduct of man towards man in various situations good manners.

The Committee of Emotional Integration referred to the mutual appreciation of the various religions in the country spiritual values, national unity and the unity of mankind.

The Education Commission emphasised the inculcation of the values of cooperation and mutual regard, honesty and integrity, discipline and social responsibility. It also stressed the development of scientific temper of mind, respect for manual labour, capacity to put in hard and responsible work, respect for an proper pride in the past faith and confidence in the future, national consciousness, spirit of social service for promoting social and national integration, equally essentials are values which help to make democracy a way of life and thereby strengthen it as a form of government, readiness to appreciate other's point of view and patience.

A few examples of Human Values as contained in Various Religions Control of Anger.

Buddhism:

One should not give way to anger, but should control it.

Christianity:

The mark of Christian is love not hatred.

Confucianism:

One should so conduct oneself as lo avoid hatred or anger from others.

Hinduism:

Anger breeds confusion.

Islam:

The strong man is only he who controls himself when lie is angry.

Jainism:

Anger is not for the wise or dies religious.

Judaism:

Anger causes strife and destruction.

Sikhism:

Anger is the fire that burns me as at cremation.

Taoism:

Return anger with goodness.

Zoroastrianism:

Never give way to the deadly emotion of anger.

Need for Value Education:

The following are some reasons that may be mentioned in this connection:

(1) The progress in science and technology without simultaneous development of moral values could have serious repercussion in many areas of life. It is very essential that moral awareness is promoted to orient the progress in science and technology towards the welfare of mankind.

(2) With the general decline of traditional values, some common values should be re-discovered to unite human beings.

(3) Schools can remain hardly neutral so far value education is concerned. Teachers are always passing on some values to their students whether they are conscious of it or not through their conduct in and out of classrooms, through their selection of books to be read, through dicir choice of instructional strategic and so on. The need for a consciously planned value education programme, therefore is obvious.

(4) There is an increasing moral complexity in the contemporary world, and pupils are expected to face more complicated decision-making situations about issues involving values. They should be helped in developing the ability to make proper choices in such situations.

(5) It cannot be ignored that the rate of juvenile delinquency is increasing everywhere. It is a definite symptom of a crisis which today's youth undergoes in the process of his personal growth. In such a situation value education assumes a special significance.

Inculcation of Values:

Broadly these types of approaches have been suggested:

1. Suggestions/Including care elements in various subjects.

2. Participation/Experience/Activities.

3. Examples.

It is possible to adopt all the three methods but more reliance should be placed on participation of the students in various activities and gaining experiences in value education and care elements. Value development should be integrated through the day-to- day activities of the school.

Direct Participation in Activities:

We attach great importance to the role of indirect influence in building up good character. The school atmosphere, the personality and behaviour of the teachers, the facilities provided in the school, will have a large say in developing a sense of values. We would like to emphasize that the consciousness of values must permeate the whole curriculum and the programme of activities in the school.

It is not only the teacher's in charge of moral instruction who are responsible for building character. Every teacher, whatever is the subject he teaches must necessarily accept this responsibility. He must ensure that in the teaching of his particular subject and in his dealings with his pupils, fundamental values such as integrity and social responsibility are brought out.

The teachers need not, we can even say that he should not try to draw out the moral all the time but if lie has given some thought to the values underlying the scope of his subjects and his work as a teacher, they will imperceptibly pass into his teaching and make an impact on the minds of his students.

The school assembly the curricular and co curricular activities, the celebration of religious festivals of all religions, work experience, team, games and sports, subject clubs, social service programmes all these can help in calculating the values of cooperation and mutual regard, honesty and integrity, discipline and social responsibility. These values have a special significance in Indian society today when young men and women are passing through a crisis of character.

Relation between Moral Values and Religion :

There will be natural points of co-relation between the moral values sought to be inculcated and the teachings of the great religions. Starics drawn from the great religions of the world will be most appropriate in a discussion of moral values and of problems in life, All religions stress certain fundamental qualities of character, such as honesty and truthfulness, consideration for others, reverence for old age, kindness to animals and compassion for the needy and the suffering. In the literature or every religion, the story of parable figures prominently as a means of impressing an ethical value on the followers. The narration of such stories by the teachers at the right moment in the programme of moral education would be most effective, particularly in the lower classes.

National Integration and Conservation of Past:

(1) The pupils may be involved in learning and singing songs in languages of various regions and states.

(2) Students may be given opportunities to learn other scripts.

(3) Students may learn at least a few common sentences or words of few other languages.

(4) Students may be involved in the dances of other parts of the country.

(5) Students may be encouraged to found good points of things available in other regions.

(6) Students may be encouraged to take interest in the historical remains of the past and feel responsible for the maintenance of such things.

Activities Relating to Appreciation of Our Struggle for Freedom:

(1) The students may be told about the sacrifices made by the freedom-fighters in the struggle for freedom.

(2) They may be encouraged to read stories and biographies of great leaders.

(3) They may be encouraged to visit memorials connected with freedom-fighters.

(4) They may be encouraged to participate in debates, speech making and dramas etc. connected with the subject.

(5) They may be encouraged to take up various projects like stamp collecting, picture collecting etc. of great leaders.

(6) National days are celebrated.

(7) Exhibition on various themes of the freedom movement maybe organized.

Activities Relating to Respect of National Symbols:

(1) From time to time students should be reminded of the rules to be observed while hoisting the national flag and singing the national anthem.

(2) Children may be helped to prepare scrap books of flags of those countries which are similar to the Indian National Flag. They may be asked to draw these flags, using colours.

(3) The significance and importance of the National symbols may be made clear to the students.

Activities Relating to the Protection of Environment and Conservation of Resources:

The students may be helped to undertake the study of local environment and collect the following type of information:

(1) What type of natural resources available in your area?

(2) How are these resources used?

(3) What type of natural Resources is not available in your area?

(4) How do you meet your requirements if some of the natural resources required by you are not available in your locality?

(5) Students may be helped to prepare talks, dramas etc. on the importance of conservation of resources.

(6) Students may be asked to describe the effects of stagnant pool.

(7) Students may be helped to compare a polluted and an unpolluted site in the environment.

(8) Labour weeks may be organized to keep the school campus and neighbourhood clean and students involved in these programmes.

Activities Relating to Observance of Family Norms:

(1) Students may be asked to compare the facilities provided in the same income in two families, one with large number of children and the other with small number of children.

Students may be asked to prepare budgets of small and big families.

Students may be asked to find out the effects on the living conditions of the family in case there is an increase in the members, but no increase in income.