The Missing Path To A Sound Education By: Anthony Pellegrino, Part I

Education consists of four paths of study. The first path is communication; the second is understanding the physical world or science; the third is the social world or history; the fourth is moral sensitivity or ethics. However the last one–moral sensitivity or ethics–has been sadly neglected in all our children’s education.

Is it any wonder that our children have become emotional cripples, lacking the capacity to know the difference between right and wrong? Are we so imbued with the passion for making a living that we have blinded ourselves to the irreparable damage we are doing to our youth? When will the time come that a remedy will be effected?
How long will the public schools and the community continue paralyzing our youths’ emotional needs? Is there anything we can do to correct this crisis?

The first, communication, satisfies the dire need of talking, writing, reading and speaking. An educated person must develop these skills to verbalize his thoughts in clear and concise words. The comprehension of numbers and their concepts is another form of communication.
Science. or the understanding of the physical wo!ld, introduces us to the seen and unseen world. By understanding scientific research, we learn to conquer many human fears and live more comfortably.

The study of the social world or history teaches us to live organized and more productive lives in communion with others. It reveals the path we have taken to become the society we are and the beliefs we hold dear.

The three paths to a good education can readily be learned by students attending good schools and applying themselves to mastering the disciplines. However the fourth path to a sound education–moral sensitivity or ethics–is sadly omitted in public schools.

The Founding Fathers of America wisely decreed in the Constitution of the United States that church and State should be separated so that no one religion or particular spiritual beliefs should dominate the freedom of worship by all men. However in doing so the declaration has created an ambiguous perception to understanding “moral” versus “spiritual” sensitivity.

“Spiritual sensitivity” is defined as beliefs in ecclesiastical laws that belong to a church; it is concerned with religious values, or with metaphysics, celestial, heavenly and sacred matters. However “moral sensitivity” relates to principals of right or wrong behavior. When we practice or believe in morals, we are trying to act in an ethical, virtuous, righteous, or noble manner. We are reacting to a standard of right behavior. Basically, moral sensitivity implies conformity to established sanctioned codes of or accepted notions of right and wrong of a community.

Unfortunately the decision by the U.S.Supreme Court in upholding all challenges to that decreed has taken its toll on the lives of everyone, especially our youth. By not grasping the difference between “spiritual sensitivity” and “moral sensitivity,” schools have fostered a vast emotional wasteland in the hearts and minds of children. The results–everyone is right and everyone is wrong–what chaos!

Consequently children today graduate with one of the most important paths to education missing. Because of this ineptitude of public schools to understand and accept the differences between the two concepts, they have chosen to copout by doing nothing, leaving children in an ethical vacuum. The cultivation of ethics or morals is left dormant.

The fourth path, `’moral sensitivity,” teaches children responsibility for themselves, their families and our communities. A complete education enables children not only to gain knowledge but also to develop sound character, to discover their Godgiven talents, to lead honorable lives, to become truly good parents, neighbors, and citizens. (Continued in tomorrow’s edition).