Summary

Ethics Class 04

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE PREVIOUS CLASS (5:03 P.M.)

DISCUSSION ON THE QUESTION

Question:
Despite the parents being an important source of socialization, the children develop a different value system from their parents. Discuss.
Approach:
Here highlight the role of other agents of socialization like teachers, friends, media, internet, etc.
Also, highlight the role of parenting type in the development of the value system.
Sometimes it is possible that a child may interpret the things taught by parents differently.

EDUCATION AS AN AGENCY OF SOCIALIZATION (5:07 P.M.)

It is the formal agency of socialization.
It provides a platform, where children can interact with those, who are not family.
It acts as a bridge between family and society and prepares children for their role in adulthood.
Values such as honesty, brotherhood, tolerance, achievement orientation, etc. are provided as interaction with the education system.
Role of Teachers
Teachers act as role models for children.
They influence the values, and behavior of the child at their most impressionable age.
Teachers through observation learning, role-taking, and rewards and punishments shape the value system.
Teachers influence the process of socialization in the following manner:
(a) Breaking the stereotype through unbiased treatment.
However, when teachers themselves are patriarchal, casteist, or racial, then it results in undesirable socialization.
For example, the teacher beat the children of lower caste for drinking from a pot.
(b) Teacher influences the self-attribution pattern of a child.
For example, how a child perceives himself largely depends upon the socialization provided by the teacher.
That's why teachers should never associate any label with the student, as it is difficult to come out of the impact of that label. (Labelling theory by Howard Becker).
(c) Teachers can influence socialization by walking the talk.
For example, values such as hard work, punctuality, compassion, patience, tolerance, etc. can be learned from the conduct of teachers.
(d) Teachers can promote activity-based learning to improve the learning outcome of the child.
According to Benjamin Franklin, " You tell me, I forget. You teach me, I may remember. You involve me, I will learn.".
(e) They can promote critical thinking and develop curious minds.
Examples of great teachers
(a) Role of Late Sampat Kumar in the life of Mithali Raj.
She said in one of the interviews, that teachers are those who dream your dreams and help you to turn them into reality.
(b) Role of Chanakya in the life of Chandragupta Maurya.
(c) Role of Savitri Bai Phule with respect to girl education.
(d) Role of Ramakant Achrekar in the life of Sachin Tendulkar.
Role of Content
(a) The content should be driven by scientific temper and not ideological coloration.
For example, elementary education had pictures of fair and dark women labeled as beautiful and ugly respectively.
There was a story in which the father goes to the office and the mother performs the domestic chores promoting the sexual division of labor.
(b) Education should be culture-specific so that it facilitates the adjustment of child in their social fabric.
For example, promote elementary education in the mother tongue, focus on vocational training, or value-based education through storytelling or anecdotes, etc.
(c) The evaluation standards should not be parochial, i.e. 360-degree assessment needs to be promoted.
(* Refer to National Education policy.)
(d) There should be a sync between the text and the context.
Role of Co-curricular Activities (5:51 P.M.)
One learns leadership, cooperation, team spirit, time management, punctuality, discipline, public speaking, courage, enduring adversity, etc.
Despite having so much potential in co-curricular activities, we don't have a culture to promote it.
Hence, the attitude needs to undergo a change.

VALUE-BASED EDUCATION (6 P.M.)

Values are generalized preferences that enable us to lead a certain way of life.
Values are developed due to socialization.
The education system is responsible for inculcating value-based education.
For example, Integrity, Wisdom, Honesty, etc.
According to Aristotle, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all".
According to Mahatma Gandhi, "Literary education is of no use if it fails to develop a sound character".
According to CS Lewis, "Education without values no matter how useful it is tends to create a clever devil".
A mind all logic is like a knife all blades. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.
Value-based education can help an individual to address the challenges in the following ways:
(a) It prepares the young generation to develop their creative way of responding to the wave of westernization.
(b) Right education can serve as a vehicle for promoting national integration and harmonious living.
(c) With a strong value system the individual learns to be compassionate or considerate towards the vulnerable section.
(d) It can guide the individual's action based on justice, fairness, and wisdom.
It can help them to differentiate between the potential and pitfalls of technological developments.
For example, the use of technology to figure out the sex of the fetus.
(e) Value education helps us in creating a morally virtuous society that can ensure a holistic society.
Question:
Value-based education empowers an individual to confront contemporary challenges. Discuss.
Approach:
First Consider contemporary challenges like Cyber crimes (Abuse of technological advances), corruption, climate change, radicalization, deviance (drug abuse, Gaming disorder, etc.), social conflict (Casteism, Ethnic conflict, Mob lynching, etc.), Westernization, etc.
Then highlight how value-based education can help in tackling these issues.
For example, Value-based education would make one less materialistic, which would make them buy less and adopt a minimalist style. This would reduce the impact on the environment.

ROLE OF PEER GROUP (6:24 P.M.)

Interaction among the peer groups.
Power distance is minimal.
The impact/influence of peer groups is at its peak during adolescence.
Goal orientation, life goals, behavioral patterns, etc. are influenced by the peer groups.
In the absence of democratic parenting, the role of peer groups further increases.
But sometimes, there exists negative socialization due to the negative peer group, for example, juvenile delinquency.

ROLE OF MEDIA (6:39 P.M.)

"Neither bow and arrow nor sword do you require. Publish a newspaper, when faced with canon fire".
Media is defined as a channel of communication that is used to disseminate information, education, entertainment, etc.
There exist different manifestations of media, print media, broadcasting media, outdoor media, social media, etc.
Media influences the process of socialization in the following ways:
(a) It provides the topic for discussion.
For example, the discussion on the uniform civil code is initiated among the public through the Media.
(b) Media provides us with three D's, discussion, debate, and dissent.
For example, Issues like mental health, issues like sexual harassment, demographic dividend, unemployment, etc. can be debated.
(c) Through cinema or content on television, media provides the conditioning of behavior or values of the individual.
For example, the glorification of the negative characters has resulted in negative socialization.
Similarly, the objectification and commodification of women have been done by the media.
The commercial cinema of the past has an underlying essence that truth always wins. However, over the period, the difference between right and wrong is getting blurred.
(d) Media plays an important role concerning vicarious reinforcement.
Vicarious reinforcement means that individuals have the habit of replicating the behavior for which someone is publically rewarded.
(e) Media helps in influencing the aspirations and behavior of people in general.
According to Barack Obama, the media should not be a sycophant, but skeptical. Media should not be complimentary but should cast a critical eye so that people in authority can be held accountable.

ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA (7:08 P.M.)

The impact of social media can be studied under two broad headings, social and political impact. We need to understand the positive and negative impacts.
Social Impact of Social Media
Positive
(a) Mass awareness about the happening around. For example, COVID-19.
(b) It creates opportunities for economic empowerment.
(c) Democratisation of Culture.
(d) Personality development of an individual.
For example, provides a platform for creative expression.
(e) It helps in strengthening the social capital and reduces the isolation.
(f) It helps in generating compassion. For example, crowdfunding.
(g) It helps in exposing crime.
For example, an Incident where Adarsh Shrivastav prevented trafficking.
(h) It helps in mobilizing the masses for the social cause. For example, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, etc.
(i) Helps in correcting the stereotype by creating awareness.
For example, mental health, LGBTQ community, etc.
(j) It also helps in generating awareness along with raising funds for research.
For example, the ALS ice bucket challenge.
(k) Development of the scientific temper.
(l) Faster dissemination of information and ideas.
Negative
(a) It reinforces the stereotypes.
(b) Radicalization of youth.
(c) It creates an echo chamber effect.
It means that there exists a one-sided attenuation of reality.
As a result, there is a lack of a holistic perspective.
(d) In the name of anonymity, many deviant activities are performed. For example, trolling, naming and shaming, etc.
(e) Behavioral addiction to the use of social media.
(f) We have outsourced our identity to social media.
(g) Seeking validation through social media.
(h) Vulnerability of youth is increasing due to fear of missing out.
(i) Too much reliance on social media leads to depersonalization of social relationships.
(j) It leads to self-alienation.
For example, creating unrealistic expectations about body image.
(k) It is increasing the probability of non-communicable diseases due to the sedentary lifestyle.
(l) Threat to privacy.
(m) Few crimes such as stalking, gambling addiction, etc are facilitated.
(n) Increased screen time leads to a negative impact on physical and mental health.

THE TOPIC FOR THE NEXT CLASS: SOCIALIZATION (CONTINUED)