Using Film Influences to Spread Religious Moral Principles in Education - Term Paper Example

Moral Leadership: Using Film Influences to Spread Religious Moral Principles in Education Student name Instructor name Course name Date Abstract This final paper is strives to interpret the meaning of morality and its four underlying universal principles. It does this not only be examining what these principles are but also how they are influenced by entities such as the school and the media. It is determined that the school is an appropriate environment in which basic moral principles should be taught, especially in light of a decreasing religious influence, and that modern media outlets have a mostly negative influence upon today’s character education although it has a greater power to influence than the classroom environment. In order to prepare students for thoughtful participation in their future education, organizations and society in general, it is necessary to provide them with the type of quality morality education that is typically considered to be ‘religious education’. While this can be done within both the private and public school environments through various means of instructional approach, it is concluded that the film industry should also recognize its responsibility to impart religious moral values through its various forms of media as a means of positively affecting the greater world society. Moral Leadership: Using Film Influences to Spread Religious Moral Principles in Education The Nature of Morality Morality, a foundational ethic science relating to the behaviors and actions of people, groups, organizations, complex businesses and the whole human society, reveals various generally defined issues in today’s commercial, organizational, educational, and social perspectives. According to Wikipedia (2007), the word morality has Latin roots all of which have a meaning that focus around concepts of “manner, character, and proper behavior.” Usually, morality is considered as being something of “moral value” that is related to how people determine the concepts of “right or wrong” and “good or evil” in many arenas within the “cultural, religious, secular or philosophical community.” In addition, various moral principles originate from this concept of moral value in human society (para. 1). It is essential to raise the point that moral value can always be discovered in some particular right and good actions and behaviors as it is defined within a specific group or ideology. It is generally believed that there are absolutes in moral consideration or character education. Structures of morality usually employ a variety of universal moral principles, such as integrity, responsibility, compassion and forgiveness to help people acquire and develop emotional intelligence (Cowan & Rizzo, 1995; Lennick & Kiel, 2005; Hass, 1998). It appears that utilizing these moral principles in character education is necessary because moral intelligence and character strength are powerful tools in helping individuals build good relationships with others within these various communities and thus achieve success in life. Four Moral Principles Found in Today’s Education There are four universal moral principles that are employed in morality development education. These include integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness, each of which will be discussed in detail. Integrity. A concept of ethical courage and action, integrity creates personal credit in life and self-value. Lennick and Kiel (2005) noted that integrity is a long-term commitment to insist on the right and beneficial “principles, values, and beliefs” of a particular group. Moreover, this principle requires a commitment to “truth” and always needs to foster strong trust relationships (p. 79) among people. Responsibility. Understanding responsibility in human life is as important as fresh air. As responsible persons, individuals must face the consequences of their own choices in life and their own personal flaws. It is only through this taking responsibility for one’s own actions in life that moral strength can be developed as the individual begins to realize that any consequences to be suffered or enjoyed are the direct result of their own actions. This forces careful consideration of decisions to be made and emphasizes the concept of servant leadership (Lennick & Kiel, 2005, pp. 93-102). Servant leadership refers to the idea that the good leader, in responsibly acting out his or her role to do what is best for the community, is himself or herself a servant to the people he or she leads. Compassion. A thoughtful and merciful person always receives respect from others because they are recognized as a person with tremendous compassion for others. According to Lennick and Kiel (2005), compassion is developed as the individual strives to determine what people need in order to become better people and then works through practical actions to provide for those needs without expecting reciprocal action (p. 105). This is the concept behind the popular maxim “It is better to give then to receive.” Forgiveness. Without forgiveness, people may find themselves forever suffering loneliness and hopelessness. Lennick and Kiel (2005) explained that forgiveness is employed in two different kinds of situations, but they have similarities in the application of this moral principle. For instance, mistakes will inevitably be made by others that will cause pain or suffering to the individual, but forgiveness can help to heal these pains or provide assistance in overcoming the suffering that has been endured. In addition, the individual will inevitably make mistakes of his or her own, which will cause pain and suffering to others as well as to themselves. It is only by finding the power to forgive oneself that these obstacles can be overcome to find a healthier and happier future. By acknowledging mistakes, learning from them and learning to forgive self and others for them, the individual is able to bring about more satisfactory performances in the future and make more intelligent decisions that are in keeping with the person they wish to be (p. 109). Notes on principles. Regarding these four moral principles of integrity, responsibility, compassion and forgiveness, educators are constantly reminded of the importance of including such principles within their lessons. Corwin (1965) describes the school organization as a small society which is automatically formed of numerous moral standards and ethical values (p. 37) dependent on the diversity of its students, faculty, administrators and greater community. The reason educators are encouraged to focus on these four basic concepts is that education is the primary element and base to effect students’ development of individual lifelong character definition, thus the school setting provides an opportunity to guide students in understanding the importance of basic moral principles relatively common to most of the world’s cultures by enlightening pupils’ visions or influencing individuals’ moral values in a way that may help the global society achieve peace and harmony in all arenas. Film Influence in Today’s Moral Education Media issue. Without doubt, school systems around the world must take up the challenge to educate and facilitate their pupils in character as well as academic education, but the media is also a powerful tool to impact humans in many areas. Therefore, films produced in Hollywood and elsewhere surely must be taken into account regarding the definition and understanding of moral issues because character guidelines are being taught while the audience is appreciating the entertainment. Outlaw (2006) reported that films and videos have generated many debates and discussions in today’s society because of their questionable content and the resulting moral instruction communicated to people still developing their concepts of right and wrong. These productions mostly include various violence, sex, material abuse, extreme critique, and social conflict that combine to harm and affect people’s moral value and vision. Therefore, some experts suggested setting up a rating system to warn parents or audiences to be aware of the potential moral harm that might result from what is depicted in various films for their children or themselves (para. 2). According to Uplifting Film.com, leaving the negative movies alone and enjoying the lovely and meaningful films that enlighten are always wise decisions (para. 2) if one wishes to develop and maintain a fine, upstanding moral character in the sometimes difficult atmosphere of today’s environment. Films may be honored as art in moral practice, but they also can be poison in causing people to develop negative moral values or making various immoral decisions or behaviors because of a lack of faith in the human condition based upon what they’ve seen in films. Film function. Ross (2002) presented the idea that people can notice and absorb a variety of knowledge through different film media. For instance, learning how to use make-up, receiving fashion show information, and making smart decisions while shopping can be accessed via DVD video, or film clip. On the other hand, the same media may impart subtle pro and con messages that cause people to unconsciously accept them without seriously considering the side effect. Perhaps because of this somewhat subconscious means of absorbing information, film influence is recognized as being superior or more persuasive than traditional classroom teaching; therefore, movies not only amuse people but also are regarded as an integral part of social life, recognizing its abilities to impart social moral judgments and values without always stopping to consider what values are being taught. In Ross’s view, films are the “social glue of American life” (pp. 1-2). Because film problems relate to social reflections and moral or immoral influence, film movements should be highly concerned and involved in this discussion regarding which morals are or should be supported. In particular, understanding films’ influences from the perspective of moral value and character education may facilitate the school systems’ preparation to be involved in guiding students to avoid the risks of negative influences or understand their historical movement. Relationships of Religious Influence to Moral Education Religious Moral Implication. Moral strength can be an individual’s “chicken soup” in today’s society and educational institutions. Moreover, the basic guidance provided by religious moral principles is necessary in today’s education because many people lack the moral competence to handle and manage various issues in their lives thanks to a growing lack of regular religious training such as had been provided in previous generations. However, much of this religious instruction has been encoded into our everyday culture, thus requiring very little in the way of symbolism, etc. to bring out the latent values. Barcan (1993) claimed that the systematic religious dominion has developed over a long period in history and its powerful influences affects several associated aspects, such as “religion, class, race, and education” (p. 90). Weigel (1999) stated this idea another way: “Culture is crucial to keeping free societies free and the heart of culture is cult—religion” (as cited in Berger, 1999, p. 22). One obvious issue is that the most fundamental religious moral principles are pervasive and influential in society worldwide. Hence, many varied religions use a variety of ways to influence their educations and societies (Berger, 1973, p.46; Giddens, 1990, p. 102). In other words, in the viewpoint of other countries, they also employ religious moral principles to direct their learners in searching the virtue value, moral goal, and macro visions to pure human spirits. Clearly, the implication of religion’s power is very important in education. Religious moral value instruction. Essentially, responding to these particular discourses, using religious moral principles in education does not harm students or human society regardless of the particular religion a child and his or her family subscribe to (or don’t); conversely, the moral strength gained will help students and their families build better relationships to understand and fulfill the ethical practice. Since religious influence is core to culture, if the educators and businesses effectively use the basic religious moral principles to choose what message to send through the mass media or educational systems, they will enhance students’ ability to face more moral challenges in today’s society. Barcan (1993) indicated that some religious schools have adopted the Bible as the basic curricula to direct their students, and these schools believe that the biblical values or principles can aid and enhance their students’ moral principles to find the best solutions to deal with the social negative influence (p. 229). Even in public education, though, religious values influence instruction. Without religion’s moral education influences, human society may produce more conflicts and puzzles; therefore, using the power of religious moral principles in the film industry or education is an effective means of pursuing the most peaceful lives in human society. Summary The purpose of character education is to guide students in determining what is right or wrong and good or evil while using the moral intelligence guide to make moral decisions throughout their lives geared toward bringing about the greatest good. This is accomplished by the received influences from the people in their environments, such as their parents and friends at home, the peers and instructors within the school systems, and the media formats they choose to have in their lives. Havighurst and Neugarten (1967) stated that children’s development must be related to their whole social circumstance and personal experiences in their society. In addition, these learners’ awareness of the essentials of dealing with social interactions with others should be raised, and then they will be able to adjust their behaviors and acquire positive attitudes that will enrich their moral competence. As a result, these children exactly require “the major socializing agencies” to instruct them in a variety of disciplines. Socializing agencies are found in many places such as the “family, the peer group, the school, the church, the youth-serving organizations, political, and mass media” and these associations are all suitable surroundings in which to teach students how to make connections and relate to their moral competences (pp. 123-128). The moral principle implement can be accomplished, at least in part, through the effective use of educational or ethical films. On the other hand, according to Bolton and Corbally (1941), school systems need to reconstruct their curricula to include the basic moral principles that were previously provided through religious instruction. This “religious education” is regarded as significant to curricula in education because their influence in any arena may build most students’ moral competence to reflect and tolerate different problems in their social circumstances both in school and in their future (p. 294). Without doubt, if schools or mass media were to have a better understanding of the importance of using film influence to instruct the Golden Rule, this method may help educators construct better moral skills and socially beneficial behaviors among today’s youth. Educators, however, are not the only ones who must take responsibility for character education. Businesses, particularly those involved in the mass media, must take accountability for how they educate world citizens to understand the moral principles, varied values, and visions in their lives. Polanyi (1962) noted, “Significantly, information is a public commodity contained in every form of media transmission” (as cited in Jarvis, 2000, p. 81). In conclusion, it seems clear that using film influences to spread basic religious moral principles in education will provide powerful learning skills to facilitate students in moral development and bring about beneficial social influence within the cultures of tomorrow. Read More