Schools will start including moral education as a subject in their curriculums from the beginning of the next academic year. Courtesy ADEC
Schools will start including moral education as a subject in their curriculums from the beginning of the next academic year. Courtesy ADEC

Opinion

How to raise society’s moral standards

Instilling a strong sense of morality in young people is a complex task that involves us all

National Editorial

24 August, 2016

Developing a moral compass in children is a responsibility that should be shared by the family, educational institutions and the community at large. Each one of them has a role to play in instilling personal and collective values and supporting the development of the individual’s ability to judge what is right and wrong and to know how to act accordingly.

Schools will start including moral education as a subject in their curriculums from the beginning of the next academic year. The lessons will focus on the promotion of ethics, personal and community growth, culture and heritage, civic education, and rights and responsibilities. As we have argued before, such a course – if implemented well – will shape our future leaders and raise moral standards across society.

This initiative, which comes under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, opens up a discussion about the parallel role of parents in achieving the objective. In a majlis organised by Abu Dhabi Education Council, Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, Adec's director general, highlighted a need for a strong partnership between schools and parents to foster pupils' educational progress, especially in changing times. Today, young people confront challenges that are very different to the ones faced by their parents and grandparents.

Now, as before, the question arises: what is the most effective way to teach moral values to young students? It could be argued that parents are mostly responsible for teaching personal values to their children, focusing on how they develop a capacity for reflection and empathy, and take on responsibility for themselves and others.

In tandem with this, schools have a responsibility to foster students’ collective values, including national values such as good citizenship. Schools can help children develop their sense of national identity and make them realise the importance of the rule of law from a very young age.

It is important to remember that the moral development of young people depends on the ethical capacities of the adults who interact with them on a daily basis – especially parents, but also teachers, members of their extended family and other adults in the community. Every young person needs both a role model to inspire them and an environment that holds up good values and celebrates them.

While you're here
Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.