An excerpt taken from essays in the GP publication :
The Test of Education
Mary Weaven
Literature and ethics All schools, whether secular or religious, carry a responsibility to help students make wise decisions and to act ethically. The study of literature, as well as introducing students to the beauty of language, offers valuable commentary on matters of moral judgment. Every day we are called upon to make moral judgments and to form opinions. This is reflected in our education system. We know, and readily accept, that fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds must take responsibility for some important decisions.
When students in Victoria finish their tenth year of schooling, for example, they are faced with what is sometimes seen as a bewildering array of subjects to choose from in order to embark on their VCE studies. For every choice the student needs to make, a variety of often conflicting influences present themselves. Judgment is critical. But just how well equipped are our students for making these judgments - or any for that matter - some of which may well affect their lives for many years to come?
Subjects such as accounting help students to make decisions about money. A knowledge of chemistry, on the other hand, might help to form opinions on the nutritional value of the food we eat. But when it comes to moral or ethical questions that force us to decide between right and wrong, then it is to the subject of literature that we can find ourselves being drawn.
Copyright © 1997 by Mary Weaven. All rights reserved.
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