Barrette, C.

Elizabeth, LM2 Reflection: MaldonadoSamuelEducationalOrganization

SHOULD PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATTEMPT TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMS?

Should Public Schools Attempt to Solve Social Problems?

Carolyn Elizabeth Barrette
University of Saint Thomas

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Learning Module 2: Should Public Schools Attempt to Solve Social Problems

EDUC 5303 Cultural Foundations
Dr. Samuel Maldonado
C. Elizabeth Barrette
September 12, 2015

The claim of moral decline has been with us since the days of Socrates.
Tianlong Yu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Individuals are responsible for society, but society is also responsible for the
individuals, lest they live in the world as merely biological or physical creations,
lest they translate this world into the language of the elementary levels of their
existence.1
Nathan Rotenstreich, Ph.D., (dec.2) Professor of Philosophy
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Former Vice-President, Israel Academy of Arts and Sciences

While the Socratic-era moral decline warning above far precedes the advent of moral educational
efforts in the United States, the two are closely intertwined and, from all appearances, are
destined to remain so. Dr. Joel H. Spring notes that Horace Mann3 believed crime could be
reduced by moral instruction in school (Spring, 31) and that socialization through education
would effectively address his abiding nineteenth-century concern that growing crime rates and
social class conflict would lead to violence and mob rule (Spring, 12). This is not indisputably
supported by twentieth and twenty-first century crime data. Spring notes that current statistics
do not establish any type of causal relationship between schooling and crime (Spring, 42).

1 As quoted in Keynan, I. (2014). Knowledge as responsibility: Universities and society. Journal of

Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 18(2), 179. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
2 1914 - 1933
3 1796 1859; often referred to as the father of public schools

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Still, Manns labors have been followed by notable subsequent efforts to use educational
institutions to reduce incident rates of major social problems.
For those fearing and/or perceiving an acceleration in the nations moral decline, increased,
highly-managed use of school curricula and programing (often termed character education) has
been a key component of their resolution strategy. In 2004, Dr. Tianlong Yu (introduced above)
noted:
[In the 1980s] [C]orporate leaders, politicians, and many educators advocated
schooling as the solution for the all-too-evident social ills. Character education,
especially, was stressed as the panacea to restore law and order in society
support for character education at the end of the twentieth century and the
beginning of the twenty-first century seems stronger than at any time since the
1950s (Yu, 56).
Yu summarizes, It is significant that character educators often justify the movement by pointing
to a moral decline in society. They assert that the moral decay is severe and has largely resulted
because schools are not doing a good job with the moral education of youth (Yu, 55). Yu was
especially concerned about the efforts of William J. Bennett, one of the most famous proponents
of modern character education (Yu, 57) and the inaccurate correlations he made between moral
decline, violent crime and character education during his political reign in Washington, D.C.4
Other notable politicians and educators5 joined Bennett in making similar assertions, Yu
concluded, While emphasizing the statistic numbers, they failed to check the validity of the
figures in the statistics and failed to examine the real meanings and implications of the data (Yu,
59).

4 Giving a decade of service in the Reagan and Bush administrations as chairman of the National
Endowment for the Humanities, Secretary of Education, and director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy (Yu, 58).
5 Including John J. Dilulio, Jr. and Thomas Lickona

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In spite of the lack of statistical support, are schools bound by societal norms or moral
law to make reasonable attempts to resolve ongoing social challenges (bullying, epidemic ills6,
gang violence, teacher disrespect and endangerment, other school crimes) and overall elevating
crime rates? In short, yes. This author echoes Dr. Rotenstreichs view that just as we
individually have a moral responsibility to be our best selves for society, we as a society have the
privilege and responsibility (i.e., not merely obligation) to foster an optimum community for
individuals. Dr. Irit Keynan7 feels, In theory as well as in practice, social responsibility in
public organizations is still in its infancy and asserts that [b]ased on the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948),any vision of social responsibility, for either a
single institution or entire sector of society, should be grounded on [the] three principles of
equal rights, capability and mutual responsibility.
To do otherwise is a social shortfall, a form of social injustice. In their article discussing
school resilience, Drs. Jane L. Newman and John Dantzler (University of Alabama Tuscaloosa)
conclude (as will I) that if we fail to address why some at-risk children become successful and
some never achieve their potential in school, later in life, we may continue to lose many of these
students who could experience resilience through researched interventions and ultimately make
positive contributions to society (Newman, et al). I concur and feel this serves as reason enough
to continue responsible efforts within schools to address the societal ills that befall us both within
and outside school walls.

6 e.g., AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse, other sexually-transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy
7 Head, Institute for Civic Responsibility at MLA, College for Academic Studies, Or Yehuda, Israel

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REFERENCES
Bennett, W. J. (1992). The de-valuing of America: The fight for our culture and our children.
New York: Summit Books.
Keynan, I. (2014). Knowledge as responsibility: Universities and society. Journal of Higher
Education Outreach and Engagement, 18(2), 179. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
Newman, J. L., & Dantzler, J. (Spring 2015). Fostering individual and school resilience: When
students at risk move from receivers to givers. Journal of Community Engagement and
Scholarship, 8(1), 80-89. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
Spring, J. H. (2014). American education (16th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Yu, T. (2004). Chapter 3: Moral decline and the politicization of character education. In In the
name of morality: Character education and political control. New York: P. Lang.