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Description
The public schools today are cored around a curriculum designed to promote “life long learning and success”, but meanwhile, we need to ask ourselves, “is that all life is?” In a quote by English author Neil Gaiman, he states:
                     “I’ve been making a list of things they don’t teach you at school. They
                      don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be
                      famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich, or how to be poor. They
                      don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any
                      longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone
                      else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying.
                      They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”
Although it would be difficult for even the most insightful guru to teach a few of those things, values and ethics are just as important to learn early in life as academics are. However, administrators focus the educational program around rigid academics and pressure pupils to do well in their studies. It is essential to understand that life is not all studies, and, as Gaiman pointed out, it is more common for the average person to fall in love or lose a loved one than they are to be asked to solve a chemistry or calculus problem. A curriculum should consist of, in addition to the archetypal academic areas, opportunities to learn awareness, self-discipline, progressive thinking, self-defense, and compassion in one’s own being.

Awareness
Ask the average teenager what happened at the party last night, and they will be able to inform you of the latest gossip. Ask the same kid their opinion about RFID, or even the current War on Terrorism, and the response will most likely lack the substance from the previous answer about the party.  Albeit not the most pivotal of subjects, awareness is important because it is the first step towards change, something desperately needed in society and its backsliding. Few seem to understand the concept of just how important it is to be aware of what happens, and how each event, each terrorist attack and every war, affects us. Administrators should promote awareness in the classroom by offering more courses dealing with current events. In Stroudsburg alone, current events are done a few times a year, and a modest handful of courses dealing with global issues are offered, but the impact of these classes have little result. Interest in these courses is lacking, mostly because students fail to see the important of a world beyond their own comfort bubbles. Logically, on their behalf, adults fail to show them the importance of pushing outward and, in the end, we simply can not generate enough notice to make even the first step towards change. Still, that doesn’t stop us from whining about our conditions.

Self-discipline
Discipline is something few adults have, and it is painfully obvious. Even worse is the lack of self-discipline we see among the teenage body today. Each act of procrastination, work turned in late, and self indulgence negatively impact and fuel a bad habit. Students undermine the value of homework, seeing it more as a burden than as an opportunity to learn, which, learning in itself, is something many also oppose. Granted, no one wants to do more work than they need to, especially after learning for seven hours, but it is something that is necessary in order to effectively live in a timely fashion. We live in a world that obsesses over time, and if merciless deadlines comes as a shock to a teenager when they finish their schooling, then the shock could be detrimental. Procrastination also lends a hand in the ability to producing quality work, as many of us know. Time management aside, self discipline is also important to drill because it enables us to have control over doing something we may regret, like blurting out rude or insulting remarks. In essence, self discipline allows for a person to control their own mind, and, in the process, develop a better understanding of themselves.

Progressive Thinking
America is best known for its role as the “cultural mixing pot” of the world. In turn, we commonly see the values from other cultures and ages get passed on to the youth, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, although we can learn from the past, we need to look to the future and begin to shape our world for the generations to come. Progressive thinking allows for a new era of enlightenment, which draws from the dawning the new Dark Ages we may soon find ourselves entering. It’s a fork in the road, and people seem to be heading down the darker path, willing to follow the leader through the darkness. Our leaders make people through psychological manipulation, but we follow them blindly, almost paralyzed. As Milton Friedman once said, “only crisis, real or perceived, produces real change.” It is key to develop the skills to think progressively and beyond fear and lies as early on as possible.

Self Defense
Similar to self discipline, we also need to learn how to defend our well being. Our society has become more dangerous, one where a terrorist could be our neighbor and criminals are becoming younger and younger. Even going to school, we face dangers our parents rarely thought about. Self defense should be made available in school, primarily through physical education, commonly called “PE”. In PE, students are taught various games and the value of teamwork, which is all fine and dandy, but it produces nothing for the student to carry with them through life. A humble portion of this class should be devoted to substance instead of just working on improving sportsmanship. Walking down the street, there is a very real threat of being mugged, shot, or worse. When the gym class hero is looking down the barrel of a pistol, while on the other end, a masked criminal is demanding money, will knowing how to serve a volleyball or catch a football really help? Self defense is becoming more crucial to learn, and it seems most logical to at least offer this in school, available for everyone.

Compassion
Last of all values and ethics to teach in public schools, compassion ranks fairly high. The act of compassion encompasses a dying trade, where we choose to live life aloof and cold, letting few people into our worlds. School can not teach the value of compassion, but it can offer the opportunity to. In our culture, we’re taught the value of independence, given the opportunity to improve on it, but ignore empathy.
[EXPAND]

A school, especially a public one, can not teach everything. However, values and ethics should be taught when available, and it is key to offer students the chance to learn certain ones, like self disciple and defense, or compassion, progressive thinking, and awareness. As quoted before, “they don’t teach you anything worth knowing (Gaiman).” It should not be like that; we should be offered the opportunity to develop a clear set of values in high school, instead of struggling with them in adulthood.

Description
The public schools today are cored around a curriculum designed to promote “life long learning and success”, but meanwhile, we need to ask ourselves, “is that all life is?” In a quote by English author Neil Gaiman, he states:
                     “I’ve been making a list of things they don’t teach you at school. They
                      don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be
                      famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich, or how to be poor. They
                      don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any
                      longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone
                      else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying.
                      They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”
Although it would be difficult for even the most insightful guru to teach a few of those things, values and ethics are just as important to learn early in life as academics are. However, administrators focus the educational program around rigid academics and pressure pupils to do well in their studies. It is essential to understand that life is not all studies, and, as Gaiman pointed out, it is more common for the average person to fall in love or lose a loved one than they are to be asked to solve a chemistry or calculus problem. A curriculum should consist of, in addition to the archetypal academic areas, opportunities to learn awareness, self-discipline, progressive thinking, self-defense, and compassion in one’s own being.

Awareness
Ask the average teenager what happened at the party last night, and they will be able to inform you of the latest gossip. Ask the same kid their opinion about RFID, or even the current War on Terrorism, and the response will most likely lack the substance from the previous answer about the party.  Albeit not the most pivotal of subjects, awareness is important because it is the first step towards change, something desperately needed in society and its backsliding. Few seem to understand the concept of just how important it is to be aware of what happens, and how each event, each terrorist attack and every war, affects us. Administrators should promote awareness in the classroom by offering more courses dealing with current events. In Stroudsburg alone, current events are done a few times a year, and a modest handful of courses dealing with global issues are offered, but the impact of these classes have little result. Interest in these courses is lacking, mostly because students fail to see the important of a world beyond their own comfort bubbles. Logically, on their behalf, adults fail to show them the importance of pushing outward and, in the end, we simply can not generate enough notice to make even the first step towards change. Still, that doesn’t stop us from whining about our conditions.

Self-discipline
Discipline is something few adults have, and it is painfully obvious. Even worse is the lack of self-discipline we see among the teenage body today. Each act of procrastination, work turned in late, and self indulgence negatively impact and fuel a bad habit. Students undermine the value of homework, seeing it more as a burden than as an opportunity to learn, which, learning in itself, is something many also oppose. Granted, no one wants to do more work than they need to, especially after learning for seven hours, but it is something that is necessary in order to effectively live in a timely fashion. We live in a world that obsesses over time, and if merciless deadlines comes as a shock to a teenager when they finish their schooling, then the shock could be detrimental. Procrastination also lends a hand in the ability to producing quality work, as many of us know. Time management aside, self discipline is also important to drill because it enables us to have control over doing something we may regret, like blurting out rude or insulting remarks. In essence, self discipline allows for a person to control their own mind, and, in the process, develop a better understanding of themselves.

Progressive Thinking
America is best known for its role as the “cultural mixing pot” of the world. In turn, we commonly see the values from other cultures and ages get passed on to the youth, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, although we can learn from the past, we need to look to the future and begin to shape our world for the generations to come. Progressive thinking allows for a new era of enlightenment, which draws from the dawning the new Dark Ages we may soon find ourselves entering. It’s a fork in the road, and people seem to be heading down the darker path, willing to follow the leader through the darkness. Our leaders make people through psychological manipulation, but we follow them blindly, almost paralyzed. As Milton Friedman once said, “only crisis, real or perceived, produces real change.” It is key to develop the skills to think progressively and beyond fear and lies as early on as possible.

Self Defense
Similar to self discipline, we also need to learn how to defend our well being. Our society has become more dangerous, one where a terrorist could be our neighbor and criminals are becoming younger and younger. Even going to school, we face dangers our parents rarely thought about. Self defense should be made available in school, primarily through physical education, commonly called “PE”. In PE, students are taught various games and the value of teamwork, which is all fine and dandy, but it produces nothing for the student to carry with them through life. A humble portion of this class should be devoted to substance instead of just working on improving sportsmanship. Walking down the street, there is a very real threat of being mugged, shot, or worse. When the gym class hero is looking down the barrel of a pistol, while on the other end, a masked criminal is demanding money, will knowing how to serve a volleyball or catch a football really help? Self defense is becoming more crucial to learn, and it seems most logical to at least offer this in school, available for everyone.

Compassion
Last of all values and ethics to teach in public schools, compassion ranks fairly high. The act of compassion encompasses a dying trade, where we choose to live life aloof and cold, letting few people into our worlds. School can not teach the value of compassion, but it can offer the opportunity to. In our culture, we’re taught the value of independence, given the opportunity to improve on it, but ignore empathy.
[EXPAND]

A school, especially a public one, can not teach everything. However, values and ethics should be taught when available, and it is key to offer students the chance to learn certain ones, like self disciple and defense, or compassion, progressive thinking, and awareness. As quoted before, “they don’t teach you anything worth knowing (Gaiman).” It should not be like that; we should be offered the opportunity to develop a clear set of values in high school, instead of struggling with them in adulthood.