'Teaching Consideration' by Sabrina Ward
Posted by sregan | Filed under opinion
The rise in anti-social behaviour in our society is a matter of public record. But what should be done about it? Sabrina Ward argues it's not enough to rely on the nuclear family to teach young people consideration for others.
Is society getting less considerate? On the whole, I would say not. But with the recent rise in anti-social behavioural orders (ASBOs) being given out by the police, many people will agree with me when I say that there are a number of individuals increasingly lacking in this area.
What then is the solution? Teach consideration in schools. Yes, it is a fairly radical solution, particularly since children and young people are part of a wider problem and this is an issue that should be tackled by society as a whole. However if we target the young, we may be able to effect change in future generations.
Start tackling the root of the problem, as it were.
Let me first make it clear what I mean by 'consideration'. In our modern society of different lifestyles and religions it would, of course, be wrong to impose our own moral standards on others. I am talking about the act of showing respect and thoughtfulness to others - which should be practiced by everyone.
Now there will be those who object to this proposal; in particular, people who don't believe that there is a problem. There will also be parents who are worried about what the school might be teaching their children. But a child who says "please" and "thank you", a child who will hold open a door or give up their seat for an elderly person; would any parent really be upset if their child started to display these kinds of behaviour?
And wouldn't society be better for everyone if the majority of people behaved that way?
I also know that some of you will be blaming the parents for their children's rude and unruly behaviour, thinking "if they taught their kids some manners we wouldn't have this problem." And I would be compelled to agree - but for the fact that I suspect that the parents who have not taught their children such high standards of consideration are the ones who have the most difficulty with it themselves.
In a ideal world, all children would be getting this basic education at home: but as we can see this isn't always the case. The extent of social teaching varies greatly from family to family. Now you can argue that it depends on background, class, income, religion or any number of other factors.
But I would say it boils down to one thing - education. Not whether the parents went to a private or a public school, but their own moral education. After all, you can't teach what you don't know. So where are they going to get this education if not from school? And how many more children are we going to let slip through the net? How many more parents are going to end up unable to teach their children the basics of how to treat others?
If we want to transform society as a whole we should be working to prevent the problem in the first place. And if we want to effect change we have to act now, before this negative behaviour becomes not only more common but even, more worryingly, more acceptable. And if we do, who knows how our society may improve.
- Sabrina Ward
