Re: A-line-meant: The case for (teaching?) Moral Development.

"Get in, stay in, walk, give up your place, stay on the straight and narrow..." Words that guided all of us, some of early and often, whether a form of exhortation or admonition, those that encouraged us forward or to "take a step back"...those that came out of the mouths of our "elders" (those to "be respectful of") which grew to include a vast sum as we ourselves grew...into "responsible adults" eventually...at least that was their hope, aspiration, which was in part the inspiration for these earliest of memes, those that were well meaning...all of this came to me while I, myself, was standing in a (grocery) line, which due to its length, allowed me to reflect on all of this on behalf of all of you, all of it coming to me in a flash of a few moments, while I watched and heard, as in people "talking, walking..."  All of which, of course, prompted me, on the verge of a gazillion others who might be experiencing a similar set of emotions, re-garding the lack of motion...a line that hardly seemed to be moving forward...those that could "re-late" (i.e., "empathy"😊) but also an incidental, casual re-flection on the other gazillion of all ages, stages, whose parents looked as if they were prepping their kids for "going back" -- at least it so appeared, based on the size and scope of it, what I saw by glancing in their carts...boxes, cases even of...all of which caused my mind to wander, wonder once again about...making the case for, what we came to learn --us aspiring psychologists, who learned about how you all grow into "mature, caring adults" and where, how it's best "taught?" Which brings our attention, brings into question, what to emphasize throughout the day(s), how they (morals) are best conveyed and by whom, where, as in throughout the days, including those spent in formal schooling, even on the playground: yes, as in throughout life, from inception to...from the time a youngster enters school (earlier, on the average, these days, which itself a matter of ongoing convo, debate) all the way to the time they/we commence, after we have reached "full adult stature" (frequent words in commencement speeches, at least from adults)...a time where, after we having been talking about all our "rights" we are re-minded of our emerging "responsibilities"😒 

Spanning: The ages, stages (as in "Stages of Moral Development" we learned about in our "Developmental Psych." classes) and what could realistically be taught in the span of a (school) day and eventually, whether they (manners, morals, "appropriate conduct") could, should be formally taught, a focus, a "core" of ...or whether it's more 'incidental', as in "per incident", how we as adults earlier on "caught" our ....and in school when we were ourselves caught (more recently on camera)....yep, all this in a flash, as in cash and dash...as in when I saw Larry and two cherubs, who I guessed were two grands, turn the corner -- one of which was trying her best to take over the reins, "free-wheeling", while her cohort was riding 'shotgun' (Wow, can't say that in a grocery store anymore I thought to myself) and offered his personal perspective on what "standing in line" might mean..."Wow, it would be easier to steal this stuff!" To which, one by-stander in line just behind me responded in kind, "Yeh, and there'd be no one to stop you, given that the workers here are underpaid, overworked, resulting in poor morale...who could blame them for not...? And, all the while, within seconds, just above a whisper, came the inevitable "do-gooders" (what we used to call students who tattled on us) who commented instead on morals, as in "Wow, he's setting a horrible example..." Yep, all this de-moralizing in the span of just a few moments, the span of a grocery line, 'incidental' learning for every-body present. This, following so many recent oppos and animated commentaries re-garding what and how much folks were putting in their carts early in the pandemic...some to the detriment of others (as in attempts to hoard TP) whereas others willingly sacrificed, gave up either some of their stuff or their actual place in line, to another who might be in greater need. In the present case, as in so many others...

Little did we/they know: Which, I guess is part of the case for teaching, informing, then modeling, shaping re-shaping morals, at home and even at school, given the latter is where we spent so much of our "waking hours" and is otherwise "target rich" for 'incidental learning' ("unintentional" as in "law of unintended consequences", unanticipated...). Among the uniformed, 'unwashed' we were, before being so-called taught -- "so-called" because following the formal lessons of the day by our parents and teachers, as research and my collective experiences have become instrumental supplements, morals, values, and virtues are just as often caught (i.e., "off camera") as formally taught, when we observe the degree to which those trying to instill such virtues actually "walk the line" themselves...In the current case, though, before I lose the story line, the case of "Larry", if "they" (the others in line, the uniformed) only knew him like I did, then they would be in a 'place' to understand the context, what he really meant, his true intent, the likelihood he was just trying, on behalf of other by-standers, and his impatient grandchildren, some "comedy relief" -- a precious commodity no matter where and when, except, perhaps...which is what he was told (scolded is more like it) when he attempted such 'theatrics' in the classroom ("if you're gonna' be the class clown, you better learn timing, place, and audience")...The same "Larry" we (lucky enough to get to know him well into "adulthood" when we called upon him as an expert in his field, to welcome him into our homes, to "improve" our precious abode, when we learned he was, it turned out, as "good as his word"...

Rating the Raters: How so-called "systems" as in "school systems" as well as "programs" for teaching morals are formally evaluated, researched, graded...up-graded, form time-to-time. The debate about the values and manifest behaviors that should be prioritized for teaching, where it should be done, how, and by whom...That is, the degree to which teachers, who wear lots of hats these days, should themselves be held responsible for teaching the kinds of things that traditionally in "days of old" were re-legated to parents who, over several decades, have either become too busy or "just can't be bothered"...or some combination of difficult-to-measure, variables, have gradually looked to schools, teachers as either a strong secondary or even 'elementary' source for imbuing their cherubs...adolescents with a "prosocial orientation". It has generally come under the 'softer' of the three categories of what's referred to by educators, and educational psychologists who formally study this (trust me, as I myself got graded by even "professors" who professed to know such things...) the third branch of "educational taxonomies", which traditionally include "Cognitive" (which is what we do most of our school days, also re-ferred to as "knowledge"😔😕), "Psychomotor" (or "action" based, as in "free-wheeling"😄😂) and, in the present case, where most of the debate continues to focus, the extent to which schools, which are already stretched thin, should be held responsible for the "Affective" domain (aka "emotion" or "value" based), the portion of the report card which tends to be the most challenging to interpret, as when parents ask, in P-T conferences, "so what's the bottom line here, is Larry finally getting into...?"

It's (morals and extent to which they will be taught here, there) is up to you, me, them...Yep, all this occurred to me, while standing in line...which also, upon reflection, in the span of time it took to "deliver the goods" as in "drive home the point" prompted me, to also re-flect, deflect, on behalf of all those who would soon be standing in the "lunch line"😁...😟...