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Introduction
One of the basic building blocks of a successful and functional society is the establishment and consequent adherence to values by the members of the community. Values can be defined as what society judges to be of importance or worthy. These values color our human reality with new ways of understanding. Considering the importance of values to society, the teaching of values to the younger generation has taken center stage in the eyes of society. The question has arisen as to whether the state or federal government should come up with a set of values and teach the same in school or whether the teaching of values should be the responsibility of families. This paper shall argue that the teaching of values should be the premise of families and the state should only offer additional information on values. To reinforce this claim, this paper shall outline the merits of having the family teach values to the youths.
A Case for the Family Teaching Responsibility
For people to coexist harmoniously, they have to have a sense of what is acceptable. This sense of shared moral and social values according to which the members of the community are expected to behave is the defining characteristic of a community. Bridgeman, Lind, and Keating (2008) articulate that these shared morals and values have to be learned from somewhere and peoples sense of what they ought to do is to a large part formed by experiences of what is done by the adult and family members who were responsible for them as children. The family, therefore, presents the best avenue for this teaching to take place. This is a thought which is corroborated by Kamerman and Kahn (1997) who assert that the family as a unit is the most important social institution since it is in this set up that continuity of individuals values is assured and learned needs are transmitted from one generation to the next. The family system is therefore the system within which children get to learn from a very tender age how to behave and respond to situations.
While learning of values can take place in various environments, the values have the greatest impact when they are taught in an environment that encourages positive relationships. Families are characterized by the formation of relationships between various family members. According to sociologists, family relationships are important to people since they result in stability, intimacy, and companionship and are in fact central to peoples core personal values (Bridgeman, Lind and Keating, 2008). Pandey and Singh (2008, p.310) define personal values as the deepest beliefs and sentiments we subscribe to and state that values have a direct bearing on a persons success and accomplishments in life. It can therefore be deduced that the family which is the institute where personal values are learned is a very important institute since this core values result in the success of the individual and the society at large.
The family acts as the best venue for teaching children cultural values which may not be shared by an entire nation. Moroney (1986) suggests that cultural values run the risk of becoming extinct especially in the postindustrial age where society is increasingly becoming integrated and inter-cultural interactions are rife. It would be outrageous to expect the government to possess the means by which to preserve cultural values especially in countries that have multiple cultural backgrounds. As such, the family presents the best means for teaching these cultural values to the children and therefore ensuring that they are passed on from generation to generation.
A Case for State Teaching Values
Families all over the world are characterized by differences in many attributes including size, values, and ideals to name but a few. As such, most families have different values and for this reason, the federal government may be required to take up the role of teaching values so as to offer standardized values for all. In some instances, there may lack of commonly held values among the families making up a community. In such a scenario, it is to be expected that each family will teach their children their own acquired values which may be contrary to those of the rest of the community. Moroney (1986, p.149) states that in a society that is flooded by multiple differing values, the state has a major role in identifying, articulating, and shaping these values .
Children are constantly in the process of acquiring values and this being the case; they need a lot of guidance. While families provide this guidance, the children spend most of their time in institutes such as schools in which the government stipulates the curriculum. Bridgeman, Lind, and Keating (2008) suggest that the values of the community can be taught in such institutes so as to assist in the task of socializing the youths. The government can therefore play a role by expounding on the community values to the children through these socializing structures such as schools. By so doing, the government can play an active role in ensuring that the values taught to children at home are reinforced.
Conclusion
This paper set out to argue that the teaching of values should be left to families. This paper has demonstrated that the family is best positioned to instill values that are of great importance for a well-functioning community. Through this paper, it has been demonstrated that the best results can be obtained by giving the family the responsibility to teach values in the home setting. The paper has however taken care to highlight the importance that the state plays in values. The role of the government should however be restricted to providing additional information on the values to the children as opposed to creating the values.
References
Bridgeman, J., Lind, C. & Keating, M. (2008). Responsibility, law and the family. USA: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Kamerman, S. B. & Kahn, A. J. (1997). Family change and family policies in Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Oxford University Press.
Moroney, R. (1986). Shared responsibility: families and social policy. NY: Transaction Publishers.
Pandey, S. & Singh, M. (2008). Women Empowerment and Personal Values as Predictors of Reproductive Health . Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Vol. 34, No.2, 309-316.
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