Ethics: finding the authentic self
The way one fares in life depends more on attitude than circumstance.
Leneen Forde. Griffith University chancellor and former Queensland state governor
The term ‘Ethics’ appeared in the timetable for the first time this year. It was part of a review of The School Design and a move away from the traditional concept of pastoral care to a framework with a more rigorous and academic focus. There is still just as much care for our students but it was considered that this scheduled time each fortnight needed a different emphasis. The learning models are carefully designed by the Heads of House and the Student Care team, and through Years 8 to 12 a wide range of ideas is covered, including relationships, leadership, cyber-bullying and community service. All are delivered with discussion about ethical choices and the values underpinning decisions. At an age when students are trying on many ‘hats’, finding out about themselves, exploring the person they want to become and developing their identity, being encouraged to examine the right and wrong ways of going about life and managing situations is very important. To have the opportunity to discover what is meant by integrity, to have a sense of what is honourable, and to understand the consequences of not telling the truth is vital. Involved in this development are intellectual and emotional decisions, and social issues, and in an age when there are few absolute rules, it takes considerable maturity and constant practice to sort it all out. Achieving some sort of success in this area eventually means becoming a member of the community who ‘can sleep straight in bed’ and is ‘comfortable in her own skin’ – in other words, someone who has integrity and an authentic self.
This is particularly relevant to Year 10, a pivotal year at school. Among other things, Year 10 is about learning to be a responsible role model for younger students, about academic work becoming more serious, about aspiring to be a Senior, about having fun, about managing groups, about friendships splintering and mending fences, and about feeling a little bit more in control than in Year 9. And, it is about being ‘in the middle’: not always a very comfortable place to be but nevertheless a place with space and opportunity to think without too much pressure to perform and a place where students are familiar with the school environment but not yet faced with final exams. A particular programme designed to offer challenge, and at the same time to ground students in reality, is the Community Service programme. The expectation is for girls to independently negotiate fifteen hours of service in the community at a placement of their own choosing. To introduce the programme, guest speakers from various organisations are invited in to talk about, for example, what it takes to work with children with disabilities or with people in aged care, and more importantly, about the value of making a difference to someone else’s life. The programme runs until September by which time girls are expected to have completed their obligations to their placement and to have completed all of the attendant paperwork. In the process of working through this programme the girls learn so much about the real world and about themselves. Ideas and convictions held at the beginning of the year are often changed by experience. A new sense of social justice is often developed and an awareness of real life impacts on consciousness. A new maturity becomes evident.
On a deeper level, there is empirical evidence to suggest that there are significant and worthwhile outcomes of service participation on adolescent development. Service activity has positive effects on students’ social development, civic responsibility, academic learning and aspirations for the future (Eccles & Barber, 1999; Hansen et al. 2003; Larson 1994; cited Schmidt, Lee & Hackar 2006). As well, service participation has been found to enhance students’ understanding of socio-historical contexts which leads them to think more often about political, moral and ethical issues and their own roles in bringing about social change. Behavioural gains after engaging in service activities are such that students show a higher sense of personal and social responsibility and self-esteem. They view themselves as more socially competent, self-efficacious and resilient, able to demonstrate gains in moral reasoning, and are more likely to be kind and helpful towards others (Billig 2000, Eyler 2000, Raskoff & Sundeen 1999; Yates and Youniss 1998; cited Schmidt, Lee & Hackar 2006). Research has shown that students who participate in service earn higher academic grades, have fewer behavioural problems, know more about the society in which they live, and may feel slightly more empowered to effect change (Schmidt, Lee & Hackar, 2006). The experiential nature of service is also important. It supports the kinesthetic learning mode and has a significant impact on the developmental processes and potential for change that occur during adolescence. Service activities can be very beneficial for adolescent identity formation. Most particularly, the effects of service participation on reducing or preventing adolescent risk behaviours such as drug and alcohol use has also been recorded. It is also considered effective in guarding against psychological distress, thus helping to prevent depression and suicide. In Dan Haesler’s recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Professor Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, is quoted as saying: “By engaging one’s strengths and passions in the service of others, one can inoculate against depression”.
As a person who makes a personal contribution to community service organisations, Rebecca Sparrow connected to the Year 10 experience very effectively. Ms Sparrow is a Brisbane writer, author of The Girl Most Likely and a weekly columnist in the Sunday Mail. She spoke to the girls in Term 3 and delighted them with her wit and her insight into what interests them and what concerns them. She added weight and significance to the value of helping others and through her own personal stories she reflected on the questions about who we are and who we might become. Her presentation followed her article in The Sunday Mail 22 August in which she talks about being authentic: “… when you are brave enough to tell the truth, to be authentic in your taste and passions and to reveal your struggles, what you’re really doing is opening yourself up to deeper connections with other people”. To close the service programme, six students shared a reflection of their experience with the Year 10 cohort. This proved to be a valuable demonstration of authenticity which touched everyone in the audience and from which everyone was able to take something away. The speakers were prepared to be honest about being reluctant to initially engage in the service programme. They shared their struggles and ultimately became passionate about their commitment. For some people service is transformational. Because it is experiential it can touch the deepest part of us and can be life-changing. The Year 10 Ethics programme simply asks the questions and offers the opportunities.
Mrs A Stubbington
References
Dworkin, J. B., Larson, R. & Hansen, D. (2003, Feb.). Adolescents’ accounts of growth experiences in youth activities. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 32 (1), 17- 26.
Fairfield, K. D. (2010). Growing up and growing out: Emerging adults learn management through Service Learning. Journal of Management Education. 34, p. 113.
Forde, L. (2010, 2 October) On the Couch. The Courier Mail. P8.
Haesler, D. (2010, 3 November). It’s time to confront the deadliest demon of them all. The Sydney Morning Herald. News & Features. P11
Leming, J. S. (2002, Spring). Integrating a structured ethical reflection curriculum into high school Community Service experiences: Impact on students’ sociomoral development. Adolescence, 36, p. 141.
Schmidt, J. A., Shumow, L. & Kackar, H. (2007). Adolescents’ participation in Service Activities and its impact on academic, behavioural, and civic outcomes. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 36, 127-140.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic Happiness. Random House, Australia.
Sparrow, R. (2003) The Girl Most Likely. UQP
Sparrow, R. (2010, 22 August.) Reward in Flaws. The Sunday Mail. August 22. The Way we Live.
Zins, J. E. & Elias, M.J. (2006) Social & Emotional Learning: Promoting the Development of All Students. Journal of Educational & Psychologial Consultation, 17 (2&3), 233-255.