| Subject: Re: Assignment #4 |
Author:
Jennifer de Wit
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Date Posted: 22:10:00 06/28/10 Mon
In reply to:
Dr. Magun-Jackson
's message, "Assignment #4" on 20:31:48 06/28/10 Mon
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development have aspects which ring true to me and yet I cannot agree with the theory in its entirety. I have observed to some extent the development of moral reasoning in children and teens and have seen the stages in my students as well as my own children.
One aspect which bothers me is that there is no allowance for regression or for being in more than one stage at a time (except for stage 4 ½).
Also, thinking about something and acting on your beliefs are quite distinct. In terms of moral reasoning, I would place myself at stage 5 or 6 (here’s an advantage to being older). That does not mean that I could be compared to Gandhi or Mother Theresa by any stretch of the imagination. I am not self-sacrificing (except for my own family) even though I have deep feelings about fairness, justice, equal rights, and compassion. The fact that I don’t reach out and practice (or preach) what I believe, would make it seem that what matters are your actions and not just your reasoning (although without the reasoning, the action could not occur).
I find Erikson’s theory very interesting. Looking at it as a mother, I can view my children’s development from this perspective. The downside of this is that I keep wondering which aspects of the parenting I did well and which parts I could have done better.
I suppose that I am in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage right now. I wouldn’t describe it as a crisis, but both as a parent and as a teacher/librarian I find that I am always trying to have a positive impact on the younger generation (even among the young teachers at my school). I don’t know that I am consciously trying to create a legacy, but I know that I want to help younger people grow and flourish.
Of the two theories, Erikson’s is probably most relevant to my life. Understanding the adolescents that I work with in terms of stages 4 and 5 can help me focus my efforts. Although the students are well beyond elementary age, many have never experienced success in school. If they can develop some academic skills and be rewarded with feelings of competence and mastery, some may begin to take their education more seriously. As a librarian, I am thrilled if I can help some to discover a new pleasure in reading that will last them a lifetime.
Most of the students are also experiencing the task of figuring out who they are ( stage 5). Unfortunately, some of the roles that they adopt are quite risky and anti-social and so any way that I can help them to redirect their energy to explore alternative avenues of self-expression, could conceivably help them break free of some of the social pressures that they are facing. Or at least they might see that they have more choices than the few that they see around them.
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