Teachable Ethics? Most Certainly Not

Ethics generates useful, but not lasting conversations about ethics. Photo via Flickr user JustinBaeder

I am a skeptical person – I have been since I was young and I always will be. So when I came to college last year and began to realize the extent to which my school in particular has a love affair with spouting ethics in a classroom setting, my skepticism began to emerge. Simply put, I personally believe that attempting to cram the (extremely broad) concept of ethics into students’ heads through one or two courses is not only impossible; it is improbable.

In high school, I volunteered as a tutor in the academic help center, helping fellow students with homework. The students I worked with were there because they were failing several classes, making their attendance there a requirement, sometimes five days a week. Creating an academic center for them was to give them a space where they could have not only uninterrupted homework time, but also academic help from a rotating group of teachers with expertise in all subjects. It saddens me to say that despite these fantastic resources, many students’ grades did not see any improvement at all. Keep in mind that these were intelligent students with the full potential to achieve, yet somehow they did not. Why? They did not have the motivation, that necessary internal drive, to raise their grades. They had the time, the resources, and the smarts to do this, yet it did not happen. It’s as simple as that.

Why am I sharing this anecdote? Well, I believe that ethics works in much the same way. If someone wishes to act in an unethical manner, taking an ethics-based class (or several) will not stop them. Bernie Madoff most likely experienced some type of ethical instruction during his time in college, yet this did not hinder him from stealing billions from investors as well as committing eleven felonies. Although it is true that many people who have experienced ethical instruction in the classroom will use these lessons throughout their lives, learning ethics from a textbook is not the be-all-end-all; while it surely helps some, it will be entirely ignored by others.

Keep in mind that I surely don’t think that ethics should be banned from the classroom. Although I’m of the opinion that most individuals have a reasonable idea of ethics upon reaching college age, I do think that the discussion surrounding ethics is a good conversation to have. However, if we become convinced that students will be able to adopt a lifelong ethical framework after a quarter-long classroom experience, we are sorely mistaken.