Teaching Moral Values

Everyone is talking about the responsibility of the public schools to teach our youngsters values as though the notion of such teaching was brand new. Part of the reason for the confusion is that some people think you can’t teach values unless you teach religion.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the public schools may not teach religion. That’s the job of the home, the church, the synagogue and other religious institutions. But our schools can certainly be expected to teach fairness, decency, patriotism, honesty and compassion; to encourage respect for differences and promote the skills of critical thinking, and to help students learn how to weigh and judge conflicting opinions and theories.

These are values shared by all religious groups--and by non-religious Americans as well. And they should be part of every public school curriculum. But under our Bill of Rights they may not, in a public school classroom, be presented with a religious imprimatur.

HINDA BERAL

Orange County Area Director,

American Jewish Committee