Overcoming Barriers in Early Childhood Ethics Education

1. Ethics in Early Childhood Education

2. Barriers to studying Ethics • a tendency to view ethics as something inherent within us and thus not a quality that requires study or improvement; • a belief that right and wrong are clearly defined and yield prescriptive rules and practices, thus contemplation is not required, just the discipline to do the right thing; and • a disposition to settle for currently popular or comfortable solutions rather than face the daunting task of taking into account the multiple dynamics in the early childhood environment to individualize decisions for each child and situation.

3. Barriers to studying Ethics • a tendency to view ethics as something inherent within us and thus not a quality that requires study or improvement; • a belief that right and wrong are clearly defined and yield prescriptive rules and practices, thus contemplation is not required, just the discipline to do the right thing; and • a disposition to settle for currently popular or comfortable solutions rather than face the daunting task of taking into account the multiple dynamics in the early childhood environment to individualize decisions for each child and situation.

4. Barriers to studying Ethics • a tendency to view ethics as something inherent within us and thus not a quality that requires study or improvement; • a belief that right and wrong are clearly defined and yield prescriptive rules and practices, thus contemplation is not required, just the discipline to do the right thing; and • a disposition to settle for currently popular or comfortable solutions rather than face the daunting task of taking into account the multiple dynamics in the early childhood environment to individualize decisions for each child and situation.

5. Collaborative Learning • Choose one of the 5 roles • Discussion Director – lead the discussion and report back to class • Literary Luminary – connect this case study w/ the Position Statement • Word Wizard – carefully analyze this text for key words • Connector – look for ways this case relates to other parts of our textbook • Artist/Illustrator – just do it • Read the case study • Discuss and Respond

6. “Young children need teachers who are not machines, not simply memories. They need people with searching hearts and seeking mind, people who are always trying better to understand themselves, their job, their young charges, and the world around them” James L. Hymes, Jr.