Values in Action : Faith in Action

The Values Education Study included 50 case studies involving 69 schools. Three acknowledged Service–Learning. Not much has changed with the National Framework document.

Service–Learning addresses the lack of connectedness in education and the failure to prepare students for lifelong learning and participation. Service–Learning is specifically designed to counter the isolation of learning from experience and the artificial divisions of subject matter that generates “inert knowledge”. Service–Learning challenges hierarchical pedagogy, being told what to think and do, by generating discussion about how to think and do through reflecting upon their social world and its complexities.

One of the best ways in which students nurture the link between head and heart is through community service and those who have a high level of commitment to serving others are heeding a spiritual imperative. Service helps young people experience a sense of purpose in a changing and diverse world through the experience of caring for others and taking responsibility for helping to solve social problems. Students are better able to stay in touch with their moral feelings and beliefs because caring for others helps them recognize and experience the connection between intellectual and moral beliefs and the reality of acting on those values in a real life moral situation.

A 2004 joint project of ANGLICARE Sydney, NCLS Research, Edith Cowan University and Deakin University, titled A Wellbeing and Security Study in Australia, found that the decline in the significance of the churches and changing patterns of spirituality among different age groups raised some important questions. The results showed that those who are active religiously record higher levels of wellbeing in some areas, particularly in terms of a sense of purpose in life and involvement in caring activities. The authors of the study question whether the decline in religious life in Australia contributes to a loss of the fabric of individual and community wellbeing that has supported us well in times past.

This is an excerpt of the complete article that appears in the Spring 2006 issue of EQ Australia

Visit http://www.service-learning.com.au for more information.

Why should values be taught only by the church? of course SOME values must be taught ONLY by churches, that is, religion and spirituality, government has no place there.

But what about justice? Justice is what we expect our government to enforce, justice is a virtue of political institutions. Governemnt also has to be democratic. Democracy is also a virtue of institutions. We also expect our governemnt to treat all individuals with equal respect.

These are political values, not values which pertain strictly to the private lives of individuals. These are values all citizens need to endorse if our political institutions are to flourish AS just, democratic institutions which respect all humans.

So WHY on earth should the values of justice, democracy and respect for humanity not be taught to children in our public schools? why should the church alone teach that? they can teach it, too, they are most welcome, but why should governemnt not do it, too? Indeed, would they not be failing their duty if they did not?

I don't want governemnt to tell my kids how they should live their lives, their religion, their sexuality, their morality, but for what concerns the public life of our countries, for what concerns the POLITICAL values of our society I expect government to teach kids to want justice, to protect democracy and respect humanity. Why should it not? I want my kids to be taught to be good citizens.

And if things like justice, feedom and respect for our fellow humans cannot put a fire in the belly of our kids, if we cannot teach them to see the importance and beauty of these values then we have to be concerned, very concerned at the way we teach these kids. There is nothing bland about these virtues, they are powerful and beautiful ideals which have motivated people all over the world, to the point of giving up their lives for them.

We do not need religion for that, these are values that we should all passionately support regardless of what religion, if any, we practice.

Dear Shmuky
the values taught be the Bible ARE "Justice".. that is the absolute epitomy of Biblical teaching. I emphasise that point, because you made a distinction between the government and the church, and you made that issue "justice" something kind of separating them.

Better to say "Committment to Christ" is for the Church, committment to the Nation is for government, but both would support Justice.

We need the 'Church' because in many ways it is a prophet calling the community away from darkness and into light, from evil to good.
Do governments based on 'make it up as u go' tend naturally toward good or evil ?

LABOR
"freedom, democracy and gender equality a condition of entering the country has caused OUTRAGE within the Labor Party."

Robert Ray went further, referring to promoting Australian Values to migrants and vistors.

Quote: "was not workable and undermined the party's values."

Let me see if I understand this correctly....

The leader of Labor wants:

1/ Freedom
2/ Democracy
3/ Gender equality

The party flunkies are saying this 'undermines Labors values' ...!

WHAT ? ERRR.. so what ARE Labors 'values' ? If they are not freedom democracy and gender equality, I'd love to know what they are.

And they wonder why they don't win elections.....duh

Schmuck.
My point is that values cannot be taught. Well, they can but the person remains unchanged. Descartes has infected us with the idea that thinking produces being. But being taught about justice does nothing to change the person’s problem with envy or pride or avarice. As Paul says:

“But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Rom 7:17-19 NRSV)

It is this torn nature of the self that secular thinkers do not understand. They think that all we need to do is to teach our children what values they need to have and good behaviour will be the result. This is the heresy of Pelagianism, the idea that we can reform our character without any outside help.

Sure the values of the church coincide with secular values, where do you think they came from? But the way to embed those values in society is different. The secular way will only produce totalitarianism, the PC state. Law will prevail. It is the genius of the church to see through this façade and point to the real problem, ie that we are beset all around by principalities and powers that determine our lives. We may think we are free but everywhere we are in chains. With the loss of the church we have lost the deep understanding of the condition of humanity and all we can do is make these futile attempts to use our common sense to make things better.

From my experience as an ordained minister (now thankfully retired)over the past 15 years, JUSTICE and EQUALITY are about the LAST thing that most so-called pentecostal churches and their religious right proponents want. They openly decry democracy as being of teh devil and promote Theocracy as the only way to go. And, of course, the senior minister sits at the right hand of God and everything must go past him. Even the most humble questioning of any issue that matters is interpreted as REBELLION and the poor miscreant is given a lecture or book or video to study on the subject of SEDITION.

Yes I am talking about men and women of "compassion" leading our "fastest growing" churches. Same can be said of our politicians today - question is who is influencing who? Or, are we getting the government, politicians and church leaders we subconsciously crave? Or, the leaders we subconsciously believe we deserve?

USA and UK look much the same. Is it the "dumbing down" of our education systems to produce deaf, dumb and blind mutes (serfs?): people who don't know better? Is it our Audio-visual generation, why don't more people stand up against this crap

The problem here is not nearly so complex.

Shoving another politically correct values subject into public schools isn't going to help the situation. Schools have been subjected to too much of this already, crowding out the important core subjects, which now receive less attention to make way.

The issues of values lie squarely with parents. You can't keep passing the buck to teachers. They are there to teach children, not to rear them.

Though it's easier to pass it to teachers, when parents aren't fulfilling their responsibilities.