these are MY NOTES after reading the autonmy article --
will they be of any value to you ?
* educational goals: moral and intellectual autonomy
# heteronomy: being governed by someone else
Eliot Richardson (atty gen): when RMN told him to lie ... and .. to fire Archibald Cox
during Watergate's infamous "Saturday Nite Massacre" ( 10-20-73 ) -- he quit --
( moral autonomy ) but others obediently obeyed and thus exhibited moral
heteronomy -- blindly doing what they knew was morally wrong.
William Ruckelshaus also resigned when his superior stepped down ...
moral courage ... however,
Robert Bork now enters the picture . . . and . . .
CHILD MORALITY -
# two stories:
(1) the dog as big as a horse
# small children thought the first story was wrong --
because adults COULD TELL it was a lie ...
# older kids said the second story was wrong since it's believable.
They said
that lying to adults was sometimes unavoidable and that lying to other
kids was more wrong -- they were developing moral autonomy, knowing all
lies are bad ( regardless of rewards/punishments; adult authority or the
possibility of being caught )
# society causes one by a system of punishments and rewards ... and the other ...
by allowing children to exchange points of view --
^ punishments system demands one of three outcomes:
^ punishments are not the same as sanctions
^ punishments are arbitrary
^ sanctions are natural consequences
natural consquences:
telling a lie means no one will believe you;
not wearing a seat belt means inertia will kill you
^ sanctions by reciprocity
are directly related to the acts we want to discourage --
and the way we adults think, MAY inspire the child to construct
rules of conduct thru coordination of viewpoints
# temporary or permanent exclusions from group -
( the child determines when he will return to group )
# calling attention to direct and material consequences
of her act -
( if you lie, no one will ever believe you; don't
wear a seat belt, inertia will kill you ... )
# deprive child of object / privilege they have abused -
# restitution -
("can you correct this problem for me ?)
without trust + mutual affection + respect between adult and child, sanctions by
reciprocity can degenerate into punishments -
* otherwise, how can two brothers ( that are raised in
the same environment ) have totally different values ?
each weighed their feelings to certain situations
in the context of their view of the world ...
INTELLECTUAL AUTONOMY
* Copernicus - was autonomous ... and convinced of his theory's
merit. Other controversial figures in science
( Darwin; Kepler; Galileo ) didn't wait to publicize
their discoveries until they thought other would
approve of them ...
* heteronomous people - will accept what they are told, including
illogical conclusions, slogans, propaganda
* knowledge is constructed from within the individual ... by
coordinating all they know about a topic ...
# teachers use rewards/punishments to "make" children learn
# we should help kids "decenter" their viewpoints ... put
the child who says 2+2 = 3 with one that says 2+2 = 5
You need to CONSTRUCT -- YOUR NOTES -- that will make sense.
* autonomy and constructivism more important piagetian concepts for teachers than
his idea of stages of development ...
# autonomy does not mean complete freedom -- it involves the consideration of
others and resultant behaviors within the context of the situation ...
ADULT MORALITY -
(2) i got a good test grade
* how do kids become morally autonomous / heteronomous ?
^ rewards: child is really blindly obedient and wouldn't exhibit the behavior
without a pay off; that is, (heteronomy = subtle control)
four sanctions by reciprocity -- ( piaget lists six )
* piaget's concept of developing moral values is different from other
theories and common sense ...
common sense says kids get values by copying environment -
while piaget says they construct them from within ... thru
interaction with the environment ...
* no one taught the child that a "dog bigger than a
cow" is a bigger lie than "i got a good test grade"
the kids somehow "constructed" that view of morality
AIM OF EDUCATION