LESSON ON ETHICS
"These kids are not moral mutants," says Michael Josephson, founder of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization. "It's the way we're parenting them, the way we're teaching them, the way we're coaching them. ... We've worried about self-esteem, and that's proper, we've worried about intellect and that's proper, but we haven't worried enough about the simple concept of honor."
And here's where that's left kids, according to the survey:
- More than one in four students admitted stealing from a store within the past year (32 percent boys, 23 percent girls).
- Nearly one in four said they stole something from a parent or relative.
- Eight in 10 confessed to lying to a parent about something significant.
- Six in 10 said they had cheated on a test during the past year (35 percent did so two or more times).
- One in three used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment.
And to top it all off:
- A whopping 92 percent said they were satisfied with their ethics and character and ...
- Three in four said, "When it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."
"What we are lacking," Josephson says, "is an ethical culture where it's easier to do the right thing than the wrong thing. Today's culture is anti-ethical. If you're a non-cheater, you feel like a 'goody two shoes.' "
The answer, suggests Josephson, is for parents, teachers and coaches to make integrity a priority. Schools, he says, need to stop giving the same tests year after year and period after period so it's not so easy for students to cheat. And because, Josephson points out, varsity athletes cheat at a higher rate than non-athletes, coaches have to make time to talk about honor.
Parents need to grab those teachable moments - while watching a TV show or movie or the news - and discuss ethical situations.
"Parents cannot be docile about this," he says. "This is not a child problem, this is a parent problem. The child's failure is your failure."
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