Inspirar Más

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best” Bob Talbert

Values education ​​is essential in the learning and development of children and young people. It should be a core subject in school and a subject that all teachers should teach.

It should not be assumed that only the family can and should transmit values, or that only at home is where they should receive that instruction. Because children and young people thrive in other places and interact with other people. In all these spaces it should be possible to educate and transmit values. In all spaces, what is taught in families about values ​​should be complemented and reinforced.

No values education ​​will ever be redundant or too much. The more values education ​​there is in various places, the better. Children and young people must be constantly exposed to values ​​because the abundance of anti-values ​​to which they are exposed is well known.

Children and young people consume, to a greater or lesser extent, social media, movies, TV series, songs, videos, news, etc., which are often the source of transmission of anti-values. If they see, hear, or read a lot about anti-values, then ideally they should see, hear, read, and talk more about values. Many people should talk to children and young people about values ​​so that they can fully recognize their importance.

Teachers could dedicate a few minutes of our class to reflect on some value. To do this, there are a variety of resources that we can use, such as stories, lectures, songs, videos, films, dynamics, phrases, projects, campaigns, life stories, etc. It is a matter of choosing the resource that best suits the characteristics of the group and that most attract their attention. You can also alternate resources to make values education ​​more dynamic.

The time we dedicate to values ​​education in the classroom is not time wasted. On the contrary, it is time gained. I think the moment when we reflect on values ​​should be the most important moment of the class, even more important than the lesson explanations or the exams. Because when we teach values, ​​we are not only teaching them for school but also, we are teaching them for life. And life lessons are the most important. Even if we don’t see it instantly, the values ​​we teach will one day serve them, and they will use them.

Furthermore, values ​​education means working on prevention. If we educate honesty, we prevent lies. If we educate generosity, we prevent selfishness. If we educate tolerance, we prevent discrimination, etc. It is a great methodology to prevent many current problems and conflicts.

So, let’s focus on values education. May this, as educators, be our norm and the principle that guides our practice. Let’s teach children and young people not only academic stuff but what is really important.