By abdicating their authority and attempting to be value-neutral, teachers and textbooks have, in effect, become valueless. If the American democratic tradition is to survive beyond the end of this century, American educators must ensure that future generations of all races, religions, and cultural backgrounds respect and honor this country's…

Morality should be taught in public schools. Ethics, the effort to apply simple moral rules, is too complex to teach to secondary school students. Very few adolescents can apply a conduct code requiring them to weigh refined issues, apply prudence, and display considerable self-control. Most lack the necessary maturity. Includes five references.…

All adolescents have leadership potential. There are three stages of youth leadership development: awareness, interaction, and mastery. Transactional and transformational leadership provide a bridge between youth leadership development and character education. Therein lie the qualities that all parents and educators want to instill in youngsters.…

Encouraging schools to shoulder the responsibility of teaching personal ethics, these authors outline various teaching methods for the study of ethical questions. (Editor)

Teaching ethical values is often challenged as an infringement on students' religious rights. This article addresses key questions concerning schools' legal responsibilities, courts' treatment of curriculum-related challenges based on alleged First Amendment violations, and courts' handling of teacher proselytizing or "opting out" cases.…

The Character Education Partnership, a national coalition, has developed 11 principles to help students internalize desirable societal values. Successful character-education programs require committed school leadership, a common vocabulary, staff development, integration with academics, a focus on respect for others, and service learning. Program…

Character education builds community by establishing a set of core values that match a school's ideals. Character-education proponents should inspire teachers to discuss ethics in their daily activities and model transformational/transactional leadership styles. Leaders must know their environment, formalize an infrastructure, involve others, and…

Chaska High School (Minnesota) established a firm district policy to prevent unauthorized, illegal duplication of computer software by teachers and students. The policy's success depends on an ethics re-education program for users, increased funding for software, and a preview library for teachers. (MLH)