PLANNING FOR VALUE ADOPTION IN A FAMILY OR SOCIETY

Everybody decries about the fact that there are no values in life. The values have disappeared or have become dormant. Or the values have taken the shape of anti-values. Oflate, truth is proved to be falsity and falsity is proved to be truth, is the life style. There is no values in education, there is no values in politics, there is no values in administration are some of the outburst of the people in the helm of affairs of the countries, organisations and also the man in the street. It is easy to say that there are no values in all fields of life. The reason is that the values in personal life have been disappeared. In fact values generation should start from ‘me’ is forgotten by one and all. There are both internal and external challenges to overcome if we want to practice values. Internal challenges are generated by character defects. Powerful feelings such as desire, anger, greed, attachment, false pride, jealousy and fear, displace our finer feelings and prove that we are not morally strong enough to resist them. External challenges are generated from people or situations in our social or professional environments. Further, it is generally held that only children and youth need to be educated in values because it is assumed that with life experience a person automatically becomes wiser and acquires greater integrity when he grows up. But, truthfully speaking the greatest challenges to education in values, however, lie with adults and their social attitudes which include gender bias, susceptibility to intoxicants of all kinds, adultery and corruption and therefore, it is the elders who should focus more attention on values inculcation in their personal life. Further, elderly people are increasingly deemed to be a liability and are often abandoned by their adult children. This trend is destroying the harmony of family institutions and family environment. As people reach maturity many become increasingly materialistic and egotistical. Grown up people are supposed to be inspirational role models, but, unfortunately many set a weak or negative example and thereby counteract any efforts at teaching values through the school and university systems. There appears to be a need to find various means of informing and educating adults about values too, because, older does not necessarily mean wiser. It is easier to teach children who are more innocent and less set in their ways. In fact, young people lose respect for their parents and elders when they see them doing other than what they say. Inspiring leadership among public figures and leaders together with value oriented public broadcasting could prove a power combination for disseminating values to a diverse adult population. Folklore is one of the most powerful influences in Indian society. Every child learns mythology, stories and folkloric beliefs even before conventional schooling begins. For many, it is their only education. Folklore originates in a mindset and a culture which is different from national policies and from the knowledge taught in schools. This dichotomy of the world views encourages people in India to compartmentalize their intelligence, and it is normal to find incompatible concepts thriving side by side. Such compartmentalizing of the consciousness occurs readily in an environment of superstition and blind faith, yet, traditionally, this arena supplies the allegories to educate children and young people in character development. There are many stories which show girls being taught and prepared for a socially conscious life. The implication is that education for girls is not necessary, since their only purpose is to become mothers and housewives. Many of the traditional stories disregard the right of women and support prejudiced generalizations such as ‘All women are fickle, dishonest and adulterous; therefore it is wise to be suspicious of them and keep them confined. In these beliefs and stories a woman’s value is determined by her sexual appeal and unconditional devotion and obedience to the man who possesses her. Women and domestic servants are invariably depicted as property, owned by socially and economically advantaged men. Such traditions have generated self contradictory social attitudes which combine the venerable woman as goddess with cruel or thoughtless exploitation of women and girls. These traditional social attitudes encourage disregard for the provisions of Indian law that protect women. Sociologists currently teach that during the Vedic period, women were highly respected and girls were adorned and encouraged to pursue their education. The status of women rapidly declined about a thousand years ago. Only during the past 150 years there have been movements for women’s emancipation. Even today women are still struggling for their social, political, economic, religious and cultural rights. There are some other traditional stories which advocate strict adherence to casteism while at the same time it is against Indian law to discriminate on the basis of caste. It shows that the power of the oral tradition in forming social attitudes is far greater than the power of laws enacted by the government. If we think of formulating a scheme of value education, the curriculum, the archaic values, the juxtaposing stories, traditional and customary practices and the real requirements are to be examined thoroughly and then proceed to formulate curriculum for adoption of values through a structured study system. It may also involve the creation of new stories, to reflect a society, which is better educated and more respectful of all its members, while recognizing the variety of their status and positions.