A recent study published by Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project (MCC) offers captivating insights into students’ decision-making. To gauge the moral calculus of America’s middle and high school students, MCC surveyed over 10,000 secondary school students from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Their findings offer a great challenge to parents, teachers, and school leaders. Weissbourd and Jones open with the central assertion that a strong, healthy society “depends on adults who are committed to their communities and who, at times, will put the common good before their own.” By a considerable margin, students averred that their own individual happiness and personal achievement were their top priorities. Caring for others was a distant third. Especially disquieting is the stark disconnect between what parents and educators espouse as educational priorities and what students think their teachers and parents value most. (Clay Gahan, Louisville Collegiate School, KY)
The full report can be read here.