Essay on Values Education

1. What is your greatest Legacy?

My greatest LEGACY to pass on my students is to be SELF-DRIVEN.
To be motivated to do or achieve something because of their own enthusiasm
or interest. To never stop to strive for something better and greater for
themselves and for everyone whose around them.
2. What is Self-Entitlement?
The term ‘entitlement’ refers to a guarantee to access benefits,
which are based on some established rights and/or by legislation. It is a set
provision made according to a legal framework in a society and therefore the
‘right’ is in itself an established entitlement. Entitlement entails a belief or
notion that one deserves a particular benefit or reward (Twenge, p125).
On the other hand, the term ‘self-esteem’ is psychologically used to
portray one’s overall evaluation of his/her worth. It entails judgments and
attitude towards oneself. Just like ‘entitlement’, self-esteem also
encompasses beliefs like “I believe I am worthy” and emotions like pride,
despair, shame, triumph and confidence. Self-esteem is therefore an
evaluation of oneself, whether negative or positive. In our modern-day life,
self-esteem plays a very pivotal role in cultivating confidence to tackle the
challenges we face in life (Twenge, p134).
Today’s generation is called ‘the Entitlement Generation’, meaning it is
a generation ruled by unrealistic expectations which in return affect their
performance in their line of duty. Self-esteem has negatively affected the
‘Entitlement Generation’, majority of who are students. Too much
expectations and a high feeling of self-worth makes them underperform in
studies because they belief that excelling in class is a right, by default. By
just attending class and having paid tuition fees in full, for instance, a
student thinks that the teacher has no option other than scoring him/her
highly. After all, to the students, the teacher is paid because of them and
therefore, they are the bosses (Maccoby, p66).
The ‘Entitlement Generation’ suffers yet from another problem – the
spirit of denial. They pass the blame on to their seniors. For example,
instead of a student admitting that they indeed failed an examination, they
blame the teachers who had set the questions, arguing that they were hard
for their grade, while it was obvious that they had not studied the lessons in
the first place. According to Ellen Greenberger in his book, Self-Entitled
College Students, whenever students gain a lower grade than expected, they
pass the blame to their teachers, arguing that had they been coached well,
they definitely would have passed the tests; had the questions been average
enough, then they would have scored with flying colors. The situation, he
explains, becomes worse when the students become violent, demanding for
their rights in examinations. This negative attitude breeds
underachievement and ultimately retrogression in the society. The professor
explains that they take time explaining to them that attending class
promptly, for instance, is one thing but passing the examinations is another.
One can just be present in class but not keen to learn at all – the most
 important aspect in education is comprehension and that can only be
measured through passing a test (Maccoby, p103).
Parenting as well as motivational factors such as parental pressure,
inter-peer competition, family pressure and exaggerated anxiety for
achievement are among the main contributing factors to self-esteem, which
leads to a feeling of self-entitlement. The mentality amongst students that
if they put a lot of effort in class, they would get high grades is misleading
because the most important aspect in studies is quality and not quantity.
After all, there is no value addition whenever a student attends a class in
time but fails to learn the lessons taught. Learning should be directed
towards a specific goal and that can only be achieved if all what has been
learned in class is applied to our daily life.

3. How do pupils/students learn how to love from you?

“Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the
love of bringing the first two together.” ~ Scott Hayden
I have decided to become a teacher because I love children. I enjoy
watching them grow, and I want to make a difference in the lives of my
students. As a teacher, I will do everything that I can to ensure that each
becomes a productive, successful citizen in life. In order for me to obtain this
goal, I will create a loving, positive, respectful, and safe learning environment
where each student will be treated equally and be encouraged to do his or her
best. If the students feel that they are loved, they will also learn how to love.

4. What are Moral Virtues?

What are some moral virtues? Some authors make the distinction
between performance virtues and moral virtues. Moral virtues are those
that are closely concerned with the good, as opposed to being valued
without being necessarily good or necessarily bad. For example, while some
schools of thought see physical fitness as a virtue, it is by no means a moral
one.
On the other hand, patience, responsibility, and courage are all moral
values because they are designed to serve a good purpose.
The difference between two types of virtues can be summed up in one
sentence: while moral virtues are about doing the right thing,
performance virtues are solely about doing things right.
The 12 virtues according to Aristotle are: Courage, Temperance,
Magnanimity, Liberality, Magnificence, Patience, Truthfulness, Wittiness,
Friendliness, Justice, Modesty, and Ambition.

T. Aubrey Mae M. Fernandez