What Are the Implications That Values Are “Caught Not Taught”?

I think values are both caught and taught. I think student catch values in how a teacher, parent, mentor, etc. presents themselves and the actions they take. If one believes values are “caught not taught”, then we must surround ourselves with good people. Our parents, our teachers, our friends, our neighbors all must be good, because a moment of bad values could be caught like the flu. Therefore, teachers must be exemplary in virtue. Verily, parents should be models of high values as well. But, unfortunately this isn’t always true.

I don’t believe all values are caught. I believe values are taught and affirmed by example. Values of leadership, autonomy, determination, optimism, respect, etc… need some instruction in how to accomplish them as they are not often something one can glean from observation. Leadership among peers would not look like the type of leadership displayed by a parent or teacher and would look different student to student than it would adult to adult. Learning how to address an older person and a peer respectfully is also something often taught and then modeled.

Some values are products of our place in development. Have you ever tried to have a three-year-old keep a secret, or worse, tell a lie? It’s futile. Three-year-olds are the biggest tattle-tails in the universe. They have learned that mom tells the truth to them and have “caught” honesty, but it is also a developmental part of them. Teenagers are developing into postconventional morality where rules are more like contracts and they seek to make things fair to all parties… If you believe Kohlberg’s Stage Theory of Moral Reasoning.

With an understanding of development, I think teachers should go forth and teach values. To the child who comes from a model home, the lessons could only reaffirm the values that are taught and caught from home. To the children who are not so fortunate to have good examples at home, maybe values can be taught. All children in our classrooms would know what is expected of them by their teacher by teaching such lessons. Finally the teacher must adhere to their own teachings. [The falsely attributed quote by] Mahatma Gandhi — “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”