WHY JOHNNY CAN'T TELL RIGHT FROM WRONG

A flawed but thought-provoking discussion about the moral education—or lack of it—of American children. Among the many chores that schools have taken on in recent years is the teaching of morality. Teachers sometimes do this in free-wheeling discussions that permit students to form their own opinions about classic moral dilemmas—sex and its consequences being a ubiquitous topic; this method is sometimes called ``values clarification.'' Here, Kilpatrick (Education/Boston College; Identity and Intimacy, 1975) pounces on the idea of values clarification and shakes it like a dog savaging a rabbit. Children are not born with virtue (i.e., knowing good from evil), he says, and a classroom dilemma about whether or not to steal is no dilemma if a child doesn't already think stealing is wrong. Children, he contends, need ``training in goodness.'' To accomplish that, teachers and parents should not only reiterate moral strictures- -that lying, stealing, harming another person are wrong—but provide examples both in their own behavior and in stories. Kilpatrick nails, not always convincingly, a host of villains for the new moral ambiguity. Among them are Rousseau, Nietzsche, feminist theorists, and, above all, the fathers of the human- potential movement, Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. What Kilpatrick does not discuss—and the omission is major—are the institutions and individuals who preach morality and behave immorally, from governments that sidestep the law to evangelists who frequent prostitutes. A generation has grown up with would-be heros—from Presidents to preachers—who are hypocrites, and the institutions that Kilpatrick praises for instilling ``character'' in their charges—Roman Catholic schools, military schools, an orthodox Jewish sect—are not necessarily paragons of morality. Providing children with stories of right overcoming wrong—a list of recommended classics is included—is commendable, but the stirring tales may only highlight the morality gap, generating yet more classroom discussion of values.