Modu

Module 4

Module 4

Teacher as a Person
in Society

In this Module

1. Morality and Its Foundational Moral Principles

2. Teachers as Persons of Good Moral Character and Values

3. A Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Module Overview:

Hi! We welcome you to this fourth module of the course. This module will give
you some principles underlying the conduct of teacher as a person in society. Concepts
of morality and its foundational principles will be discussed as essential knowledge to
guide his conduct. This will also give you some backgrounds on good moral character
and formation of values as a sure guide in fulfilling your role in your chosen profession,
vocation, and a mission. Finally, a summarized version of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights will be presented in this module to guide the conduct of a virtuous
teacher in the society. To accomplish this, you will go through the four (4) phases of
each lesson to wit; activity, analysis, abstraction, and application.
Module Outcomes:

In this module, you are expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of morality and values.

2. Explain the formation of values in a person.
3. Manifest a dignity in the teaching profession through virtuous conduct.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the existing laws regarding human rights.
5. Create a case scenario on the application of legal rights and freedoms of humans.
Lesson
1 Morality and Its Fou ndational Moral Principles

Lesson Outcomes:

1. Discuss what morality is all about.

2. Differentiate the foundational principles of morality from different perspectives.
3. Map out the different perspectives of the foundational principles of morality.

Time Frame: 2 hours

Introduction

This lesson will provide you some concepts about morality and its existence. It also
gives you a discussion on the foundational moral principles from different perspectives.
Specifically, you will find in this lesson how these principles are viewed by Christians,
Islam, and Buddhists. In the end, you will find yourself mapping out the difference of
these foundational moral principles. Hi! We welcome you to this fourth module of the
course.

ACTIVITY: Pick a Spot

Below is a box containing the spots labeled as A,B,C,D. Pick at least 2 spots of your
choice and write your explanation if you agree or not on the blanks provided.
A B
Your dog gave birth to 4 puppies, but The teacher in the classroom reminds
you have only space for 2 puppies. So everyone not to draw any images relating to
you kill the other two. Is this right? Yes God.
or No. Why? Is this right? Yes or No. Why?

C D
A boy called a dinner party for his friends While on live streaming, you kill a puppy with
where he serves chocolate cookies, but a knife. Is this ok? Yes or No. Why?
the cookies were formed like a dog
poop. No, it is not okay because regardless of the
Is it alright? Yes or No. Why? live streaming animals have the rights to be
No, personally it is not okay. There are respected and deserved to be cared. And if I
some people that is sensitive and some kill a puppy in front of many viewers, I will
are not minding because topics are not just receive criticisms and bashing but
important than the food. But, in serving also it will kill me because of my conscience
the food the comments and the for killing such an innocent puppy knowing
perspective of the people must be that it is clueless why it needed to be killed.
considered because it might affect the
status of the one who serves.
ANALYSIS: Let us answer these questions.

1. How do you find the spots above?

It was hard to agree or disagree because it might have positive advantage to my
opinion but not to others. We have different rules to be followed, that’s why it
may affect the individual’s decisions.

2. What are your bases of saying Yes or No? Cite here.

My basis in saying yes or no is the observations and my experiences that I have
encountered and seen in the community. It is what everyone does and so do I.
3. How do you call these bases? How does community call them?
I call it morality and so the community. If we know the definition of it, it is how
the culture and religion required everyone to observe and to follow because it is
the right thing to do.

You may call them in many ways; however, let‟s take a look on what is morality and its
foundation principles.

ABSTRACTION

What is Morality?

Many authors defined morality as simply referring to a “code of conduct put forward by
an actual group, including a society ” (Standford, 2002). It is also defined as “ a body of
standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy,
religion, or culture.” (Long and Sedley, 1987). It is actually synonymous with
„goodness‟ and „rightness‟ (Standard University, 2011). Apparently, morality is the
“quality of human acts in which we call them right wrong, good or evil ” (Panizo,
1964). Based on these definitions, we could say that morality deals with human and his
conduct in relation to a code of conduct accepted by a particular group or culture.

Existence of Morality

But the question on how did it come to existence still lingers our mind. Morality comes
from the Greek word moralis which means customs or manners (Perle, 2004). This
has something to do with ethics which deals with right or wrong, good or bad. We
usually mean ethical or moral when the conduct is good and right, while we mean
unethical and immoral when the conduct is bad or wrong. Man‟s actions, whether good
or bad, is governed by his intellect and free will. His intellect will give him the
discernment and right judgment of the morality of his conduct because he is capable of
thinking and reasoning. His free will is his ability to choose for certain conduct of action
or character. Intellect and free will make humans different from all other animals. Thus
any human action is good when it is completely done as a natural man, and it is
immoral when it runs counter to human nature.

Foundational Principles of Morality

The principle of morality issue differs from each group of culture, religion, or group. The
word principle came from the word princeps, which means the source or the
beginning. Foundational principles mean the universal accepted norms by which all
principles of rightness or wrongness of actions are built upon. These are based on
natural law. The natural law is „ already written in the hearts of man‟ (Romans 2:15).
Fo the theist or believers, it is a „ man‟s share in the Eternal Law of God‟ (Panizo,
1964.). In short, the foundational moral principles are „„do good and avoid evil.‟ The
following are some sources:
1. The Golden Rule – „Do unto others what you want them to do unto you.‟
2. The Two Great Commandments – „Love God with all your heart, with all your
souls, and all your might‟ and “ Love your neighbor as yourself.‟ This is
especially true to the followers of Christ who are called the Christians. So, when
you love God you will be faithful to Him; when you love your fellowmen, you will
not do harm to them.
3. Immanuel Kant – „Act in such a way that your maxim can be the maxim of
all.‟
4. Buddhist – „Hatred does cease by hatred, but hatred ceases only by love.‟ With
this principle,
5. Muslim – The Islamic Qur‟an „forbids, lying, stealing, adultery, and murder.
 Let‟s elaborate some perspectives of morality for these three big groups of religion
through aschematic diagram:

A. Christianity – They are believers of the Bible as God-breathed Scripture, which

consists of the Old and New Testament. They are believers of the Ten
Commandments that God gave to Moses, as reflected in Exodus 20. These 10
commandments are also called the Law of Moses

Old Testament, Exodus 20

New Testament, Mathew 22
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourselves an idol.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.

Love God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
wish all your strength.
5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery. Love your neighbor as you

love yourself.
8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not give false testimony.