Values and Ethics What do you believe in? Who do you care about? What motivates you? Are you a spiritual person? Why are you really in college? How do you tell the difference between right & wrong?

Let’s take a look at

what really matters to

you.

What are values?They are the ideas and beliefs

about life that guide us to do what we do and be what we are…

They can be about:Politics FamilySex FriendsReligion DishonestyBeing of service Taking RisksEducation RespectMoney LeisureCareer And so on…

Different kinds of Values

Moral Values:– Values you hold for yourself but

don’t force on others such as right vs. wrong, honesty vs. dishonesty, being of service to others

Aesthetic Values:– Personal standards of beauty as

seen in nature, art, music, personal appearance

Performance Values:– Benchmarks you set for yourself

such as accuracy, speed, reward for achievement, self-discipline and overall accomplishment

Means & Ends Values Instrumental Values (the means):

– Objectives used to reach goals such as being responsible, obedient, loving, ambitious, independent, honest

Intrinsic Values (the end):– Personal happiness, a comfortable

life, personal freedom, true friendship, a successful career

Values Checklist Having good friends Having a positive

relationship Having self-respect & the

respect of others Being financially secure Being spiritual Making a meaningful

contribution to mankind Being a moral person Being a great athlete Being physically attractive Being creative Being personally

responsible Getting along well with

people in general

Having freedom and independence

Being well educated Serving others Having peace of

mind Getting recognition

(being famous) Being a good citizen Being healthy Being intelligent Having strong

family ties Being honest &

having integrity Being dedicated and

committed

Values for College Success Connecting your personal values to being

successful in college:– Clarify your values to be sure you really

understand them-• As strange as it may seem, many people

operate on values without thinking them through.

• Truly understanding your values is key to applying them successfully in college, in a career, or in life.

– Make a forthright self-evaluation-

• Are your values workable in college? • Do you need to change or re-figure them?

– If necessary, change your values to make them more productive and effective…

Forging Academic Values:Participate Fully

College takes much more time and work than high school.

You also have much more freedom which requires much more personal responsibility.

Avoid being unnecessarily frivolous, make yourself stay “on-task”!

And, unless you honestly have no choice, DON’T SKIP CLASS!

Forging Academic Values:Participate Honorably #1

Let’s be frank: If you cheat or plagiarize, you are side-stepping the real reason you came to college: to get an education.

Academic dishonesty myths:– The risk of getting caught is small.

• It only takes getting caught once and you could be out.

– There is no other way to be “successful.”• No? Then dishonesty should be the hallmark of

all human endeavor.– It doesn’t matter in the long run.

• Not if you don’t have a conscience.– The penalty for getting caught won’t be severe.

• Is this something you want to find out the hard way?

Forging Academic Values:Participate Honorably #2

If, on the other hand, you honestly give it your “best shot”:– Practicing academic integrity builds moral

character.• There’s nothing like having your conscience tell

you did it right!– Choosing moral actions builds others’ trust in you.

• Having people believe in you is a major plus.– Making bogus grades masks real feedback about

learning.• How will you ever know what you are really

capable of?– Improving integrity in the classroom can rebuild

national character.• The college classroom is an excellent place to

begin stemming the tide of corporate greed and corruption.

The Eleventh Commandment

Thou shalt not get caught!

Challenges to your Values

At college, you are going to meet new people whose values may be quite different, if not totally opposite, to your own.– You may be politically liberal and find

yourself befriending a staunch conservative. Are you going to pass judgment and walk

away? Or are you going to be tolerant and try to see

the person in a new way? Tolerance is a very positive trait, but even it

can be carried too far. If you see your new friend show a really self-

destructive tendency, like excessive drinking, it is probably best not to aid and abet them in their weakness, but rather to tell them what you really think.

Your challenge is to balance your personal welfare, your tolerance for diversity and your freedom of choice.

Values in Conflict: Dualisms Values of a society are often in conflict:

– Poverty vs. “Rugged Individualism”– The Death Penalty vs. Deterrence of

Major Crimes– And so on…

An individual’s values can also be in conflict, often personal values reflect the two-sided nature of our culture’s unresolved contradictory values.

Who is right? Who is wrong? – These are a matter of individual choice, based on both conscience and careful critical thinking.

Think on this duality:– Earning excellent grades in college is

critical to success in life.– The most important decision you make

in college is about the kind of person you want to be.

“Grades?” Or “Who do you want to be?” How do you resolve this enigma?

Changing Society, Changing Values

American values are changing, caused by:– Demographic changes caused by much

immigration from other countries– Globalization of the world economy– Growing environmental concerns– Political polarization– Breakup of the family– Computer technology and the Internet– The Feminist movement– Federal intervention in state’s rights– Terrorism– And on and on…

All of these, and many more, will greatly affect the values of the individual.

Service Learning and Values Service Learning is a teaching

method that combines meaningful service to the community with curriculum-based learning.– Serving: To be effective, it should serve a

genuine community need, seen by a student-led assessment and it should serve a real need.

– Linking: The program needs to have a strong link between the community need and classroom goals.

– Learning: Reflection is a key element in service learning. The instructor sets time and methods for students to reflect on and analyze their service experience.

– It includes the best of both worlds into one: community service and internships into one learning experience.

Think about your legacy… In order to aid you to understand if you

are truly living up to your values, Stephen Covey, author of the bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, suggests you ask yourself this question:– Imagine that you are attending your own

funeral, looking down at yourself in the casket.– After you sit down, four people:

• A family member• A friend• A co-worker• Someone from your church or community

organization

give a eulogy for you.– What would you want them to say about you?

Value Assessment Web Resources

College Success Factors Index– http://www.csfi-wadsworth.com

Steps to Successful Career Planning– http://career.asu.edu/S/careerplan/selfdiscovery/ValuesAssessment.htm

Journal of College and Character– http://collegevalues.org/center.cfm

Rutgers Value Assessment– http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/OCAvaluesassessment.html

Ohio Learning Network: Values Assessment

– http://www.oln.org/student_services/plan_your_education/assess_values.php

Values & Ethics In the preceding presentation about

values, the words morals and morality came up regularly.

Is there a connection between morality and ethics?

Generally, the words are used interchangeably. There is, however, a difference:– Morality is usually more theoretical; it is a

philosophical concept.– Ethics are the practical application of

morality in daily life. The difference is that of theory and

practice. If a person has a moral character, he or

she will generally deal with other people in an ethical manner.

A 28 Day Project In order to determine what you believe is the most

important personal value of all, here is a method originally developed by the ancient Greeks for determining something really important.

At the same time every day (for instance, upon rising in the morning or at bedtime) for 28 days, keep a journal and write down: “The personal value I consider most important is ______” Try to keep it to as few items as possible. One thing is best, but if you have several items, write them down. Limit yourself to no more than three.

At about the 25th or 26th day of the procedure, one particular value should emerge as the predominant one.

Enjoy, learn and grow!