Morality What is morality? How do we demonstrate it every day? 30/11/2016 1
Morality- how to behave to oneself and towards other individuals is a matter of choices: whether to be friendly or unfriendly; whether to tell the truth or lie; whether to be generous or greedy; whether to study in order to pass an exam or to spend valuable study time watching TV and cheat to pass it... 30/11/2016 2
Morality means making the right choices: Knowing what is right and wrong Following rules Telling the truth 30/11/2016 3
The Importance of Telling the Truth 30/11/2016 4
What was your lie about? Who did you lie to? Why did you tell the lie? Did you get found out? Have you ever told a lie? What happened when you were found out? Have you ever lied to your parents/carers/ teachers? 30/11/2016 5
Why do children tell lies? Children tell lies for many reasons, depending on the situation and their motivation. Children might lie to: Cover something up, hoping to avoid consequences or punishment Explore and experiment with their parents responses and reactions Impress others Gain attention, even when they re aware the listener knows the truth Protect someone else 30/11/2016 6
Why should you tell the truth and not tell lies? What could the consequences be? Could it be dangerous? Listen to the story. Think about what the story is telling you or what the moral of the story is. 30/11/2016 7
The Boy Who Cried Wolf There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!" The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away, but when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces. "Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill. Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away. 30/11/2016 8
When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!" But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more. Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!" The villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come. At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. "There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?" An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!" 30/11/2016 9
The moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf? 30/11/2016 10
Now listen to the story about right and wrong choices: What are the lessons the young boy learnt from this experience? 30/11/2016 11
There once was a young boy who made bad choices and would say terrible things to people around him when he lost his temper. One day, his father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he made the wrong decision and did this, he must hammer a nail into the large oak tree at the end of the garden. At the end of the first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the tree. He soon discovered it was easier to hold his tongue, not say mean things and let his temper pass than to keep hammering those nails into the tree. Over the next few weeks, as he made better choices and learned to control his anger, the number of nails reduced. The day came when the boy didn't say any terrible things to his family. He told his father about it and his father suggested that the boy should now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to be kind to those around him. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father looked at his son and led him to the tree. He said, "You have done well, my son. You are now making better choices and thinking about others. but look at the holes still in the tree. When you say things in anger, they cause a wound that takes time to heal. It won't matter how many times you say sorry, the wound is still there." 30/11/2016 12
What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961) American Writer 30/11/2016 13
People have a moral standard about what they will do and will not do. At the end of the day someone who cheats has a lower moral standard than someone who does not. And they will cheat in other areas of life as well. Carl Lewis- Athlete 30/11/2016 14
Whether you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third president of the United States 30/11/2016 15
Class Assembly Reflection: Is it ever right to lie? Has anyone ever lied to you? How did it make you feel? Is it easier to make the right choice or the wrong choice? Can we learn from the wrong choices we make? Which of the famous person s quote do you like? Why? 30/11/2016 16