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HESBURGH LECTURE

Talk will focus on moral education

When a student is at college, many thoughts and stresses may enter his or her mind - some, not even school-related. Some-thing as simple as how to be a kind-hearted, easygoing person can weigh on a student's mind.

Dr. F. Clark Power specializes in easing that dilemma. A professor at Notre Dame University, he works in the fields of moral development and education, psychology of religious development, and sports and character education.

"My advice to students is to approach issues of right and wrong reflectively and in conversation with others," Dr. Power told The Evangelist. "Moral development involves interacting with others and the application of the Golden Rule. Becoming a moral person means reaching out to others and trying to see life from their perspective."

On Oct. 13, Dr. Power will discuss this topic at The College of Saint Rose in Albany during the annual Rev. Theodore Hesburgh lecture, titled, "Can Virtue Be Taught? Moral and Character Education in America."

The speaker will argue that moral education is necessary and possible in school curriculum, in classroom and school discipline, in community service projects and even in sports.

As a faculty member at a college known across the U.S. for athletics, Dr. Power has a special connection with sports that, he says, can be related to faith.

"Sports are inherently religious," he pointed out. "How else can we account for the devotion and sense of community that they elicit? I relate sports to religious development by pointing out that sports lead us to the realization that there is something more to life."

Dr. Power also thinks sports can serve as a way to appreciate life itself.

"Sports can take us out of the everyday and into a special realm of joy," he said. "We develop religiously not by making sports our gods but by thanking God for the gift of play. In playing, we imitate God, who created us not out of need but out of love."

Balancing academics with athletics is a common theme at colleges and universities, but perhaps even more so at Notre Dame. Dr. Power noted that students may get too caught up in expectations around excellence in both sports and academics and stray away from relaxing and enjoying college life.

"Student-athletes are just like everyone else in their psychological makeup and faith," he remarked. "On the other hand, student-athletes are under tremendous pressure to perform well on the sports field and well in the classroom. They have had to develop greater time management skills than the other students. 

"I am concerned that they don't have enough time for reflection and for engaging in outside the classroom educational activities, particularly service activities."

Reflection and learning are always important, said the speaker. The better the influences young people have, the more it will benefit them in the future, he said: 

"Children are never passive recipients of knowledge. They are active learners and seekers of justice and moral truth. Effective moral education involves giving them a sense of ownership in their classrooms and teams."

Dr. Power said he is looking forward to giving his lecture, hoping to make the issue of morality and education more public.

"Moral education is not an esoteric topic," he said. "We all engage in it; we all have thoughts about it. I welcome the opportunity to speak to folks around the country about how we can do a better job of educating children in and out of the classroom."

The lecture will be offered Oct. 13, 7 p.m., at The College of Saint Rose's Thelma P. Lally School of Education in Albany. Admission is free. 
Call 454-5105.

(10/08/09) [[In-content Ad]]

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