# EDUC 7620 reflection week 5 Jethro Jones ## Assignment Directions ## Assignment [[EDUC 7620]] In our reading this week, I was fascinated by the information Lickona shared about the history of values education in the United States. One term that I had not heard of before, though I have seen its evidence is "Logical postivism", which "introduced a fundamental distinction between “fact” and “value.” It held that the only real facts or truths were ones that could be scientifically demonstrated (e.g., “A steel ball when dropped will fall to the ground”) (Lickona, 1992). Gad Saad strongly and emphatically falls in this camp. He posits the only way of knowing is by empiricism: Something can ONLY be true if proven by science. He says, "All claims about the natural world must pass through the evidentiary prism of the scientific method" (Saad, 2024, p. 58). For the arguments he is making, that approach makes sense. I'd alter that to say the only thing you can prove to others is by empiricism, but there are many ways of knowing for oneself. As Fried (2024) notes, when it comes down to it, "everything is a judgment call. And that's a beautiful thing." I also found it interesting the data that Lickona cited in 1992, which is over 30 years ago. Things have changed, and I experienced an interesting little bird walk looking up some various statistics. First, Lickona states, "Our divorce rate, which has more than doubled since 1960, is the highest in the world. About 60 percent of children whose parents break up will spend the rest of their childhood in a single-parent home" (1992, Location 744 (since I read it on a Kindle and not an actual book)). More up-to-date information from BGSU indicates that divorce is at an all-time low, 14.6 women divorced per 1000 women in 2022 (Loo, 2023). Second, "more than half of all children under 18 have a mother who works outside the home, often out of economic necessity. Nearly half of all mothers of 1-year-olds are now in the labor force" (Lickona, 1992). Interesting information from PEW research states that nearly 70% of kids have a mother who works at least part time, if not full time (Parker et al., 2015). Third, in the United States there are now more than 8 million latchkey children (Lickona, 1992, loc 779). According to this SafeWise, there are now 7.7 million latchkey children (McEntire, 2023). Though the Youth.gov site simply states that 1 in 5 children are left home alone after school (Benefits for Youth, Families, and Communities, n.d.). Finally, I always struggle with this idea of the way schools approach the parent relationship. Schools have an egocentric idea of "inviting the parents" in to partner with them, rather than recognizing the immense influence and responsibility parents have where schools should be supporting them, rather than the other way around. Lickona writes, "children come to school without breakfast, without enough sleep, without their homework done, and *without the feeling that anybody really cares about them*. Learning difficulties and behavior problems are often the result" (1992, loc. 809, emphasis added). Truly, this is tragic. But for how many kids is this the daily reality? And how much of that is driven by the fact that our schools provide so much? And how much of that is pure judgment of parents who are doing the best they can with what they've got? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I suspect Lickona doesn’t either, else he would have cited actual studies instead of anecdotes. For what it is worth, I did the Chapter in PRIMED, but this aspect of the reading took all my time and energy that I could devote to it this week, and I had no meaningful reflections from PRIMED ## References Fried, J. (2024, February 6). The Data Came From Where? _The Data Came from Where?_ [https://world.hey.com/jason/the-data-came-from-where-a82d198d](https://world.hey.com/jason/the-data-came-from-where-a82d198d) Lickona, T. (1992). _Educating for character: How our schools can teach respect and responsibility_ [Kindle iOS version]. Bantam Books. Loo, J. (2023). _Divorce Rate in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2022_. National Center for Family and Marriage Research. [https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-24](https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-24) McEntire, K. (2023, September 7). _Unlocking Independence Safely: A Guide for Parents of Latchkey Kids_. [https://www.safewise.com/news/unlocking-independence-safely-a-guide-for-parents-of-latchkey-kids/#:~:text=Today+there+are+around+7.7,double+the+count+in+2000.&text=One+in+five+children+come+home+to+an+empty+house+after+school.](https://www.safewise.com/news/unlocking-independence-safely-a-guide-for-parents-of-latchkey-kids/#:~:text=Today+there+are+around+7.7,double+the+count+in+2000.&text=One+in+five+children+come+home+to+an+empty+house+after+school.) Parker, K., Horowitz, J. M., & Rohal, M. (2015). _Raising Kids and Running a Household: How Working Parents Share the Load_. [https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/) Saad, G. (2020). _The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense_ [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com _Benefits for Youth, Families, and Communities_. (n.d.). Youth.gov. [https://youth.gov/youth-topics/afterschool-programs/benefits-youth-families-and-communities?clreqid=77eae74e-e216-4ab9-9ee2-9a54424831eb&cl_system=mapi&cl_system_id=77eae74e-e216-4ab9-9ee2-9a54424831eb&kbid=58587#_ftn1](https://youth.gov/youth-topics/afterschool-programs/benefits-youth-families-and-communities?clreqid=77eae74e-e216-4ab9-9ee2-9a54424831eb&cl_system=mapi&cl_system_id=77eae74e-e216-4ab9-9ee2-9a54424831eb&kbid=58587#_ftn1)