The prevention of all forms of misconduct: the objective of quality civic and moral education.

Par malumiereetmonsalut Le 03/02/2023 à 14:18 0

Dossier

Republican values contribute to establishing a set of reforms initiated, reviewed, improved and updated by a succession of generations who each have their part to play in the construction of a Nation which always begins with the founding fathers. Image: www.afd.fr

The reform of school programs is always part of a logic of providing knowledge that better adapts to the present needs of a set of constantly evolving societies where all that constitutes an obstacle to the promotion of republican values of living together, must be gradually dissipated by a preventive, conciliatory and tolerant pedagogy, focused much more on good manners rather than on practical know-how which is certainly very important, but which lacks consistency without a essential know-being in particular to shape the type of Men we want for tomorrow in a present which is characterized by problems of incivility and bad morality, by further enlightening the main actors in the educational chain and in particular the learners on the attitudes that should especially not be adopted so as not to, or quite simply no longer obstruct this long march towards a more harmonious living together, particularly through a practical promotion of the values that the school recommends.

When Jules Ferry (1832-1893), former Minister of Public Education and Fine Arts under the Third French Republic succeeded in making primary school secular and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 in 1882^[1] thanks in particular to the adoption and promulgation respectively by the parliament and the president of the republic of the laws of 1881 and 1882 which bear his name, he allowed the introduction into the programs of teaching, moral and civic education in a context where the majority confessional establishments provided religious instruction which did not really allow according to him, to train enlightened citizens who have the vocation to defend the ideals of the republic, the dignity of Men, solidarity, fundamental freedoms, the primacy of reason and the refusal of dogmas which are certainly essential for those who believe in them, but certainly not for everyone unlike republican values which in addition to concern everybody, also contribute to establishing a set of reforms initiated, reviewed, improved and updated by a succession of generations who each have their part to play in the construction of a Nation which always begins with the founding fathers, to continue through the ages, thanks to new generations who must always be ready to take over.

Jules Ferry allowed the introduction into the programs of teaching, moral and civic education in a context where the majority confessional establishments provided religious instruction which did not really allow according to him, to train enlightened citizens who have the vocation to defend the ideals of the republic, the dignity of Men, solidarity, fundamental freedoms, the primacy of reason and the refusal of dogmas. Image: media.lesechos.com

Generally when we ask parents why they send their children to school, they respond by saying that, it is so that they have a good education and succeed socially because, school is a laboratory of knowledge, know-how and know-being, at the service of a society whose permanent construction will always depend on a group of citizens called to fulfil such responsibility or another in society.

An individual of bad character cannot really be useful. If this statement may seem paradoxical or contrary to normal for those who only take into account the capacity to resolve a given practical problem, without however taking into account the morality of the person themselves, it must be said that, the function that one is called to exercise always requires a minimum of common sense which does not consist only of doing a task and waiting for the end of the month or the pay hours, but to serve with quality a society which thirsts for model and quality service at lower cost or not, because the objective of quality education in a republic is to provide society with quality human capital both intellectually and morally. There is no quality education without exemplarity, and even less exemplarity without good morality. It is precisely to illustrate these remarks that certain establishment managers are in the habit of saying to praise the quality of the products of their training courses that: they are well-made and very full heads precisely because, know-how alone cannot be enough. This point of view, focused on both know-how and know-being to maintain a fair balance, is inspired by a chapter entitled: "Education of children” taken from the complete Essays of philosopher and humanist Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) who, following mixed memories of his young years at college, declare that: for a child of noble family who seeks learning not for gain (for such an abject goal is unworthy of the graces and favour of the Muses, and besides it looks to others and depends on them), or so much for external advantages as for his own, and for enrich and furnish himself inwardly, since I would rather make of him an able man than a learned man, I would also urged that care be taken to choose a guard with a well-made rather than a well-filled head; that both these quality should be required of him, but more particularly character and understanding than learning; and that he should go about his job in a noval way. Our tutors never stop bawling into our ears, as though they were pouring water into a funnel; and our task is only to repeat what has been told us. I should like the tutor to correct this practice, and right from the start according to the capacity of the mind he has in hand, to begin putting its through its paces, making it taste things, choose them, and discern them by itself; sometimes clearing the way for him, sometimes letting him clear his own way.” ^[2]

Knowledge, experimentation, moral and ethical values are the basis of a very good education called to face the whims and harmful habits which result from the harsh reality of a life corrupted by immoral acts which however do not remove nothing to the fact that life nevertheless deserves to be lived, in order to further promote the values required in society by putting into practice the quality teachings provided by a school serving a State which has the responsibility to put everything into works to ensure that the quality of training is satisfactory on all levels.

Bad morality: root of all evil

By analysing academic failures in the Cameroonian context, those responsible for the education system deplore the indiscipline and drug consumption which are the main causes of these failures. Learners would therefore show a lack of seriousness which would result in deviant acts which have a bad impact on their future to the point of constantly requiring firm measures in order to change this bad trend by taking advantage in particular of a set of failures which are not bad in themselves in the sense that the qualitative character of training is the result of a process of improvement which takes into account previous failures.

In an education system as in many others, there are only collective failures and successes. The failure of a student at the end of a school or academic year, is also that of a group of actors who must all question themselves by implementing new strategies likely to gradually improve the quality of results. “Science teaches us that all progress is based on tests which cannot always succeed.”^[3]

The fact of doubling, tripling or even quadrupling and more, is never a bad thing in itself. It is an invitation to redouble our efforts to achieve better results by taking care to eradicate on the one hand, depending on the context, acts of corruption, the consumption of narcotics, the haggling of grades by “teachers”, and to proceed on the other hand with salary increases as much as possible, with the maintenance and equipment of premises both in urban and rural areas, and finally and above all, insisted on education courses for citizenship and culture of good morality at all levels because an entire system is threatened by a set of actors who, through scandalous acts, have their share of responsibility for successive failures. Indeed, the education system has more serious problems than the failures themselves. Training is not limited to simply granting a diploma. The quality of the parchment must take into account a know-how respectful of both republican values and the republic itself. We must be sure to provide a product on which we can really count, because the deplorable behaviour displayed by certain young people in schools, universities and even in professional environments, concretely demonstrates the refusal to separate things or to dissociate republican demands and depravity of morals in educational and professional environments. You sanction a student, he doesn't listen to you, he doesn't care because he has a solid base, or a parent in high places who supports outrageous things; you ask a student to make the choice to abandon what society considers to be a bad life because of the harm that it generates in his life and that of others, such as the excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco, he responds to you by saying that you are not his father or mother that he perhaps does not even respect; you remind an individual of what real service looks like, he calls you unemployed and that it is not your job to teach him how to do his job; you say no to corruption, you are answered by saying to rather go and challenge people in high places instead of annoying the common people because it must be said to deplore it that, certain facts suggest that the means implemented to sanction those responsible for immoral acts, aim to disturb poor people or those who don't have much money, and to muzzle, or even punish possible "adversaries" or former "collaborators", through "files compromising” for their careers.

Everything suggests based on concrete facts that patriotic duty is not the best shared thing. We are more concerned about the satisfaction of sometimes disproportionate personal interests, while it is such acts which contribute more to real economic and social unhappiness. Perhaps military training should be considered for such individuals. The Japanese soldier tells us the philosopher and humanist Montaigne (1533-1592) in an article published by François Lagrange entitled: The fighters of “certain death”. The meaning of sacrifice on the horizon of the great war, “fight for a holy cause, the future of the homeland; he has the press, the entire nation behind him; his people urge him to sacrifice himself for his country. » […] Also, before joining the army, the Japanese soldier made the sacrifice of his life, and he said to his family, when leaving them, not goodbye, but farewell. In his patriotic fanaticism, he does not dream of a triumphant return and enthusiastic acclamations, he dreams of dying for the fatherland.”^[3]

Also read : Slippages in young milieu : what solutions ?

The fact of not being on the battlefield does not mean we are exempt. Ignorance of this reality justifies the fact for certain people to do anything in places where they should not. When we are indeed aware of serving our country and of being called to serve it wherever we are, we must behave with patriotism like a soldier on the battlefield. It is with this patriotic or figthing spirit that many young people must arm themselves in order to take their studies more seriously for some, and their profession for others, instead of illicitly enjoying, or abusing a set of privileges that must be used while respecting the values of honesty, service and loyalty. Anyone who is aware of being in the service of his country or of having been trained to truly serve it, cannot afford enormities because he knows that if he indulges in narcotics for example, he runs the risk of ruining his future and that of many others who will make the same choice as him. Indeed, these products, composed mainly of addictive and toxic substances, are real enemies of the republic against which no effort should be spared to gradually eradicate them. Experts point out that “physical dependence is the body's natural reaction when certain substances are used for an extended period of time.”^[4] And the same is true for corruption. Anyone who is aware of finding themselves on a battlefield will refuse this practice, especially when they have the means because by accepting to be corrupted, they prevent a society from evolving positively. In its sixth working paper on corruption published in 2009, the civil society organization Transparency International states that “Engaging young people to say no to corruption, today and in the future, is an essential step to make effective progress in the fight against abuse of all kinds: bribes, fraud, collusion and cronyism. If the commitment of young people is not sufficient on its own, it is nevertheless an essential complementary element in the fight against corruption.”^[5]

Society needs fighters. Man and woman who care about contributing to the development of their country and not those who say to themselves that if others do nothing, it is not them who will change things. If we must admit that by reasoning in this way we discredit the training we received which aims to enable us to bring something more to a society which really needs it, we must nevertheless recognize that, it is a reasoning very often influenced by a set of systems which have in some way normalized corruption. If in fact, thanks to the efforts undertaken by certain States, there is the possibility of denouncing certain acts anonymously, it must still be said that the fact that there are people who commit such acts but who remain untouchable gives the impression that anti-corruption measures are tailor-made strategies which are more limited to sanctioning the small links in the chain while the larger ones are exposed and sanctioned solely with the aim of resolving particular problems. But since this is only an impression which however does not come from ex-nihilo, we prefer to insist on the need to promote an education which places the patriotic spirit at the heart of everything that citizens exercise as a profession while at the same time taking into account learners and students who, like all others, must demonstrate a patriotic duty which is a necessity in a society where some have made it a habit to deliberately undermine republican values.

To enable a group of individuals who are not aware of the task they have to accomplish, or who preach through a lack of fidelity by committing acts which discredit their person as well as that of the system to which they belong, they should perhaps be sent to the front. It is the place where one realize the full extent of the task we have to accomplish. It is experiences like this that make conscientious those who are not. It is through such experiences that we learn the true meaning of serving our homeland and that we understand that, hell is not only others, but also us because each of our actions has a good or bad impact in others’ lives.

The figthing spirit does not only concern high-level athletes and the military. It is a faculty that each citizen is called to develop and express in everything they have made the free choice to do, or during a set of professional experiences during which models are called to perfect themselves and help others to improve because, cases of misconduct are not only found in young people milieu or among children of school age. Even the older ones very often show a lack of civic-mindedness which means that at some point, we made the choice to become immoral.

The question of good morals

Education, it can never be said enough, is the basis of all development. A citizen who through his actions does not honour republican values is the product of a bad education, or that of a society which gradually loses the sense of right and duty. And what are these rights and duties? It is simply a matter of showing common sense when we choose to serve a society that expects a lot from us because, each citizen, whatever their field of activity or expertise, is at the service of a citizenship which itself is the set of reciprocal rights and duties. In other words, “The citizen legitimately demands from the State respect for his rights because the State legitimately demands from its citizens the fulfilment of certain duties. “^[6]By doing what he has to do well, the Citizen respects the institutions and his fellow citizens who are also called to do the same to avoid as much as possible and sometimes, extremely harsh confrontations which promote deleterious climates. Citizenship, like the fact of being officially recognized as a full member of a country, involves working for the common good. But the type of Men that we are, that we will be, or that we are called to be, will always depend on the quality of teaching that we have agreed to receive, or the education that we have received. Know-how is inseparable from any style of know-being that truly contributes to the well-being of those who exercise it, and to the development of their country. It (speaking of know-being) implies good morality in a set of societies that greatly need it. Indeed, “we speak of the morality of an act or a decision to qualify its adequacy to what we judge to be good or bad (…) and we speak of the morality of a person, thus designating not only the value of her actions but also and above all her ability to judge them for herself. Men is in this sense the only one whose morality can be judged, which refers to his moral conscience which sets him apart from reality. Morality therefore seems to come primarily from the interiority of the individual since it ultimately does not concern so much the actions themselves as the intentions which prevail over them or the meaning which we give to them. » ^[7]

Also read : Education of consciences and prevention of aggressive desperate and immodest acts in places of learning.

A Men who, following the derogatory remarks and vicious behaviour of a certain leader choose to do the same, agrees to receive bad teaching, unlike one who chooses to do the opposite. Doing evil like those who freely chose to do so, means agreeing to follow the path of evil or embezzlement which has largely contributed to keeping sub-Saharan Africa in particular in precariousness. “Rentier management of the economy characterizes the way in which the political and economic elites of third world countries in general and in particular sub-Saharan African countries conduct business in their respective countries. The colonial pact accepted and practiced by the first African heads of State of these so-called independent countries, the economic and financial scandals, linked to the sell-off of mining resources, public waste, mismanagement, and corruption of men in power without vision of future for their compatriots and for themselves, the absence of rational management of the economy, the extreme penchant for selfishness of intellectual executives and the real lack of political will of those in power to promote production and implement a redistribution of the fruits of labour are respectively successively evoked in their various manifestations always exposing the connivance of the elites in power in their tragic advent."^[8] Being forced to perpetuate such attitudes in order to be well seen by fellow Men who have lost the sense of patriotic duty, it unfortunately reveals an image of us which does not correspond with what we really are and which can have a disastrous impact on our person including our personality because we are victims of a society where as Blaise Pascal says in his Pensées, “the self is injust in himself since it make itself the centre of everything; it is inconvenient to others since it would enslave them; for each self is the enemy, and would like to be the tyrant of all others. You take away its inconvenience, but not its injustice, and so you do not render it lovable to those who hate injustice; you render it lovable only to the unjust, who do not any longer find in it an enemy. And thus you remind unjust, and can please only the unjust” ^[9]

Doing good despite the fact that it is those who persevere in evil who are very successful is to refuse to receive teaching in contradiction with ethical values which require for a citizen to always act in the truth of his conscience. An individual of bad morality is a citizen whose actions are of no use to the people. Whatever the position we occupy or the quality or quantity of our remuneration, without good morality, we constitute an obstacle to true development which must always be built on transparency and uprightness. Citizenship does not allow barriers between people and even less the exploitation of a function to abuse the freedom of others. Citizenship is part of a community dynamic which works in favour of the general interest, and not that of a corpuscle of individuals in the pay of malicious and selfish individuals. The way in which patriotic values are flouted shows us to what extent the ingratitude and hypocrisy of some of citizens who owe a lot to countries which gave them everything, even if they believe have reasons to doubt it. The rush towards material while forgetting or ignoring its other essential part which is patriotic duty, is the result of the choice to accept following bad models and becoming oneself a bad model at the base of the multiple cases of misconduct carried over from generation to generation and in even more lamentable and pathetic ways, in a set of contexts where each leader, just like each citizen, must be a patriot, concerned with contributing to the production of individuals whose Civic and moral values will allow all peoples to develop at all levels, for the general interest thanks in particular to quality civic and moral education.

English|French

References

[1] Gratuite, obligatoire et laïque : la sainte trinité de Jules Ferry

[2] The complete Essays of MONTAIGNE

[3] Les vertus de l’échec

[3] Les combattants de la « mort certaine ». Les sens du sacrifice à l’horizon de la Grande Guerre

[4] À propos de la consommation de substance

[5] La jeunesse et la corruption

[6] État, citoyenneté et participation au Cameroun : un regard pluridisciplinaire (1946-2020)

[7] La moralité est-elle utile à la vie sociale ?

[8] Pierre Bamony, Pourquoi l’Afrique si riche est pourtant si pauvre ?

[9] Quote by Blaise Pascal