Some believe that college should be the place where students learn moral values and ethics whereas others think that this is a parental responsibility. Both sides have their points, but I argue that colleges should not only coexist with parents but also make their own unique contributions to this area.
Firstly, parents are the very first instructors of kids. In fact, they affect kids’ conduct, inclinations, and conceptions of right and wrong since they are very small in a great detail, of course. In the course of everyday communication, parents give a model for children of such values as honesty, respect, kindness, and responsibility. Since moral growth is triggered at home, it is the common view that parents are the most appropriate ones to give ethical guidance.
Secondly, colleges with their purpose of educating students are the best opportunity to teach students new skills, knowledge, and behavior which will prepare them for a successful and responsible life as adults. Besides the classroom, students encounter new experiences that can be very different from their previous lives, including working out disagreements, meeting people with diverse perspectives, and balancing competing pressures. If it is made part of their time in college, learning ethics not only makes individuals able to choose rightly and wisely, but also lets them realize and accept their social duties, while cultivating personal integrity for a lifelong career. Take, as an example, a class in medical ethics that might be taken by a student who aims at a career in the health field and which would both emphasize the importance of diagnosing and treating patients in an ethical manner.
In my view, it is a very good idea if parents and colleges cooperate in handing down moral standards. While, undoubtedly, parents would be working on the personality of a child, youth character and, simultaneously, their development of the right principles, the college environment would be just right for showing how to continue the adherence to these principles and, even more, how to translate the good things learned into actual deeds. So, it can be rightly said that a mixture of the home and the educational environmental inputs will lead to the emergence of socially responsible and ethical people.
To sum up, parents notwithstanding, colleges have a duty to provide moral education to their students to get them ready for their personal and professional lives.