Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - Wednesday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 15:1-12, 17-18 and Matt 7:15-20,997]By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
These words of Jesus touch on a very sensitive issue in education and formation. It would seem the subject is an ancient one. I may be oversimplifying it a bit, but I think the matter may be stated in this way. Should we aim at educating people to simply follow rules, or should we aim at educating people in values that will be reflected in their behavior in such a way that the goals of the rules will be realized? Is it more important to form persons of integrity, or is it more important to produce persons who conform? By their fruits you shall know them.
The issue appears in many areas, but it was brought home to me when I taught biomedical ethics several years ago. The health care professions became concerned about the quality of "care" that was being given. Should doctors or nurses or other health care-givers be simply individuals who follow the rules of the hospital or the collective bargaining agreement without regard to the needs of the patient? In admitting individuals to training programs, should one of the criteria be that of "character" or "integrity?" In other words, should we be educating "virtuous" persons as well as "skillful" persons. Yes, those skills are extremely important, but if the person who possesses them does not have any concern for the recipient, is there any real "care" resulting? Patients in this kind of situation become objectified according to their diagnosis without regard to their humanity! (I.E., the "appendectomy in room #350") Does the human dignity of the care-giver as well as the care receiver matter at all? By their fruits you shall know them.
The "values" approach to education has been around at least since biblical times! Jesus often spoke out against a formation that emphasized following rules at the expense of human dignity. Formation in values such as honesty and sensitivity need to accompany training in skills that will bring those values to bear in a particular field. Religious faith can be a tremendous help in this, but secular society tends to replace faith with legislation. In the absence of formation in values, people will look for "loopholes" to realize selfish goals. On a collective level, the results of replacing formation with legislation are frightening to contemplate. "By their fruits you shall know them." AMEN