Most of the social problems plaguing our country have a root cause related to the inadequacies of our educational system. Recognition of the failure of our public school system to properly educate our citizens is readily acknowledged by most educational leaders but their remedies leading to effective improvement of the system are woefully lacking. It has been recognized that the measurements used for the analysis of how well a student is educated has been inadequate. SAT and other  testing methods omit considerations of knowledge of subject matter that is important to our society as a whole.

Educators have intentionally avoided including certain subject matter in curriculums because of socio-political reasons.  The proper manner for people to relate to each other that involves morals, ethics and the exchange of value for the fruits of labor is regarded as too socially and politically sensitive to include as subject matter.  Let’s look at some fundamental rationale.  Freedom bears responsibility since there is a limitation to its degree. The obvious limitation is that by expressing ones freedom one may encroach on the freedom of another. We have laws that protect some rights such as taking another persons life, stealing, perjury etc. but do we really teach the responsibilities of an individual in a free society? It should be obvious that this responsibility directly relates to moral values. “If man is to live also, thus he passes on himself moral judgment in the name of the community”. This is included in the Encyclopedia Britannica’s definition of Morality.

Our educational system will not have any opportunity for true success until basic morality is incorporated into the curriculum and includes the teaching of ethics as a required ongoing part of the curriculum from kindergarten through high school. This term is meant to convey principles of right and wrong, the respect that should be given to other human beings, the manner in which a person should conduct oneself and the need to establish relative value standards that guide such conduct. The mistake should not be made that in teaching a moral philosophy there is any legal infringement on the separation of Church and State or on freedom of thought. This teaching does not necessarily have any relation to religious teaching and its intention is to simply teach  “proper behavior” and the difference between “ right and wrong” and thus provide the rationale for being a responsible member of a free society.

Since we live in a society where for time memorial people have found a way of placing value on products and services, it should also be apparent that education should stress “early on” the teaching of fundamental economics. Fundamental means answering the questions, “what is money”, “how is money created”, “what is the money supply”, “how does the banking (Federal Reserve) system work” etc. We all know that people work, steal, lie, cheat, murder etc. for money. Money is a prime motivator and yet the majority of our citizens, including many media persona, know little about it. Unfortunately, this also includes our teachers.

For college entrance requirements some high school students are required to take courses in economics. However, they are structured in a way that does not provide the fundamental knowledge that provides practical application in everyday life. A properly structured course should be mandatory for all high school students. The Federal Reserve System provides video tapes, including testing material, that cover this subject and they are available for educational use upon request. Unfortunately, there seems to be no coordinated plan to utilize such teachers aids.

Although this could be implemented by each state, to have a nation wide coordinated effect, the direction should be from the federal level. The President should lead a crusade to provide the American people the rationale for this necessary foundation of morality and understanding of economic fundamentals.  In short, what is required is not necessarily additional funds but rather a moral philosophy emanating from the White House, based on rationality and, incorporating the practical elements which motivate our society. There should be no doubt that our country’s successful future depends on including sound moral and economic education in the curriculum.

Although parent(s) should be participants in the educational process, the advent of working mothers and broken marriages has created a real problem since many parents just don’t find the time to contribute what is required. Wishful thinking will not solve this problem. Unfortunately, society has to find a way to deal with the new generations so that despite their environments they will be educated.

It should be recognized that every human being is learning from the day he/she is born.  Everyone has a desire to learn and it is up to the educational system to provide the meaningful subject matter necessary to guide the learning process.  Students lacking this guidance will be deprived of qualities that could enhance their opportunity to be successful in their “pursuit of happiness” as a freedom loving, law abiding, member of society. Without this guidance many are attracted to anti-social, and some to criminal, behavior.  In creating a curriculum, the educators must remember that their most important task is to reach the reasoning process of the students so as to motivate them to want to learn the subject matter.
 
In the past, there have been various proposals made to improve our public education system but they were either mis-guided or resisted by powerful elements of our society resisting change for personal benefit. Voted down have been referendums attempting to bring real competition to the public school system by way of providing parents the financial means to send their children to a school of their choice. Other than pure public schools could be a way of including moral and economic education to the student. There is also home schooling that is gaining popularity and could fulfill what is proposed herein but it is limited to mostly families that require only one parent to be the bread winner. Pragmatism indicates that to effect meaningful improvement requires that the inclusion of the required subject matter be made within the educational system that now exists.

Thus, to move moral and economic education into our nations classrooms will require the subject to become a national issue so that it will gain the attention necessary to lead to its implementation. It is hoped that this essay has helped some in this regard.