The GWT Blog
Blog Category: Moral Development / Moral Identity
Early Warning Signs of Ethical Disaster
August 09, 2010
It seems that every major disaster is followed by almost pro forma revelations of danger signs that should have alerted us to the danger but were ignored. We heard those revelations in the aftermath of 9/11 and we're hearing them now as the BP oil spill takes its place as the worst environmental disaster in American history.
Children and Good Work
June 28, 2010
Very young children appear to embrace Good Work with greater enthusiasm than their older classmates. For nine years in elementary and middle school, we teach our students about numbers and dates and places. Then on weekends some of the students go to church, temple or synagogue to address their spiritual selves. The twain rarely meet. This project sought to join the two worlds, to help children get in touch with their better angels, to open their
lives to the possibility of wonder.
Google and Goldman
June 27, 2010
At least until the spring of 2010, two lines of work have been particularly seductive for 'the best and the brightest'—the graduates of our leading colleges and universities. One professional option has entailed work at the cutting edge of the technology sector—for Facebook, Apple or Google. Complementing Silicon Valley, the other option has been to work on "The Street"—in investment banking, hedge funds, or some other branch of the financial industry.
On Being a True Activist
May 11, 2010
A while ago I put forth the proposition that there are no innocent bystanders, that those who sat idle while classmates were being humiliated or taken advantage of against their wishes were a major part of the problem. Our students will forever hesitate to stand up for what is morally right if they perceive a social cost, and they may never do it if the adults in their world do not stand up with them and for them in their formative years.
Digital Media and American Youth
February 22, 2010
Have the digital media changed American youth? That's the question that a group of researchers, including members of Howard Gardner's research team at Project Zero, met to discuss last December in Princeton, New Jersey.
Howard Gardner in Mexico City
February 01, 2010
Last October, Mexico City had the pleasure of receiving Dr. Howard Gardner. Banamex, one of the most important Mexican Financial Groups, invited him to their " 2009-3rd Encuentro de Educación Financiera "Respuestas de Pe$o" Ser, conocer y hacer para vivir juntos". Dr. Garder's lecture "Five Minds of the Future" gave participants new alternatives to develop strategies within ourselves, and everyone who is devoted to education in a formal or informal way.
Press Release: On Teens' Online Activities
December 04, 2009
Global Kids, Harvard's GoodPlay Project and Common Sense Media today released Meeting of Minds, a report that highlights the ways in which parents, teachers, and teens relate to the emerging ethical dimensions of life online. The report is the result of a series of cross-generational online dialogues held this past spring about digital ethics, and reveals the critical importance of active adult engagement with teens to help develop healthy attitudes about online behaviors that often have long-lasting and far-reaching effects.
A Choice with Real Value
October 27, 2009
Choice and opportunity are emblems of freedom. But researchers tell us that the myriad options available to us are no longer liberating but quite oppressive. Studies indicate that the number of decisions we make every day – in the cereal aisle, at the espresso stand, on our cable TVs - are literally exhausting us. Perhaps more significant is the implication that the constant stream of relatively minor decisions we make may lead us to make poorer choices across all areas of our lives.
The Obama Gamble
October 14, 2009
I begin with a confession. Away from my home in Cambridge, traveling in London, I must admit, with embarrassment, that when I first saw the headline in a tabloid "Obama wind Nobel Peace Prize" I thought it was a joke. After all, the satirical publication, the ONION has featured headlines that were less surprising. A bit later, I realized that the joke was on me.
The Road to Hell?
September 26, 2009
If the proverbial inter-planetary visitor observed educational policymakers around the world, she would soon infer their single preoccupation: “How to raise scores on international comparisons like the TIMMS or the PISA tests.” This mentality also dominates the United States. A focus on standardized tests, how to raise scores, and what consequences follow ...
