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Moral contradictions and cross purposes in society make formal moral training in the schools difficult, if not impossible. Values clarification and school-wide programs of moral education are of questionable merit. Nevertheless, effective moral education is implicit in teaching the subjects that comprise good basic education. A mathematics teacher, for example, might encourage students to think of the ways data are gathered and organized. She might have a student discuss the moral implications of gathering information through computers. Science teachers might make students aware of the values that determine the way science is done--its openness to new formulations of reality, or the rigorous testing of theories before they are accepted. Engligh teachers have a wealth of material that provides models of human conduct, writing about conduct good and bad, and reflections on how people change as they gain insight, or suffer, or discover how their behavior affects the lives of others. History and social studies teachers might fill some of the gaps and omissions in the customary accounts of our past. They need to remind their students that what is chosen to be studied reflects a point of view that screens out more than it admits. The arts are one of the best vehicles for the transmission of values. For example, Golden Age sculpture and architecture provide a chance to teach the ancient Greek's moral vision of balance and proportion. It is morally imperative to bring young people and adults back together in cooperative association outside the classroom. (Author/RM)

Moral contradictions and cross-purposes in society make formal moral training in the schools difficult. A discussion is presented of the pressure on the schools to provide values education at a time when society itself is unclear about values. The examples provided by parents, television, and other influences in the lives of young people are frequently contrary to the high standards society appears to hold in esteem. The school carries a large responsibility for instilling ethical values in students since they spend a great deal of time in school and in association with peers and teachers. Examples are given of ways teachers can focus on ethical and moral questions and dilemmas as they teach mathematics, science, English, history, social studies, and the arts. In a discussion of teacher and community responsibility for ethical guidance of the young, vignettes are presented on ways in which drug problems, hostility and violence, and student alienation have been handled in three different schools and communities. (JD)