CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT IN A CLASSROOM??

I’m sitting in a business ethics class and wondering why am I sitting here? Well I don’t have to bang my head for an answer, it is simple, for attendance and hence eligibility for semester-end exams. This opening remark might suggest that I’m against ethics in business, but it’s not that. I just don’t believe that you can teach a person to be ethical over a period of a two credit course.

I have learnt that personality is built over a period of time and cannot be changed unless something radical happens. I wonder what ‘radical’ change sixteen lectures will bring about in a student’s personality.

With due respect to the college management, I think that this classroom teaching of ethics is… ahem useless. It is baffling that a college can even think about something like classroom teaching of ethics and moral values. Ok so before taking the course you are unethical and after sixteen classes…tadaaa…you are morally right and ethical. So people enter like devils (ok fine the petty humans) and after 16 classes move out with a halo over their head. I wonder where is my halo (probably still in the process). And at the end of the course there will be an exam judging whose halo is better, bigger and brighter.

I’m not sure as to what exactly is the purpose of this course? To make students ethical or just for the heck of it. Well if it is the latter then I’m not complaining, but if it is for the former (which should be in ideal scenario), then I have issues.

I’m surprised that the management of the college is totally oblivious to what students feel about the course. Classroom teaching of ethics! We are no more in primary school so that we could be molded accordingly. If this could work then all the satans would turn out to be saints, or semi-saints/semi-satans (depending upon how you see the glass) by teaching them ethics.

I think there are three things that should be clearly understood, first, as we all know the definition of ethics is not the same for all, so no universal code of ethics is possible. Secondly, it’s not possible to change the moral build-up of any one at this age. The most that can be done is that make a less ethical person relatively more ethical. And thirdly, if this change is to be brought about then it can’t be done via classroom teaching. Instead students should be exposed to some social initiatives. As an alternative to teaching through books and power point, it is better to actually let the students witness the plight of the underprivileged. It might just revolve around the philanthropic aspect of ethics; still it will trigger the latent sensitivities of students. Again it will not bring about any drastic transformation, but I’m hopeful of a temporary alteration in their psyches.

There would be a percentage of people who would not be interested in this, but I have seen that most of the people would appreciate it (yeah contrary to the popular belief, the gen Y is not that insensitive), if not in the first instance, then maybe in the second and the third ones. Moreover it will anyways be much more effective than the present method being followed, so worth taking a chance. Of course all this is under the assumption that the purpose of teaching ethics is to make a person more ethical. Otherwise it’s just a matter of passing 16 x 1.45 hours.

THANK GOD FOR A POOR MEMORY

How many times have you cursed yourself for forgetting things? Many times I must say, ask me I happen to forget a lot of things and then its “oh damn! I forgot this, I forgot that.” And don’t even get me started about forgetting formulae and stuff in exams.  For the guys, ask them what happens after forgetting an important date? Oh they are gone…God save them from the ire of the ladies in their lives! So forgetting is a horrible..terrible thing, right?? I don’t think so…I thank my poor memory instead for its ability to forget.

I believe that forgetfulness is a blessing in disguise. I remember I had read somewhere (I forgot where) about R K Narayan saying the same thing. Forgetting is the very wise mechanism designed by nature to help us maintain our sanity, to recover from setbacks and for our betterment. Believe it people; a bad memory is definitely a good asset. Just because of the reason that a person has a bad memory he/she can let go of things and memories that might harm him/her.

A bad memory makes you resilient, you forget failures and begin afresh. If you are in the habit of remembering each and everything, God knows how many bad memories you will still hold on to. You won’t be able to forgive. Actually forgetting is the next best thing to forgiving.It helps in maintaining relationships bringing people closer.

Your bad memory works hard to distract you from the things that trouble you. Ever thought while you had a fight with one of your friend and had decided that now you won’t talk to him/her again, the next day he/she cracks a joke and you forget the quarrel and laugh, this forgetting habit helps breaking the ice. Consider the time when you are really sad about something, and then your cell beeps, you read it’s a funny message and you get that momentary distraction and smile. There are instances when you tried really hard but could not succeed, and fail, imagine what would have happened had you not forgotten those failures and moved ahead, I’ll tell you, you would have never succeeded. This is the power of forgetting takes you from failures to success and still you crib about bad memory. What else you want from it?

So next time don’t curse your poor memory that much, remember the times it saved your sanity.  Now don’t forget that. But of course there are some things that of course you should not forget, NEVER forget what the lady says is important, now that would be suicidal, nothing can save you from that and don't blame me I had warned you. Just forget the things that are painful and unnecessary. We must remember to forget. I really thank God for a bad memory, it has helped me so much thorough out my life.:)