FAMILY RATED NUMBER 1 FOR LEARNING LIFE?S VALUES

75% of those who responded to our web question, ?Where?s the best place for young people to acquire their values for life?? say it?s the family; 14%, school; a little over 5%, friends; and 4½%, the mass media.

Looking at these numbers, several points spring to mind:

– Family ties are those that most determine a person?s growth and development. So, notwithstanding crises that may arise, we need to be aware of the significance of these ties. Favoring the quality and strength of the family redounds to the benefit of the young.

– A school complements and enhances the family?s efforts if it educates in accordance with their values. Parents are the ones who choose the school for their sons and daughters, whenever possible deciding on one whose program is most to their liking. Working together is a way to achieve excellence.
– It?s somewhat surprising that friends and the mass media ranked so low in our poll, considering that often enough people tend to believe that they wield a great deal of influence in the lives of the young. It may be that we give these categories more credit than they deserve, or that their influence is so subtle that it escapes our notice.
– We can only isolate these four areas – family, school, friends, and mass media ? in the realm of theory, since they all interact in our lives in so many ways.
Each visitor ? we?re up to well over 400 hits on our site every day ? is free to draw his or her own conclusions. What?s certain is that the education of young people, whether in school or other areas, must always bear in mind that many elements come into play: family, friends, the means for social communications?

We have a new question. Let us know what you think.