The first part is concerned with what is right, good, and fair in a particular situation. The second part refers to possessing the ability or courage to respond in ways that agree with one's beliefs about goodness, fairness, and ideas of correct behavior. Thirty percent of all births are to unwed mothers. Apparently, someone, namely parents for the most part, are failing to meet their responsibilities. Therefore, if America is to remain a world leader, schools must take it upon themselves to produce a nation with a strong sense of values and moral conscience.
Values are an individual's stabilizing factors in a world where the only certainty is change.
It is often helpful to reflect upon the past in order to gain insight about the future, to see similarities between the past and future, and to avoid repetition of the same mistakes. This view is consistent with America's view of education from its beginning. This was considered the responsibility of the family. The primary goal was to create a literate society that was able to read the Bible, other religious materials, and proclamations of laws. The uses of moral teachings based on a biblical perspective is evidenced in the popular text The New England Primer which contained religious catechism from which a child was instructed to memorize and recite.