In CAS, doing service reflects ethical ideas on what we owe to others. With your own service activities in mind, exchange your thoughts with the rest of your classmates on the following questions. Remember to do the following: Answer the questions individually and then comment at least one of your classmates posts (you may comment more than once.)
- In your own service activities within CAS, have you ever encountered moral dilemmas? If so, how have you thought about them, resolved them or learned from them?
- Consider the following question taken from the IB CAS subject guide. They are questions asked by both CAS and TOK. Exchange ideas with classmates on what "ethical education" involves and what "obligation" means -especially as it comes not from outside yourself, but within.
- In what ways might CAS be said to promote ethical education?
- Is service to others, in whatever form, a moral obligation?
- If so, on what might the obligation be based? If not, why not?
Well, the group that I have for CAS, we are planning for next year to make a 5k marathon. For that we have to take a permission sending a card to the minister, but we have to do it now because it takes a lot of time to make one. We had been about one month and a half discussing who is going to go to the minister and send the card, etc. one day I was tired of this discussion that I just went to minister to give them the card, now we have to wait for the answer if they are going to give us the permission.
ReplyDeleteEthical education is universal, even though it may not always involve problematic theoretical debates; but should it include a dose of philosophy? There are many able reasons for looking to moral philosophy to learn about real world ethical action and of course, there are risks too. An obligation is when someone superior than you tell what to do and you have to do it because he/she is your boss.
The ways in which CAS be said to promote ethical education are that you learn more about what real life is, because you visit different places of poor people to help them and you see that it is different of what you have. Or when you are doing a big project, you can see that it is not easy to do it when you were thinking that it is; you need to have a base for the things that you are going to do to make them correct. In my opinion, for me giving service to others is not a moral obligation, because you do what you like to do. If you like to help people, do it, if not, don’t. People don’t have to force others to do things they don’t like to do, for example, I like to give service for others so if someone force me, I know that I will do it because and like and I want, but I know some friends won’t because they don’t like it or don’t want it.
Yes! I totally agree with you, especially on the part where you mentioned something about "you learn more about what real life is" by doing CAS, which is completely true. You get to see a very different way of living, and start to treasure everything you have. By helping these poor people, you meet a different reality, you see beyond the world you are used to live in and reflect that the previously mentioned world is not as good and easy for everybody. You mature as a person because of the unforgettable experiences you make by offering a little helping hand to others, and the happiness you see plastered on the faces is priceless. The best part of this is that you realise you don't actually need something in return of the actions you perform, the feeling you have after doing social work is enough to feel pleased and satisfied.
DeleteYes, ethical education is universal to every human action, but there are circumstances that test our ethical education. Just to give you two an example: copying someone else's idea even though the same idea may have occur to two people at the same time, is a very frequent example. Our actions are commanded by our morals. When it comes to serving others, very often we face the issue of whether our help is really helping the other, or only helping us. Have you ever thought about it?
DeleteUntil now I have never encountered moral dilemmas in the activities I am performing. But little time has passed since I started doing CAS and I still have a long way; I am sure that at some point I will be facing a moral dilemma. I will be in a position where I'll need to choose between two different actions, having reasons for choosing each one of them, but since it is only possible to do one of them, I will be facing a though decision. When this time comes I hope that I can make the right choice. One of CAS objective is to make students aware of their own abilities and strengths and when this time comes to my life, hopefully I will realize my ability to choose the right option.
ReplyDeleteEthical education involves what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, responsible or irresponsible, obligatory or permissible. Ethics has a broad definition and at the same time is complex to understand and on many cases it can be controversial. Despite this, it is a term everyone is familiarized to.
On the other hand, an obligation is an action a person is bound to do, it is a duty or a commitment.
CAS seeks that students learn to do things by themselves, realize what is happening in the world around them, to face and solve the problems they encounter, participate in activities with others, face new challenges, discover new abilities, etc. Along this process, students will be facing many decisions; some of them can have bad consequences just as they can have positive results. In these decisions it is important that ethical education is present so that students can be able to make the right choice to help in the project they are working at the time.
I think that service to others is a moral obligation, because for me it is something that I should be doing. I’ve got so many blessings in my life, I have all I need and I don’t lack anything. But there are so many people in the world that are not as lucky as I am, and if I can do something to help them, as little as it can be, I feel I should be doing it; so for me it is kind of an obligation but there are so many people that won’t agree with my way of thinking. I have always liked to help others because it gives me a feeling like no other. That in some way I am making a difference in somebody’s life. We all have that power, so why not use it?
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DeleteI agree with you on every word you said, especially when you mentioned that decision-making requires a lot of ethical education because people need to consider a lot of ethical aspects before taking a final decision as they need to make sure they are not harming anyone, destroying anything and acting in a fair way at the same time. So they need to follow a series of ethical "rules" to make the right choice.
DeleteI agree with you Claudia, it is just the start of our first year in this and we have a long way to go. CAS is as you said an activity of a lot of challenges, and we have to face it. As humans we make mistakes, but if we try to do our best and take the time to analyze and think of the problems that we might face along the long way that is still to come; we can make the wright decisions in order to help the other ones. Finally as time passed we grew up as persons and appreciate more what we have
DeleteI agree with uyou Claudia, we have a lot of CAS time left and we would be surely have moral dilemas in the future, and that we all could make all the right decisions, and that we all have a lot of blessings in our life, and we all have what we need and also we have things that we don't, and we should be thankful for that, and help the ones that do not have.
DeleteI definitely agree with you Claudia, as I said this CAS program has just started, so we haven’t faced a moral dilemma jet; but I’m sure we will really soon. Then, about the ethical education, it for sure help students realize what is right or wrong, fair or unfair; and this help each one of us to grow as a person. Finally helping other as a moral obligation, it is something that both of us agree; we have everything we want, why we can’t help the ones who really need?
DeleteDo not assume you have so much time girls, time flies by! In the blink of an I you only have one month left to finish CAS and you need to do a lot to pass the program. I don't mean to scare you here, really. One initial think you should consider is compromise. Do you see why? Normally, a lot of people get involved in many initiatives but very few carry them to the end. So compromise is one of our first moral dilemmas. Do you carry your compromises till the end?
DeleteI agree with you Claudia in the majority of the things, but as Rafaela said time fly! and in a blink of an eye the year is behind us. And is better to do 100 hours this year and the next, 6th grade 50 because we have more time this year and we have to do it with the best motivation ever and do such a great job! the. the ethical education that you mention i totally agree with that because people or students need to know what is good and bad and what is right and wrong.
Delete1. Yes, there are some moral dilemas not only in my own CAS activities but in every social work. For example, when it comes to providing a service, a lot of times we tend to help others with what we think is right without taking into account their opinions or real needs. This happens not because we don´t want to help but sometimes we pay more attention to our interests. Action can also include moral issues when the social worker just focuses on doing the least and works with a bad attitude. This happens because he or she might be working just because he has to and not because he wants to. Finally, some CAS activities (like mine) require the preparation of didactive material and during it´s preparation, a lot of resources are wasted and instead of trying to reuse and recycle, we spend so much money buying more and more supplies.
ReplyDelete2.1 CAS activities promote ethical education in so many ways as it involves a lot of aspects that lead students to develop a personal growth while solving real issues and supporting people around the project. When students start working on their projects, they are likely to change their behavior as well as their ideas because they realize a lot of things and here is when ethical education begins. As students are free to decide how they are going to make their project work, they really need to be able to make ethically valid decisions. They also have to learn how to relate politely, respectfully and peacefully to every kind of people from different cultures, countries or social class as well as trying to understand them. When it comes to relating to other people they need to use an ethical dialogue, when it comes to solving problems such as collecting money or donations from other people, ethical education is essential. Autonomy, refection, commitment and responsible participation are indispensable to develop a well done CAS activity and without ethical education none of these characteristics would be acquired by students.
2.2 Every human being has to forget about themselves just for a moment (at least) and get out of their little world and be capable of giving time and sharing with another being. This is what service is and therefore it needs to be seen as a moral obligation. Beyond this, service is also an essential element for our happiness because when we provide a service to others we end up feeling good with ourselves.
2.3 Even though I agree that it is a moral obligation, I’m not sure if “obligation” is the right word. Because that term sounds like service is something every person is pushed to do and it shouldn’t. People have to be capable of “putting themselves into other`s shoes” not because they are told to do so or just because they know they have the obligation. It should come from the inside of every person but it’s still necessary. It might sound contradictive but it is true, even though no one is obligated to help others, it is a common sense obligation to do so.
I agree with you on everything you said, especially in the part you wrote about that sometimes we pay more attention to our own interests when helping others rather to the other person’s opinion. I think that many times when we help others, we do it because we expect something in return, when in reality it should be because we just want to help someone.
DeleteI think the same way as you do that doing CAS activities produces and effect and change on student’s attitudes and perspectives. In my case, I have realized that I have abilities that I never knew I had and I have had to put them into practice while doing my projects.
I also think that “obligation” is not the right word, but I do believe that service to others is something that every human being is able to do and that is why they should do it.
I agree with your point of view on the issue if service is an obligation or not. There is nothing that will force anyone to help others, but is should be an inside force that drives us to do good. So, although its not considered an obligation "on the outside", it is "on the inside", or at least according to me. You cant see someone that is struggling with and issue, and knowing that you can help them simply decide not to do so. That's not human. Even if its not something big, everyone can do something even in a small way. It still must be done
DeleteI´m totally agree with you Sara, I liked how you said how service is a moral obligation, but at the same time it should´t be seen as an obligation; because the word "obligation" sounds like forcing someone into doing it and not doing it by your own will, and that isn´t a service anymore, it becomes into something fake that you are forced to do. But at the same time we all need to do something about the world we live in and we all should feel this need of helping others.
DeleteSo far, I have done little social work, nothing major. Since I'm just starting, I haven't actually faced a moral dilemma yet, but I'm one hundred percent sure I will more than once in the future. These kinds of complications are always present on situations like this, but the key to overcome them is to prioritize. We need to be aware of the fact that, unfortunately, we aren't able to split in two and solve more than one problem simultaneously. This is the reason why we need to stop and think what to do before we proceed to carry it out. Thinking about the consequences our decisions could bring along is very important when making choices about CAS activities, as well. If we analyze the two situations in the right way, I'm pretty sure we'll choose the correct alternative after all. We have to keep in mind that what is really significant is the perseverance in our acts. No matter what, we need to finish what we started and never give up, even if our initial goal seems impossible to reach.
ReplyDeleteEthical education involves many things. Actually is impossible to sum it up and put it into words because it’s very wide. It doesn't have an accurate meaning, because it is bounded to every person's view, everyone has a different perspective. It is about differentiate what is good from what is wrong, and this happens to be linked to us, human beings. It is something we have due to our nature. For me, obligation is an action a person must do for a determined reason, maybe as a gift of gratitude, or just because they feel responsible for something, without anyone pushing them to do so, meaning there is no external influence whatsoever.
In my opinion one of the most important aspects for CAS in the process of making decisions is ethical education. Knowing what is correct and what is wrong is crucial when offering your help to someone else. By doing social work, students are able to develop many skills, acquire more knowledge and learn different values with a diverse list of activities to do. It does promote ethical education, not only for the students who have the helping hand role, but for the people who are being helped, too. When going to the places or foundations we attempt to help, we can observe all the flaws and things those people lack of. We take a look and try to count every single thing we find damaged. We think of every possible way to fix it, and also, try to correct all the mistakes done by other people in the past so they won't happen again. If we're dealing with kids, we use our ethical education to teach them what is right and what is not. For example, sometimes we sense that they don't have manners, therefore, we try to pass on them the qualities we have been taught.
Service to others is a moral obligation indeed, and it should be based on giving everyone what they need and deserve, so we can make an equal society. Let's just stop for a minute and ask ourselves: what do we lack of? Maybe we'll think about superficial stuff, material things. Why? Because we have all the basic needs and even more. Now, let's picture all the things people from the lowest social class have. We don't have to think that much, because we could count them all with only one hand. These people hardly have a decent house to live in, if not, they might share a mattress to sleep in the streets. They barely eat, due to the fact that they don't have a job, hence, they can afford for enough food. They struggle to survive in a daily basis. So, why not offering them a little help? We need to stop thinking about ourselves and start worrying about what our neighbor needs. It costs nothing to be nice and give unconditional support to others. As IB students, we must feel obligated to make a change in the world, even if it's a small one. By helping people, we grow as persons, and as time passes by, we'll create a better place to live in.
I agree with you constanza, ethical education is something we can actually teach, is not hard to differentiate from good or bad, but as you said they are kids, and they are the future of the country and they need to know, they need people willing to take time for them and help them, they can’t do this alone, you can’t decide by yourself what is good and what is bad, you need the help of someone already experienced with this, or just your own parents that usually are the ones that teach you this since you are a baby, so CAS does promote ethical education, since we always end up helping others to recognize what is right and what is wrong.
DeleteI totally agree with you Constanza, I think most of the time we waste time thinking on what we might do instead of doing it. We are so lucky because we have everything and a way of thanking God could be helping and taking care of the other ones. The most important thing and the one I most agree with you is to don’t give up. In this case we should accomplish our goal as difficult as it could be for the benefit of others; but this in a future this would help us to learn to be persevering and steady, as well as accomplished
ReplyDeleteA moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions using moral requirements. Since we just have one moth and a half in school, and my CAS project is about making a marathon to help a organization call “Casa de la Vida” (which helps young mothers so they don’t abort) my group and I have to let the papers to the government so they accept the marathon, date and some specific requirements. Consequently, we could not continue with the project until the government answer, so I have not had a moral dilemma yet.
ReplyDeleteAn ethical obligation is something that someone had to do based on what is right and wrong. In the other hand CAS promote ethical education in many different ways. One of them is to solve problems that are round us, as teenagers we most of the time just think of what is happening around us; CAS help us to be aware of what is happening beyond our eyes, we learn what are the real problems of our society and at the same time we think how can we help in a right and ethical way. This project also help us to be more responsible, in my personal experience by trying to do the marathon I have to talk to managers of some companies so they can sponsors us to finance this. Consequently by taking this responsibilities I feel with the obligation of accomplish my goal that is to do the marathon next year.
It is a moral obligation because we are helping others and serving in a way, giving them what they need as humans. We have to apply all our values that we have learn at school and at home for all this years in order to accomplish the project. For example equality and humility; it is necessary to treat the people that we are going to help in a good way making them feel confortable and happy, also it is necessary to think if we were they; what would we like them to be like? In the other hand it is very important primarily to be respectful.
In every CAS activity some kind of moral dilemma can be found. Usually earning money to start up the project may end up being wrongfully done. Sometimes, instead of working for the resources some students may be carried away by laziness and just ask their parents for money. In this case they aren't really working for the better of their cause, they would just be paying for a charity. CAS involves action. Students must move to solve the problems that they face and they must find ways to do this. Another example when there can be a moral issue is while making decisions that can be contradictory or controversial. IB students must learn to make a correct decision in any situation. Personally i haven't faced a grave dilemma yet, but instead just small decisions that had to be though well.
ReplyDeleteEthical education is when students are taught to consider moral issues and points of view before taking action. It may involve the ecosystem, or a part of society, or just whats right and wrong. This is probably one of the most important things students must learn to lead a virtuous life. Of course, once they know what would be ethically right to do, they have an obligation to take that action for the good of others. It would be selfish not to do so. CAS helps students enter this section of education for themselves and develop as people. The S stands for SERVICE (that must be given to others who need it). Students must find a problem and think of possible solutions for it. This is service, when someone helps someone else that needs it. And because of this it involves ethical and moral aspects. By conducting their own CAS project students can experience this first hand and comprehend better what ethics are.
Once a student is aware of a problem, and has the ability to help in some way, then it should be done. The knowledge of right and wrong comes with responsibility and actions must be taken. Seeing someone in need should awaken a sense of compassion in each person. Although there is no physical law or rule that enforces this it is a individual obligation for each of us. There is no punishment for not doing so, but inside each of us, who are capable of helping, we should and must lend our service to others.
i agree with you nathalie, there is no punishment for not doing it so it totally depends on us, if we want to do this or not, if we want to help or not, the onloy ones that will know if we ever helped others is god and ourselves, so as you said, is not enforced, it should come from our own compasion and willingness and desire to do things for others.
DeleteNathalie yeah! complitly agree with you everything has to get out of ours hearts we are the one that made desitions on what to do and where we go to help others or what ever, but we are the only ones that cab make the change we want in the world
DeleteI think there will always be moral dilemmas in service activities, in this case in CAS. I do have encountered with some so far in the works I have done, for example, there are times when I want to help everyone and provide everything the people I am helping needs but we don´t realize that we can´t do that, that we need to do one thing at the time and with patience, but it use to happen that we want to finish with the work we are doing as soon as possible and we think doing it quicker will be better, but in fact in won´t and it is actually, the worst way to make things, quick and messy, instead of slowly and with patience and have excellent results. Or even sometimes we just do things without really thinking if that´s what they really need.
ReplyDeleteCAS is really important in an students life because it promotes ethical education in many ways, as helping them resolve real life problems and take important decisions from others that are going to change someone else´s life. It gives them a enormous responsability that will help them, in the process, to grow as people with the right ethics. I also believe CAS changes people visions towars the world and their behavior since they start to realize many things about the real world that they didn´t before. Moreover, CAS students start to learn how to treat other people that are not from their same social status with the same respect and politeness.
Service is a act of kindness towards others to help them in their needs and at the same time, it provides the ones who do it hapiness since it should be something we do it from our hearts. I don´t believe service is a moral obligation in the way that some people think it is obligatory to do it and it doesn.t born from their hearts, they just do it because of the social attention or because they feel forced to do so. But I do believe every single one of us has the obligation to help others how have less and need from our help; but it should come the heart to help, not because someone told you or is forcing you to do so.
Actually I think “obligation” is not the right word to describe this service, because it sounds like someone is forcing you to do so, and it shouldm´t be like that, because that is not the idea, the actual idea of the “obligation” is based in helping others that have, unfortunately less than you, with the will of providing them a better and happier life, and doing it by their own will, because it comes from their hearts to help others and they feel this obligation of doing something about the world that is sorrounding us, instead of just sit in your house and complain about it; the obligation in service consists of being the change you want to see in the world, not let the world change you.
Im totally agre with you Andrea that CAS should not be seen as a moral obligation, that "obligation" as you said, consists of making a change in the world and make others happy so why to call it like that? No one is forcing you to do anything so is more like something you want to do to help others and in that way you are improving as a human being. At the end day you feel satisfied with your job and you feel happy thinking of the smile of the people you helped.
DeleteI have being doing CAS for not a long time, so I do not have had the time yet to had a moral dilema, i have not being in were I should choose one decision of two or many, but I think we probably are not too far of having them, we have to do CAS for two year, and many things are going to happen, and I'm going to learn and solve them.
ReplyDeleteEthical Education its practically think before doing it, its to consider everything before taking an action. this is something that has a lot to do with CAS, because this is for trying new things, helping , having new experiences, that maybe the situation would need ethical education, because as an example is that they are having a problem in CAS, they would have to think very good and with positivity before acting, because what they want its solving all whats going on, insted of making it worth. Also i dont thik that service to others its a moral obligation, adn i like the idea of helping others, in group as, for example, every friday , we go to the asylum, a very big group, and all of us are very happy of for doing it, of seeing the smile of them when we are there.I think that everyone has an extra time that could be the best, for helping and serving others, and that if you can do it, why not? if you don't need anything more in life, why don't help the one that do need something.
ReplyDeleteIn my own service activities within CAS I have encountered moral dilemmas. In many activities some problems have arisen, for example by choosing what decision is more convenient for the people I´m helping. Also by facing a difficulty like the recollection of the money and the constant sacrifice because I have to get out of my “comfort zone”. By simply not knowing how to react in a situation because you have never faced it so you need to resolve it in order to continue the project. You need to consult your CAS group and search for a solution that will benefit everyone. Sometimes you chose what is “convenient” but in reality that never really helped for example you organize a candy fair in order to pay something for one of the projects but you realize the thing you paid for is not very important and relevant so it’s kind of a waste of money.
CAS promotes ethical education in a multiple ways. First of all CAS is a form of ethical education because we apply values (generosity, solidarity, punctuality) in the different activities we need to carry out. The experiences and lessons we learned from a CAS project we analyze them in a critical reflection that in a way is also an ethical one because we develop skills to evaluate and draw conclusions and change perspectives. CAS is an experiential learning and this can also relate to ethical education because it contributes to the development of certain skills such as autonomy, commitment, reflection, capacity of dialogue, responsible participation, etc. So it has a huge connection CAS and ethical education because they help students to not only do constant sacrifice but to grow as a person and improve every day.
CAS is a moral obligation but it should not be seen as this. To help, sacrifice and make others happy is not an obligation. Morally, human beings should help others and contribute to build a better society. We should see CAS as something we really like and enjoy doing, not just making something in order to complete the hours because the whole purpose of it will be damaged. We can call it more like a moral opportunity. Is an opportunity for students to improve in their service to others and to be better humans. Humans that care about the necessity of others and that search for solutions. So it should not be considered as a duty, but more as a chance to make others happy.
I strongly agree with you Maria Andrea! I think helping should not be seen as an obligation, rather it should be seen as a chance to enrich your heart and fill it with love in order to make other people happy
DeleteI completely agree with you, we should all stop seeing CAS just as a requirement for the IB diploma because it is much more than that, it is an opportunity to grow as a person as it forces us to get out from our comfort zones and as u said it is a chance to make others happy.
DeleteI agree with you! I think that in CAS you have to apply your values and also gain experience from it. While accomplishing the hours the IB diploma asks for, you should not only see it as a requirement of the program but also as something that will help you become a better person and that the decisions you take will change a lot of people’s life.
DeleteExactly!!!! totally Ma. Andrea everything that we do has to be a call of ojr heart to make a differnt in the world and do not hace to be an obligation!
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ReplyDeleteActually, till now, it’s all good, normally, for me, when you are doing cas activities, or when you choose one, you actually go for one that’s is morally correct, we as humans, when we are born, we usually have a moral when we decide what its right and what is wrong, and if cas is about helping other and making a change, we would usually go for one that is morally right since it’s in our nature
ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues and are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions, help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based. So after reading this I can say that ethical education is the way we are taught to do things based in this conditions and why should we do them while an obligation is something by which a person is bound or obliged to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc.
As I said before, when we pick a cas activity we always look for one that is morally right and that will be helpful to the society, cas is always promoting us to be selfless and think about the others, rather than ourselves, we already have as much as we could get, but there are people who are in need, and if we can make a change why not help? Also cas encourage us to think before we act and make the right decisions thinking on the consequences, in that way I think ethical education is being promoted.
Service to others can be a moral obligation, but it depends on the way you see it, a moral obligation is an obligation arising of considerations of right and wrong, or if you feel like you owe something to society, but sometimes it can be because you want to, because you know helping is good, and extra helping is never too much, if you ever fell like you owe this, in exchange of something that happened to you, then it Is an obligation, but it can always be your own choice.
I agree with you Daniela, I usually strike to causes I believe are good and that are ethical, I would never, for example, support a company that does animal testing. I mean, if CAS is about helping, why would I support something I consider morally incorrect?. I believe too that the, let's say, futuristic way of thinking of cas is benefitial for our ethical education, as we need to foresee the consequences of something in order to measure if its good or bad
DeleteFor my service activities in CAS I choose to go to an orphanage, and I haven’t had moral dilemmas. This are younger 18 kids and most of them get to these place in short ages, because they´re abandoned or their parents don’t want them. Most of these kids have really sad stories but still are happier than people that have more than what they have. When you go there you´re received with the most beautiful energy you will ever fell and these kids pass their good vibes making it a good place to be.
ReplyDeleteWith CAS you go to the action and get out of the bubble, you just don’t hear or read about it, you go live it and then make something about it. The result of this is that we become more humble and sensible to others situations, we stop judging and star understanding.
Yes it is. With great power comes a great responsibility, if we are lucky enough to have more than what we need we have the responsibility to help the ones whom not.
This obligation is based on our humanity; if we don’t do it we loose it. Most of the things we do in our lives is because of love, and with love comes charity. This is based on that we are all brothers and as a family we have to help each other.
I have been doing my CAS project since 2 months ago, and until now I have not faced a moral dilemma; but I'm very sure that at some point of this experience I will be in front of a situation in which I will have to take into account the priorities or what is really been needed, so in that way I can be capable of choosing what will really help me, and the people I'm serving, for their future. So this is an issue of prioritizing and organizing every step of the project, so it can end up successfully and it helps me grow as a person too.
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, CAS, clearly promotes ethical education, because of the fact that us, as students while facing any kind of situation, we must recognize what is right or wrong with the place or the people we are helping. Also in the moment of taking important decisions for the CAS project, we have to be very conscious of what we are going to do, or the consequences our decision will cause; all of these things make students build an ethical education because it makes easier to see what is good or bad in any kind of situation.
I think that helping others is something each person decides to do by their own volition, not because someone else is telling them, neither obligating. Serving others for me, yes is a moral obligation, because each person inside of them have a part that impulse them to help others if they are capable to do so. If you can give any kind of help to other, you must do it, without doubting; is something that born from each person’s heart and have to be shown to people who really need of your service.
i agree with you daniela , cas can be seen as ethical education because it makes us see the people 's issues from a different perspective to make us realize the real problems in the world and to have clear what is good and what is not, it makes us grow as a person and to try to be more humble .
Deletealso i agree that it's not a moral obligation to help others because when we help others it should be because we want to , because it makes us happy to make others happy
I totally agree with you Daniela, especially when you talk about if service is or not a moral obligation. I also believe that we are born with this thing inside us that make us want to learn a give what we have because no matter how much we have there is always something we can give to serve to others
Deletefirst of all i have never loved kids, but since my sister got pregnant i decided to challenge myself so i went to a daycare, and use it as my cas project. at first a dilemma i was having , was that kids might have diseases or that could affect me or that they behave unpropperly and i honestly can't handdle a bunch of kids screaming around me, but since i am going to be an aunt , i decided i should learn how to handdle them and tryto manage them . also to put their neccesities before mines because even though some times i don't want to do some things i know that i have to do them because it's what they need.
ReplyDeleteCas can be seen as an ethical education because you can learn to see people's issues from many different aspects, and also to find many solutions to this problems instead of conform yourself with one poor solution. the service to others may be and may not be a moral obligation. becuase yes it is an oblifation becuase to graduate you have to do service to other, but it also elps you to want to do it , because it makes you realize how your problems are not as difficult as you thought thy were, because while our problems are that our parents don't want to buy us something or let us go out to a party , or that your boyfriend broke up with you, that is just things that happen in life , wile other people are having problems like deathly diseases or not having a home, or propper cothes, or food. i don't think the servie to others is a moral obligation bcause you cannot force anyone to do this service, even though you have to do it so you can graduate, the service to others should be something that you do it because it makes you feel happy to make other people happy.
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ReplyDeleteLife is a chain of decisions. Decisions of choosing what is right or wrong, just and unjust, honest or dishonest. This englobes ethics, which are the transversal axis that control a big part of our life. I know one day during my CAS activities I’ll have to solve a moral dilemma, something that will challenge my, what I thought, was a solid judgement about ethics, but as for now, I have not encountered a situation like this, but as I said aforementioned, I will, I know that for a fact. There was though, a few months ago, a situation in which I had to make a complicated decision in a social work activity (the year before CAS started). It may be “silly” for you but when it comes to ethics: what is silly in making a decision to determine the goodness of an action?. Anyway, every Christmas I go to a school for special kids and this one lovely girl which had stayed with me the whole time asked me if I was going to come see her again. I knew I couldn’t, the school doesn’t allow easily people to just go any time, but she was so excited, the cutest little smile on her face. I couldn’t tell her “No, I won’t” but I wasn’t about to lie to her and afterwards disappoint her, which for me is the biggest crime you can do to a kid. So I had to take the decision, which I’m going to leave open, not because I fear you will judge me, because who are you to do that? But because I am curious of what would you do in this case and I don’t want my answer to influence yours.
ReplyDeleteEthical education involves understanding, knowing and learning the concepts of right and wrong conduct, so in particular situations you know what actions or decisions are right or wrong. It answers questions like was is a vice or virtue, just or unjust, mainly it helps to solve moral dilemmas or at least, making the solution easier to make. Obligation equals commitment. Something that a person is bound to do by which a person is bound or obliged to, which subsequently turns into duty.
CAS promotes ethical education because this activity is very personal, you have to plan, act, take decisions and so on by yourself, and in order to do the aforementioned and make your activity successful you need to know what is right, so you can assure you are helping others and yourself as it has to be, you do not want to make an unjust or dishonest decision to a poor school for instance, do you?.
For some people CAS, is not a moral obligation because despite that doing what is right is not a luxury, or something essentially hard, many individuals decide not to do it, because since they are free, they can do what they feel like doing, despite breaking ethics, enforced by the idea that people is bound to do what they feel like doing. But I believe helping others should be something innate from human beings, something you should feel called to do. In comparison to others we have so much, just knowledge is already power to do something, power to teach, for instance. You cannot ignore what is right. It is somehow our duty to help those in needs, it’s a decision we have to take, to help or not. Obligation as being anchored to do something may be strong. I believe simple commitment and the power of will is enough
1. So far I havent faced any moral dilemmas while working on my CAS projects and thats probabbly because Im just starting with it and I haven't done any major activity jet but I think that once I start working on bigger programs Im going to be faced with many hard choices which Im going to make and with the help of my group and in my opinion this practice will help us distinguish priorities and also teach us the importance and effects of a decision.
ReplyDelete2. CAS promotes ethical education because it allows the student to help solve problems in the society in which he or she is concern with, it is a personal work that depends on the personality of the students and their perspectives.
I think that service to others can be seen as a moral obligation if we see it as a way of showing our thankfulness for all we've got, or as a way of feeling good with ourselves but it all depends on the way in which we've been brought up because a person might do social work just out of the goodness of his or her heart, not just because they feel the need giving back anything to society.
Since school started, i havent done too much of activities but i learned a lot from them. I started going to " Asilo San José" on saturdays and it was in a way a sacrifice because it was just at lunch time were we always gather with my family so i couldnt assist to the family meeting. At the beggining i was upset , but there was were i realized how important CAS was and how it promotes ethical education for students. It help students to become a better person and to grow in morals. But more important CAS helps you to think for the others and not just for yourself. By this project i realized that going was the right choice because we can never waste an opportunity of helping others.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is a moral obligation to every human being of helping and serving those we need because we have a privilege life so each of us should be thankfull for that and should help others to have a better life. We need to serve to those who need the most and maybe One they they will serve us because that is our moral obligation. Nobody forces nobody to help but yourself, that is why is moral to me.
I think that CAS is the best thing for us to have during school because it could only be for us to graduate but it makes us learn how to be creative, active and socially helpful with people that need us, i may not have encountered moral dilemas but i can learned from what i've saw that we can be help the one's that need us.
ReplyDeleteEthical education can show us what is wrong and what is right and Creativity, Action and Social makes us understand this better because without this we cannot know if what are we doing is right or wrong so this promote us that by doing CAS can help us to be not wrong but right so we do better to the world, people may said that we learn by doing mistakes but for helping people we have to be right for them to be better for their rest of their life's and bring them happiness
Social should be a moral obligation for everyone because some people can have it all, travel, shop, eat three meals at day but some people don't even have a house, can't maintain their children's eat one time at day and that's our obligation to bring some happiness in their life's because it isn't that hard to us to help the get a better life, so we can sell food or collect clothe and sell it or donate to them what they need.
This obligation is based on us that we are mentally prepared to help people who really need us and not because we must and want to graduate school but beyond for instance if we go through a village and see children without clothes, without home, without parents and have no money to eat or a family that nothing is our duty to help ? yes because we want our world to get better and we came to this healthy world and with many blessings and we can share it with others.
Until today, in my CAS activities I have not experienced a big dilemma. Sometimes I feel like I have too much work or that I will not accomplish everything that I have proposed but then I try to concentrate and not to stress, and everything goes perfect, as it should be. In terms of ethical education CAS has a lot to do with that, you have to choose between doing what is wrong or right, what is the best to do according to the needs of each person or anything you are helping.
ReplyDeleteI think that depending on your beliefs, culture and values helping others might be a moral obligation. In my case I feel like I have had the opportunity to have all the things I have for example food, house, education, etc. and I think that I should be helping the people that do not have this privilege. But still, there are people that think that people have what they earn and think that they do not need to help others.
1.- well i havent faced any moral dilemmas, because im going to start my project the next week , but i can said that while im doing CAS i think that i would learn a lot of things, learn to make hard choices and learn the results of our actions and also differ what are the good things from the wrong things what can be the best according to the needs of every single person that you are helping
ReplyDelete2.- CAS is a ethical education because show us what are the good things and the bad ones, also help us the students to solve the problems that we have, depending of each point of view or opinion of every single person because is more a personal work.
i think that is the decision of each person if they help the others or not,but my perspective is that service to others can be a moral obligation if we see it as a way of showing our gratefulness for all we've got. but a person might do social work just out of the goodness of their heart, not because they feel, that the need giving back anything to society.
CAS, Creativity; Activity; Service. The heart of the IB program
ReplyDeleteMy CAS project is to build a Preeschool, with 8 girls, we are very organized so we do not have faced yet any moral dilemma but everything we do is a new memory that makes pur heart grow, everything is a goal. We plan everything very well and learn something everyday. Also we help the kids what is right and wrong that is call ethical education and it help others to make better decitions and be better every day. Everything is a new thing and a new challenge and a anecdot to our heart and it depends on people if they want to make a change in their soul and that is call moral education, something that call us to make a change or be someone to change the life of others that do not have the same opportunities that we have.
I think your CAS project is very interesting and has high standards. To build a preschool isn't an easy task. As you said, the students will be very benefited by receiving education, not only on regular subjects but moral education as well. I think that through this process not only they will learn, but you along with all the other participants of the project will grow internally. Socializing and getting to know these kids and their families may open your eyes to many things you probably didn't know. I consider that that is one of the best ways to acquire ethical education: through experiences.
DeleteI recently found out that practicing ballet is a CAS experience, or if the dancer would perform on stage, a CAS Project. I’ve practiced said art for 8 years, so yes, I have in fact encountered moral dilemmas. Throughout all those years of practice I can think of many: when working abroad with people of different backgrounds and cultures, when doubting if I should keep going, when I wondered if I should stay longer for practice or just leave rehearsal… among many other situations. These decisions, which can seem tiny or huge at the moment, are the ones who will shape you as a person. Having to choose something and to adopt an attitude towards these issues gave me discipline, confidence, and bigger perspective on a personal plan. What I thank ballet the most is that living these experiences has taught me how to react to them, and I also adopted the mindset that they do not happen only in the practice of this art, on the contrary, I will keep encountering similar situations throughout my life.
ReplyDeleteAn ethical education involves a person having a theory or a system of moral values. To be more exact, it is the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it; a moral philosophy. It is through this that a person is able to feel an “internal obligation” towards doing something or acting some kind of way. When having an ethical education, you establish in your mind what is wrong or right, and it works as if you developed a voice of conscience. So, when encountering a situation that puts you in a moral dilemma, sometimes you react to it according to what feels correct or incorrect to you, internally. It is most likely that your answer will vary from other people’s since there is a wide range of moral values. In life, you will encounter people with a different mindset, who have formed their values in the same way that you had: through experiences and education. They just may have a different set of results.
If you haven’t yet experienced a moral dilemma in a CAS Project, you will pretty soon. It is part of the experience, to respond to unexpected situations in which you’ll follow your instinct (internal obligation). Therefore, you are shaping and acquiring ethical education. Whichever service you choose to do, it is not necessarily an external obligation. Personally, it is necessary for me to do it. I see it as a way of thanking or paying back all the blessings that we’ve received. I consider that I live in conditions that make me a lucky or really blessed person, however you want to see it. I was able to be educated, I have a loving and caring family, I have health, and I have the opportunity to study university. I find CAS activities really satisfying, since it makes me feel like I’m contributing and sort of thanking to the world.