...something  to  ponder...
                                       the  priceless value of  values...

Children today have a more difficult time deciphering right from wrong than their ancestors did. Parents used to be able to shield their children from the ills of society. However, modern media constantly bombards the public, including children, with visions of wars, murders, immorality, witchcraft, and other wickedness. Worldly values pervade television programming, movie production, and internet services. Depravity leaps out from the covers of magazines near the checkout isles in stores and hides itself between the covers of award-winning books (even some which received awards for best children's literature). In today's technological, mobile society, the ability to totally shut out the world's corruptness, even in the most carefully controlled home, is virtually non-existent.

Well,  we  live in a nation today where young men and women are exposed to a great amount of data and as a result are maturing at a much earlier age. The time has passed when it can be validly argued that the young must be shielded. Instead, they must be provided with an adequate educational base from which to confront a world that abounds with devastating crises. 

In other words, in order to become an effective decision-maker as an adult, a child needs to be taught the basic tenets of a strong set of values. Values are the standard, or the scale, upon which decisions are weighed. Values, principles of behavior, are the signposts which guide and direct actions. The Holy Quran speaks of "righteousness" (good values) and "wickedness" (bad values). A good education must include the modeling and teaching of "righteousness" -- morally-right values built on a firm foundation.

For the first five years of a child's life, the parents are the teachers. Our Nation was built on a foundation of sound moral principles. Parents should teach their children by word and deed to understand and live out the moral values that we hold, such as honesty, accepting responsibility for our actions, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Obviously, although values education begins in the home, it cannot end there. The topic must also be addressed in school classrooms. Children between the ages of 5 and 18 spend approximately 30-35 hours a week in a classroom. That amounts to approximately 1200 hours a year spent under the influence of professional teachers, not parents. Therefore, classroom teachers must also share in the responsibility of teaching right from wrong.

This raises a number of questions. Since "values" generally have a religious base, is it legal today to provide values education in a public school classroom? If so, may values education in a public school classroom include presentation of distinctly religious principles? How active a role may a religious teacher in a public school classroom play toward instilling godly values in Malaysian youth?

p/s...it's high time  we Malaysians need to collectively work out our roles as a member of the society who possessed commendable values...