A Moral Education or Amoral Education?

Jamie and I are currently in one of the most important steps of our baseline data collection process: observing teachers and classrooms to evaluate the quality of teaching.  Each teacher is being observed twice, as randomly as possible.  Yesterday, we were observing Religious and Moral Education (called RME) in JHS 2 (equivalent to 7/8^th grade). 

Now, RME is a very interesting subject.  Given its name, one might think that it involves discussions of different religious and moral codes.   Not so much.  I think a more appropriate name for this course would be “Ghanaian Traditional Culture,” because students learn about the different codes of behavior and expectations of the various tribes in Ghana.

Below is a sample of the notes that the students took on the day’s subject:  Acestors.

Qualifications:

1. Must be dead and have entered the spirit world. 
2. Must not have died from the following diseases:
1. Leprosy
2. Epilepsy
3. Must not have committed suicide.
4. Good to have died as a war hero.
5. Must have lived to a ripe old age (according to class consensus, that means 70)
6. Must have married and have had children.

Importance:

1. Ancestors are a link between the living and spirit worlds.
2. Ancestors set good examples for the living.
3. Ancestors are unseen guests at family gatherings.
4. Ancestors are called upon to settle family disputes.

What I found most compelling from this class was not the emphasis on the spirit world, or the fact that leprosy/epilepsy/suicide were dealbreakers.  It was instead the fact that these students were effectively learning about their own culture in a class.

I usually think of culture as something that an individual experiences throughout his or her life, a collection of traditions, beliefs, and thought systems that are acquired with time.  It’s not something that one can learn in a classroom. Or is it? Maybe I’m wrong, and reaffirming culture in school helps to preserve it in the face of a changing society.  Either way, it raises the question:  how does traditional Ghanaian culture fit in with the modern lifestyles of Ghanaian youth?

It’s really a doozie of a question. There isn’t one answer – even among the teachers and students here, there is great variation among how much people adhere to traditional values, and which values are prioritized.  Some things are pretty standard: greeting is very important, deference to elders as well.  In fact, students and children as a whole don’t get a lot of respect.  It makes me wonder, if education is empowerment, and tradition dictates that children remain powerless, is my work to further quality education actually working to suppress Ghanaian culture?