The Case for Teaching Values in Our Schools
Out of the blue—I got a text message from a friend who is an author. Kary told me that the intellectual property from a few of his books had been “hijacked,” stolen and used in a companion resource that was now being sold on Amazon. It was the work of artificial intelligence. Just as I was empathizing with him, he dropped a bomb on me: “I just noticed the same thing happened to two of your books.” Sure enough, I looked up my new book on Amazon, and underneath was a workbook that sold for $14.99, built off the content from my book. The author’s name was listed as: Decoda Manual. (Get it? Decode-A-Manual?)
More and more, people now see the consequences of a world with AI but without ethics. Kary revealed to me that a company called Anthropic was the culprit on our books. The New York Times reported that this AI company, Anthropic, had agreed to pay a $1.5 billion settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by authors and publishers over the unauthorized use of their pirated books. This agreement is reportedly the largest copyright settlement in U.S. history. Sadly, when I spoke to my attorney about it, he replied: “Good luck getting any payout from this.”
The fact that an attorney wasn’t hopeful about being paid for losses tells me our laws have not kept up with our technology. Author Kevin Kelly wrote, “Our smart technology advances so quickly, it outpaces our ability to civilize it.”
Holding Onto a Thread of Morality
My first thought was—why would Anthropic even need a “law” to tell them that stealing content was wrong? Then I realized the answer. Because we’ve moved into a day where we live by the lowest common denominator. We need litigation to enforce proper behavior. In February 2026, Mrinank Sharma resigned from his leadership role at Anthropic. He had led its Safeguards Research Team, which is responsible for ensuring Anthropic AI cannot be used to help engineer a biological weapon. Sharma’s final project was a study on how AI systems distort the way people perceive reality. It’s a sobering treatment of our dilemma. He resigned because he could not stay at a place like Anthropic. He closed his report by quoting a poem that said, “You don’t ever let go of the thread.”
The thread is morality. We must possess a moral thread that’s woven into our decisions.
Sharma wrote that mankind is approaching a threshold where “our wisdom must grow in equal measure to our capacity to affect the world, lest we face the consequences.” Journalist Kay Rubacek writes, “Many experts have compared the development of AI to the development of the atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project was built in total secrecy. The public had no knowledge of it…when it was over, some of the scientists who built it spent the rest of their lives in anguish. Several walked away during the project itself.” Why? Our capacity had expanded beyond our character. Our morals and ethics hadn’t kept up. Just because we could build that bomb, didn’t mean we should build that bomb.
When our nation began, George Washington warned that liberty cannot survive the loss of shared moral principles. John Adams wrote that the Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people and that it is wholly inadequate for any other. “The Founders studied the collapse of republics throughout history and arrived at the same conclusion. The machinery of freedom requires a moral people to sustain it,” says Rubacek.
I wonder, however, if our moral fabric now has holes in it.
The Intelligence Age
Since the dawn of human history, we’ve experienced distinct stages, where life looked differently for people. In our day, we have moved from past realities into the age of artificial intelligence, where technology knows more than any person or nation does. (I call it the Intelligence Age.) Inspired by Steve Forbes, I created a diagram of these eras:
The Historical Era: |
What’s Essential to Flourish: |
|---|---|
1. Agricultural Age (Millenniums ago) |
1. Strong muscles. |
2. Industrial Age (Centuries ago) |
2. Strong machines. |
3. Information Age (Decades ago) |
3. Strong minds. |
4. Intelligence Age (Today) |
4. Strong morals. |
The Historical Era:
1. Agricultural Age (Millenniums ago)
2. Industrial Age (Centuries ago)
3. Information Age (Decades ago)
4. Intelligence Age (Today)
What’s Essential to Flourish:
1. Strong muscles.
2. Strong machines.
3. Strong minds.
4. Strong morals.
Thousands of years ago, those who succeeded were physically strong and could survive the elements working outdoors. Later, we became more efficient by building machines that accelerated productivity. In the 20thcentury, we entered the Information Age, where we used our minds on computers, the Internet and smart technology. Today, however, we’re in a day we may not be ready for, as it affords us the ability to do things for which we have no laws. We need shared ethics, morals and values. Sadly, those are up for debate.
Our Students Need Us to Teach Values
A meta-analysis of schools over the last 20 years reveals an interesting fact. Today’s schools have fewer students, but more staff on campus. This seems strange. Why would managing less kids require more staff members? At the risk of oversimplifying, I suggest that maybe today’s students need more adults to manage them. Kids are less obedient and respectful. That’s not a criticism, it’s a fact.
Over the years, parents wanted their kids to be their own person, so parenting styles swung to an extreme. Jonathan Rothwell, from the Gallup organization, sheds light on this issue: “As the 21st century unfolded, parents increasingly came to value autonomy over obedience in their children...Data from the General Social Survey show that the percentage of U.S. parents selecting ‘to obey’ as one of the two most important things for children to learn fell from 40% in 1986 to 18% in 2024.” Consider what it feels like to be an educator, as kids come to class valuing autonomy (individual freedom), more than obedience to teachers. Classroom management becomes increasingly difficult. Today, the U.S. faces a teacher shortage like we’ve not seen before. Millions have quit in the last decade due to student disrespect. In July of 2023, the organization “We Are Teachers” published an article listing 18 alarming statistics on the state of education. Here are ones that stood out to me:
55% of teachers plan to leave the profession soon; 35% in the next two years.
80% say that taking on more work due to unfilled openings is a primary concern.
62% say their district is lacking in student discipline.
94% want more student health and behavioral support.
84% wish there were more counselors and psychologists.
What we’ve discovered of late is: more rules and laws don’t solve the problem–not on a school campus and not in our country. The fact that Congress passes stacks of laws each year whispers something to us that we’re not hearing: the less people live by a moral compass, the more you need laws to keep people in line. We depend on external laws when we have no internal compass. We assume that legislation will save us.
But it rarely does.
Shaping the Heart vs. Enforcing the Rules
Consider what elements influence our behavior in society:
Laws: a structured framework for behavior in a particular region that influences society. People collectively obey them as citizens. They’re about cooperation more than morals.
Ethics: a set of principles that guide behavior beyond legal obligations. They are built on individualistic beliefs and our internal conscience. An act can be legal, but still unethical.
Morals: a deeper set of convictions that may stand in contrast with the law. These are heartfelt and personal, yet not everyone has them. They can lead to civil disobedience.
Values: a practical list of beliefs (created from our ethics and morals) that guide our choices and lifestyle, like a compass in new territory. They work anywhere and at any time. They’re standards of conduct that make laws less necessary. When people don’t possess values, they require more laws to guide them and give them boundaries. When people possess values, law enforcement is less active in daily life. Laws depend on location. Ethics depend on the historical setting. Morals and values are universal and timeless.
My research on more than 2,000 members of Generation Z, and later on 21 focus groups across the country, revealed something interesting to me:
Gen Z, by and large, is not immoral. Many view injustice with disdain.
Gen Z, by and large, is not moral. Many vacillate on what’s right or wrong.
Gen Z, by and large, is amoral. They’re pragmatic and do what works for them.
This should drive us to teach values to our students today. They need a moral compass, one that can guide them into the Intelligence Age. Life without core values is like a paper bag sitting on a picnic table. On a windy day, that bag will blow away quickly. Filled with sand, however, that bag will stand sturdy even in the wind. I’d say the winds are blowing right now on today’s kids—and we need to fill them with some values to help them stand.
FAQ
Why should schools teach values?
Schools help shape future citizens, and teaching values can help students develop responsibility, integrity, empathy, and ethical decision-making skills.
Why do values matter in the age of AI?
As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, ethical decision-making becomes increasingly important because technology can outpace moral development.
What is the difference between morals, ethics, laws, and values?
Laws govern behavior externally, ethics guide professional conduct, morals reflect personal convictions, and values shape daily choices and long-term behavior.
Can artificial intelligence operate without ethics?
AI systems can function technically without ethics, but without ethical oversight they can create harmful outcomes including misinformation, exploitation, and copyright abuse.
Why are teachers leaving education?
Many educators report burnout caused by student behavior challenges, staffing shortages, increasing workloads, and classroom management difficulties.
What does Generation Z believe about morality?
Research suggests many Gen Z students strongly value justice and fairness but may struggle with consistent moral frameworks or shared ethical standards.
How do values impact student behavior?
Students with strong values often demonstrate better self-control, respect, responsibility, and resilience in challenging situations.
Why is character education important?
Character education helps students develop internal principles that guide behavior even when rules or supervision are absent.
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