The elementary classroom is the locus of vigorous debate about how schools should foster the development of civic virtue, which the Founders believed was essential to sustain a democratic republic. Two general approaches to moral development are vying for support. One focuses on forming moral habits; the other, on developing moral reasoning. The article describes each approach and summarizes the critiques of its opponents. The author recommends the use of both approaches in elementary schools, with an early emphasis on habit formation and a gradual increase in attention to moral reasoning.
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