Value education is a process in which people are assisted by others

Value education is a process in which people are assisted by others, who may be older, in a position of authority or are more experienced, to make explicit those values underlying their own behavior for their own and others’ long term well being and to reflect on and acquire other values and behavior which they recognize as being more effective for long term well being of self and others. The two main approaches to value education is 1) a societal, religious or cultural approach which transmits a set of values 2) a type of Socratic dialogue where people are brought to their own realization of what is ethical behavior and what is good for themselves and the society.
Shakespearean works are a kind of Socratic dialogue that gives young people an initiation into values, giving knowledge of the rules needed to function in society, grasp certain underlying principles and applying these rules intelligently in given situations. It can be personal values, moral values, spiritual values, and social and citizenship values. Themes that value education addresses to varying degrees are character, moral development, religious education, spiritual development, citizenship education, personal development, social development and cultural development (Taylor 107). All these are themes discussed in the plays of Shakespeare where he teaches us about love, honor, duty, filial piety, determination, patience, forgiveness. He teaches the audience about ambition, duty, greed, jealousy and sin. These are things that all of us face, and these are things that make us human. What more can value education texts teach us through theoretical preaching than can a Macbeth, Othello, Prospero or Mark Anthony in flesh and blood give the audience lessons on ethical living. Shakespeare texts are a great way to begin moral discussions with students. The ethical lessons embedded in the plots and characters of Shakespeare rings a bell in the mind of the audience without the clichés of moral preaching. Shakespeare’s texts are at par with The Aesop Fables and The Panchatantra Tales which provide learning experiences to the reader and act as a touchstone for applied ethics in life without tiresome theoretical reasoning.
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Ethics investigates the questions “what is good and what is bad?” and “what actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances?” Ethics seek to resolve questions of human morality, by defining such concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. It is defined as “a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures” (Paul 7).The term ethics is used interchangeably with ‘morality’ and ‘value education’. It is an inbuilt human capacity.