The Moral Intelligence of Children

How to Raise a Moral Child

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Paperback
$17.00 US
On sale Jan 01, 1998 | 240 Pages | 978-0-452-27937-7
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The question is more relevant now than ever before: what makes someone a moral person?

Child psychiatrist and Harvard professor Robert Coles has dedicated much of his life to exemplifying, teaching, and writing about the moral life. Here, Coles illuminates the ways in which children become moral or not so moral adults, drawing on case studies, talks with parents, visits to nurseries and classrooms, and interviews with children. No subject could be more important and more timely—for all Americans, but especially for parents. In the tradition of such bestsellers as Cultural Literacy and Emotional Intelligence, The Moral Intelligence of Children identifies a new type of intelligence essential for success and fulfillment in life. It will be used by parents and teachers for years to come as the authoritative guide to children's moral development.
Preface

I. Moral Intelligence
1. The Moral Imagination: Witnesses
2. The Good Person
3. A Not-so-Good Person: Moral Undertow
4. Moral Crossroads - Bad Behavior, Bad "Witnesses"

II. The Moral Archaeology of Childhood
1. The Early Years
2. The Elementary School Years: The Age of Conscience
3. Adolescence

III. Letter to Parents and Teachers

Appendix
Index

Robert Coles is a professor emeritus of psychiatry and medical humanities at the Harvard Medical School and a former research psychiatrist for the Harvard University Health Services. His many books include the Pulitzer Prize–winning five-volume Children of Crisis, as well as the bestselling The Moral Intelligence of ChildrenThe Spiritual Intelligence of Children, and Bruce Springsteen’s America. He lives in Massachusetts. View titles by Robert Coles

About

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The question is more relevant now than ever before: what makes someone a moral person?

Child psychiatrist and Harvard professor Robert Coles has dedicated much of his life to exemplifying, teaching, and writing about the moral life. Here, Coles illuminates the ways in which children become moral or not so moral adults, drawing on case studies, talks with parents, visits to nurseries and classrooms, and interviews with children. No subject could be more important and more timely—for all Americans, but especially for parents. In the tradition of such bestsellers as Cultural Literacy and Emotional Intelligence, The Moral Intelligence of Children identifies a new type of intelligence essential for success and fulfillment in life. It will be used by parents and teachers for years to come as the authoritative guide to children's moral development.

Table of Contents

Preface

I. Moral Intelligence
1. The Moral Imagination: Witnesses
2. The Good Person
3. A Not-so-Good Person: Moral Undertow
4. Moral Crossroads - Bad Behavior, Bad "Witnesses"

II. The Moral Archaeology of Childhood
1. The Early Years
2. The Elementary School Years: The Age of Conscience
3. Adolescence

III. Letter to Parents and Teachers

Appendix
Index

Author

Robert Coles is a professor emeritus of psychiatry and medical humanities at the Harvard Medical School and a former research psychiatrist for the Harvard University Health Services. His many books include the Pulitzer Prize–winning five-volume Children of Crisis, as well as the bestselling The Moral Intelligence of ChildrenThe Spiritual Intelligence of Children, and Bruce Springsteen’s America. He lives in Massachusetts. View titles by Robert Coles