Problem
Lesson: how is moral character developed
Here is a moral dilemma. Read the story and answer correctly the questions provided.
Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to go to camp, and a little more besides. However, just before camp was going to start, his father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Joe's father was short of the money it would cost. Therefore, he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe did not want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.
A. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money? Why or why not?
B. Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money? Why or why not?
C. Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son? Why or why not?
D. Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation? Justify your answer.
E. The father promised Joe he could go to camp if he earned the money. Is the fact that the father promised the most important thing in the situation? Why or why not?
F. In general, why should a promise kept?
G. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you do not know well and probably will not see again? Justify your answer.
H. What do you think is the most important thing a father should be concerned about in his relationship to his son?
I. In general, what should be the authority of a father over his son?
J. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship to his father?
K. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Joe to do in this situation? Why?