Over Christmas, my granddaughter wheedled me into watching The Lego Movie—an aminated film released in 2014 that I had somehow missed. When asked why I should watch it, Catie said she liked its message: that an ordinary person could make a real difference in the world. She got my attention.
After a delightful romp through Legoland, with obligatory fight scenes with flying Legos, I realized that the movie was a new iteration of the old story of the conflict between order/structure and freedom/creativity. When the movie ended, I enticed Catie into an exchange about the challenge of resolving problems by creating teams that blend the best traits of those who know how to follow the rules with the imagination of those who bend them—the enduring stuff of conversations for those of us who teach ethics.
Now, I’m not quite ready to recommend The Lego Movie as an assignment for ethics classes (although having students compare the role and activities of the villainous Lord Business with our revered business titans might be fun). But the whole exercise caused me to think about one of the core challenges of teaching: finding fresh ways to engage our time-challenged tech-savvy students into discussions about how to effectively live and work with other human beings—the time-tested realm of ethics.
We know the questions haven’t changed. How do we choose goals that can both allow us to be the best expression of ourselves while creating work environments that allow other people to do the same? How do we balance competing ethical principles when we’re stressed or under pressure? How do we use our personal power wisely, so we don’t abuse or oppress others? How do we model ethical leadership in a rapidly-changing world?
One of the hardest tasks for a faculty member is enticing people into a thoughtful exploration of those perennial questions within a contemporary context and avoid having them toss half-thought ideas out as foregone conclusions. Movies and YouTube videos can provide rich conversation starters. However, using current media offerings as a wormhole into a deeper exchange requires skillful Socratic dialogue because students are used to viewing instances of popular culture only for their entertainment value. And in online or blended classes, engaging the deliberation is even more difficult.
But, the payoff is worth the effort; educators can inform world-views and change lives. And, as together we find ways to help our learners explore eternal dilemmas in a new light, we may even help them discover their own interior Emmet Brickowski—an ordinary Lego figurine who by believing he has been called to save his community courageously acts and makes a difference—against all odds.