Free Will?

I’m teaching Paradise Lost to Regular seniors and in addition to suicide, it has me thinking a lot about free will. I find it particularly interesting that I’m having my students read an article about the science of free will and that many scientists have concluded that the notion of free will (as we understand it) doesn’t really exist. Of course this controversial news brings with it an overwhelming fear of how we then hold people personally and morally responsible for their actions? I, of course, feel the need to turn this question inward, and apply it to education. I would rebut, “Well when did we ever teach the notion free will to our students? More over, when have we asked them to exercise it?” I have come to a bit of a conclusion school almost works an antithesis to free will, in that we demand work from our students without choice and we do not hold are students fully accountable for their actions. We instead give assignments, and sometimes successfully force our students to achieve high marks on said assignments, but we never really prepare them for life’s harder decision or test their moral understanding. Aren’t we in some way responsible for making sure that our students become well-rounded, “moral” (to some extent—God knows most don’t consider me moral) adults? And if we are not doing this or focusing on teaching free will, who really cares if free will even exists in any capacity?