Ethics Education

The purpose of my ethics musings is to have a happy, peaceful civilization on a healthy, hospitable earth and to pass these to our descendants. Both our civilization and our earth depend on the quality and quantity of my generation's ethics. Our record is abysmal, so we have plenty of data on what doesn't work.
Historically and to this day, we have depended on religions to inculcate ethical ideas, and we have depended on law and its enforcement to contain the failures. All well established religions have some form of the golden rule, which would be enough if fully embraced and broadly interpreted. Unfortunately, most people (me included) are attracted to religions that are encumbered by scientifically untenable cosmologies that offend most intellectuals. Also, many of those religions cultivate tribal attitudes that interfere with universal extension of concern and ethical action. It is somewhat encouraging that our schools now have programs to teach "character", and that presumably includes caring about others.
How are people persuaded to learn habits of goodwill, fairness, honesty, caring, responsibility, kindness, modesty, etc, that make for a happy, peaceful civilization? Most of these properties are internalized or not at an early age from family dynamics. Appropriate praise or scorn, celebration or disgrace, compensation or dismissal, reward or punishment, etc for exposed actions seem useful. (Honor societies are big on control and punishment and don't appeal to me.) Family ceremonies (eg regular dinners) provide opportunities to convey values of all kinds. Setting ethical examples is useful, but may need to be articulated as well as demonstrated. Jesus taught ethics by example and in parables, whereas Martin Luther King Jr appealed to our sense of justice in ways we couldn't ignore or gainsay. Both of these prophets changed hearts. Our popular culture contains numerous parables and examples of both positive and negative ethical value. This is my faith: If ones heart is right, ones choices will be right.
Policy makers should consider how much unhappy experience is good for a society. How much anxiety is needed to encourage hard work and responsibility? Should health care be such a big source of anxiety? How much taxation and sacrifice of time should be demanded of the citizens in support of the society? Shouldn't there be a contract between a society and those receiving public support, such as to limit the demands on the society?
I don't have firm positions on ethics-education content and methods, but hope these conjectures will stimulate wiser people to think about how to get a good civilization and healthy planet.