What Are Some Ethical Issues Every School Must Discuss?

Ethics education is about recognizing the real power of our own innate ethical sense and how it influences our behavior

With the advent of the internet and smart phones, it’s easy for boundaries to become blurred. In the past it was rare for a student to call a teacher at home. Today, students and teachers are faced with numerous ways to contact one another 24/7. Things that in the past may have been black and white are now gray. Where do we draw the lines?

Even though most people believe that their actions are guided by logic and reason, we all have an innate ethical sense that urges us to make predictable choices. We each find words to create rationales that support our choices or decisions. However, ethics education is about recognizing the real power of our own innate ethical sense and how it influences our behavior.

School environments are environments of trust. Our nation, our communities, as well as our families and students expect a great deal from teachers. The teacher-student relationship is one of the foundations of our society which can help others to flourish.

Among many ethical issues, the difference between right and wrong is made clear by laws and legal provisions. However, there are some other areas where we need to think and decide on the best practice for ourselves, our classrooms and our schools.

Ethical Hot Spots

Areas of vulnerability within a professional environment can be considered as “hot spots” in ethical practice. Such areas of greatest risk regarding ethical concerns in education may include, but are not limited to, conduct, assessment and planning.

1. Conduct
Conduct is an important aspect of ethical practices. Conduct can include boundary violations, abuse or improper relationships. In the education context, teachers should have vision, hope and creativity. However, be cautious as sarcasm and cynicism tend to inhibit these qualities. Know also that cynicism and sarcasm are signs of anger or pain and they should be respectfully addressed so that possible deeper needs and concerns of instructors can be nurtured.

2. Assessment
Assessment of students is another “hot spot” of ethical practices. Teachers must be honest and promise this ethical habit. Falsification of data or information related to assessment violates every model of ethical conduct and law. While on the surface, in the moment, or initially such conduct may seem to benefit students or the school, it in fact injures not only both the student and school, but also the teacher and society as well.

3. Planning
Good planning is a part of the commitment that every teacher needs to make as a professional. Remember, teachers are committed to prudence. Prudence, for centuries meant the establishment of right goals and selecting the right means to achieve this goal. A prudent teacher creates the right goals and selects the best means to accomplish the goals.

Learning activities and lesson plans are developed in advance and the learning environment is created and assessed in a dynamic way so that it addresses the real needs of each student maximally, across all modes of learning.

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