Essay On Ethics And Morality

Improved Essays
As I was researching ethics for this essay, I realized that there is a significant distinction between ethics and morality. These were two things that I had considered one and the same. However, ethics is “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Merriam-Webster.com, n.d.). Morality is “conformity to ideals of right human conduct” (Merrian-Webster.com, n.d.). Utilizing the word conformity to define morality seems to present an opposition to ethics, in that what is accepted as the norm is not always ethically right. As Leo Tolstoy stated, wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it. We often conform to the ideals and actions of the majority as part of a deep human need to be accepted by society. Ethics, differing from morality, allows for the consideration of diverse perspectives beyond societal norms. By not allowing for the consideration of diverse perspectives, societal conformity can conflict with ethics. When we consider ethics, we often consider how we can treat everyone with fairness and respect. …show more content…
As a high school teacher for the past seven years, one training on how to connect with our students stands out. The instructor asked us to consider the meaning of fairness. Is fairness the act of offering a Band-Aid to every student that has an injury? They’d all receive the exact same thing. Would it still be a fair policy if one student had a paper cut and the other student had a broken arm? The paper cut and broken arm are symbolic of the way students enter our classrooms. Every students enters class with a deficit of knowledge and ability, but some students enter with a much bigger deficit than others. Yet, schools operate on set rules and policies. Is it ethical and fair to alter certain rules and policies depending on circumstances? In effect, we have to consider the ethical question of how standards and policies should apply to each student. As an instructor, it might be considered morally acceptable if I were to operate on the law of standards and policies, rather than on the spirit of their word. At the cost of my ethical integrity, I could justify a one size fits all mentality, ignoring the varying deficits of my students. For example, for good and right reasons, educational policies dictate that all students must demonstrate competency in certain learning objectives in order to receive credit for certain courses. In order to move on to Algebra 2, a student must show acceptable competence in Algebra 1. What happens when a student doesn’t demonstrate competence? Morally and socially, if a student is struggling in or failing a credited class, not many would question an instructor’s decision that requires the student repeat the course. It seems obvious that the student has not learned. On the other hand, if the instructor passed the student on, the student might feel grateful, but confused. Of the two paths, the former follows the policies and the other is socially acceptable. However, neither path addresses the root cause of the student’s deficit. Finding the root cause is the ethical issue and takes a little more effort to address and answer. If the deficits aren’t addressed with the proper tools (Band-Aid or cast), it is very possible more will be affected than just the individual with the deficit. The student feels helpless to stop the downward

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “Let's talk about that” is the notorious catchphrase of the viral and trendy YouTube duo, Rhett and Link. Their channel, Good Mythical Morning, is a series of talk show style videos with a humorous twist and arbitrary acts centering around easily entertaining the youth of today’s culture. Their shows ranges anywhere from pairing wine and bugs to cuddling each other while being covered with cockroaches to eating pig anus cupcakes. Rhett and Link give a hilarious, yet awkward performance in every one of their videos. Both characters, independently brilliant and entertaining, come together, and the audience can hardly stand to look away.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Richard Lavoie defines fairness in the classroom as “Everyone gets what she/he needs”. It does not mean that everyone gets the same and fairness depends on needs. He went on to say that as adults, it is not fair to say things to children that we would not say to another adult. Lavoie gives parents advice about fairness among the children at home. He says that if one of the children has special needs and requires more attention than the other, the parents should not try to make up the time with the others.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On September 3, 2015 you participated in a pre-determination meeting in the presence of Human Resource Consultant II, Rosa Soto Roman and management to discuss allegations that you have misused and damaged State and leased equipment. Specifically, you caused damage to a leased paver, the belly blade and the trailer you were towing during your shift on August 11, 2015, causing approximately $90,000 in damages. You were reminded of your right to Union representation at this meeting to which you declined. After reviewing all the relevant facts, your work history, and our meeting regarding this incident, it has been determined you failed to demonstrate good operator judgment and follow safe operating procedures and disciplinary action is warranted.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. https://www.ache.org/abt_ache/code.cfm American College of Healthcare Executives Code of Ethics is for Healthcare leadership representatives. Currently I am a Practice Manger for a health care company, and am pursuing a role as a Regional Director. The ACHE Code of Ethics set a guideline for Healthcare Leadership to interact with their patients, colleagues, community and other organizations. Rules of ethical behavior for the leadership are covered in the Code of Ethics.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Conundrum of Morals versus Politics “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. ”(Higbee and Stewart 77). Keep this famous statement from the American Declaration of Independence in mind as I take us through the conundrum of this new born country. We wake up every morning with the smell of fresh air, and the ability to do endless things with our day. We can chose to be productive and earn a living or lazily go along with our day.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While it is frequently ignored, there is a very important distinction to be made between ethics and morals. Ethics are derived from society and its norms. They differ culturally and with age and are placed on the individual according to the social setting they find themselves in. Breaking ethical code often results in shame from the community. Morals are only reflect beliefs of the individual.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ethics Case Study Essay

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The primary purpose of this study is to gather perceptions and opinions of veteran assistant principals and veteran counselors on the impact and changes in bullying with the recent surge of technology and technological devices. The assistant principals and counselors will all be gathered from public school districts in Connecticut. Veteran, as defined by having more than 15 years of experience in a school system, were chosen to better understand the changes technology has had on bullying. The veterans will be able to provide a comparison of traditional bullying and cyberbullying, where novices have started after the outpouring of new technology and technological devices. The researcher will use a case study design, from the answers provided…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Connections between religion and morality have been a debated upon for thousands of years. Jews believe that only themselves are joined in covenant with god. Muslims often look at non-believers as dangerous because of sections in the Qur 'an. Christian took it upon themselves to proselytize the surrounding pagan religions, their beliefs were that the other religions were heretical. A lot of religious beliefs, but not all, add connotations to those of different beliefs.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This education is important so the nurse is able to keep Jack’s family informed and educated on his current and possibly changing health status. Finally, communication is a professional standard crucial to ethical decision making in Jack’s case because in order for the family to cope with the stress from Jack’s hospitalization they must be able to convey information to the family in “communication formats that promote accuracy” (D. Hatteberg, Class Notes, October 27, 2015). The American Nursing Code of Ethics found in Butts & Rich is another helpful literary resource in the exploration of ethical decision making in the field of nursing. With the use of this code a nurse is able to have guidelines in providing help with relationships, patient interests, and human rights. The nurse will develop a relationship with the family, and put Jack’s interests first and foremost in regards to his human rights while being able to use the Code of…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As kids, we were thought to always tell the truth, a situation that seemed to be black and white. As we grow older, the reality of things becomes more complex. We are challenged in situations where telling the truth is not as easy and we have to consider how the recipient will interpret the information. We learn to outweigh the positive and negative outcomes if we tell the truth. Recipients, such as the patients, have many rights.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Most of the philosophical theories on ethics attempt to answer questions related to the correct code of conduct regarding an individual or society. Often times, we use the word morality to help describe principle that help distinguish…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sleepers Movie Analysis

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ethical decisions may not always be the right decision according to law but they can be right according to the circumstances. Ethics is a set of moral principles, especially ones relating to or affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct. We are all faced with ethical decisions in our life at some point. We have to determine whether or not the choices we make are worth the compromise of our values.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    How should we think about ethics? In order to answer this ultimate question, we must first understand the crucial concepts of ethics, but before we look into the concepts, it is essential to state the basic definition of ethic because the word “ethics” is the basis of the question. In our society, ethics is commonly defined as the study of morals, which are the standards of right and wrong that show humans what to do. Knowing this, we can continue with the concepts of ethics. First of all, we have to understand how knowledge about ethics is gained.…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Ethics Of Care

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Care, defined from Webster dictionary, are the things that are done to keep someone healthy, or safe. The ethics of care understands that caring for a person depends on interpersonal connections and the morally concerned person so it does change from person to person. The ethics of care does not reflect traits from deontology and has persuasive qualities but also an irreparable defect. The ethics of care allows people to show empathy for whom they choose to and gives leeway for humanity to be partial.…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction In many countries, prostitution is illegal. Even in the U.S, which is such an advanced country, prostitution is only legal in eleven counties in Nevada. However, the Final Report on the Evaluation of the First Offender Prostitution Program, prepared by Michael Shively, et al., shows that fifteen to twenty percent of men in the U.S have engaged in commercial sex at least one time (10). According to the United States Census in 2010, there are 151,781,326 males in the U.S, so approximately 22.767 million to 30.356 million men have spent money on prostitution.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays