Ethical dilemmas are prevalent in education and, as leaders, we must find solutions that are fair and ethical for all stakeholders. A recent ethical dilemma that surfaced at my school involved a teacher and his use of physical contact with students. Our physical education teacher, who I’ll refer to as Mr. Smith, has a good rapport with students and coaches several sports outside of school. Mr. Smith has been teaching at our school for 10 years. He tends to make physical contact with students when greeting them, either with a hug or rub of the shoulder, and students have never complained about his seemingly warm nature in the past. However, at a recent after school function, a parent witnessed Mr. Smith giving a student a hand massage.
…show more content…
Smith for ten years, I genuinely believe that he would never deliberately harm a student. I also believe that Mr. Smith is sincere when he states that he is only being friendly towards his students when he creates any kind of physical contact with them. However, with ISLLC Standard 5 in mind, if I were the principal at my school it would be my duty to handle this dilemma as fairly and ethically as possible. Using ethical paradigms in my analysis of this issue is an effective tool for finding the most ethical solution. The ethic of profession takes into account what the profession expects of its leaders and educators, as well as what the community expects as well. Analyzing this problem from the ethic of profession would clearly indicate that teachers must conduct themselves professionally and in a way that makes students feel safe. A comfortable and healthy learning environment is paramount for all students to learn. If even a small percentage of students are made to feel uncomfortable by Mr. Smith insisting on touching them, then the profession would expect me to put a stop to the behavior. The community also expects that students are being made to feel safe when they enter their school, and this situation could potentially breech of that feeling of student safety. In addition, although there hasn’t been any documented complaints from students in relation to Mr. Smith touching them, if he continues to behave in this way there is a greater potential for misunderstandings to occur. It may only be a matter of time before a student misinterprets Mr. Smith’s physical contact as sexually harassing them. One accusation could lead to charges being brought against Mr. Smith, and this would be difficult and damaging for all involved parties. Regardless of Mr. Smith’s feelings on whether
Smith for ten years, I genuinely believe that he would never deliberately harm a student. I also believe that Mr. Smith is sincere when he states that he is only being friendly towards his students when he creates any kind of physical contact with them. However, with ISLLC Standard 5 in mind, if I were the principal at my school it would be my duty to handle this dilemma as fairly and ethically as possible. Using ethical paradigms in my analysis of this issue is an effective tool for finding the most ethical solution. The ethic of profession takes into account what the profession expects of its leaders and educators, as well as what the community expects as well. Analyzing this problem from the ethic of profession would clearly indicate that teachers must conduct themselves professionally and in a way that makes students feel safe. A comfortable and healthy learning environment is paramount for all students to learn. If even a small percentage of students are made to feel uncomfortable by Mr. Smith insisting on touching them, then the profession would expect me to put a stop to the behavior. The community also expects that students are being made to feel safe when they enter their school, and this situation could potentially breech of that feeling of student safety. In addition, although there hasn’t been any documented complaints from students in relation to Mr. Smith touching them, if he continues to behave in this way there is a greater potential for misunderstandings to occur. It may only be a matter of time before a student misinterprets Mr. Smith’s physical contact as sexually harassing them. One accusation could lead to charges being brought against Mr. Smith, and this would be difficult and damaging for all involved parties. Regardless of Mr. Smith’s feelings on whether