Ethics In Education In Tinker V. Des Moines Independent School District

Ethics in Education Ethics are an important part of education. Throughout the history of education in the United States there has been a struggle to ensure ethical relations to all members of the educational community. It is difficult to ensure that all students receive equal access to education and services when the country was founded in wide reaching turmoil in which many believed that some did not have the same value or the same right to receive an equitable education. Throughout the EDAD 626 course many of these challenges have been introduced, and the struggle to overcome inequality and ensure ethical treatment for all students has been observed. As a society, the United States has come a long way in the last hundred years in ensuring …show more content…
In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969) the Supreme Court Stated that, “In our system, students may not be regarded as closed-circuit recipients of only that which the State chooses to communicate. They may not be confined to the expression of those sentiments that are officially approved” (Alexander, 2012). This declaration sets the tone for the interactions of schools not as a place to proselytize only one viewpoint or to limit the access of knowledge, but to exist as a place where there is freedom to inquire and learn through the ideas of many peoples, cultures, and societies. According to Alexander (2012) the First Amendment provides protection for students’ as well as instructors’ scholarly discourse thusly creating a “marketplace of ideas” where ideas and knowledge can be openly exchanged. Although the school system is designed to be a place where information can freely flow, the courts have largely left the choice of what a student needs to learn or how information should be presented while in school to the experts of the educational field rather than the judges. This has led to the school board being the primary decision maker for education at the local level. The responsibility of the school board for the governance of the schools and to control the free flow of ideas is granted by the legislature according to Kelly v. Dickson County School District (1962). The school board must then make decisions on many of the day to day functions of the school and ensure that the law is upheld. When a student or their parents believe that their rights have been limited they may still seek relief from the courts and if necessary the courts will overturn the decisions of the school board. However, typically if the grievance lowers the amount of knowledge students will be