Moral Philosophy of Education - Research Paper Example

? Education Ethics Education Ethics Ethics or also known as ‘moral philosophy’, in simple words it is a branch of philosophy which deals with right and wrong conduct. On the website of Santa Clara university in an article the author explains the meaning of ethics he describes it as, ‘ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues’ (Manuel Velasquez). Education has always been one of the most important fields as it is the foundation of the generations to come. The field of ethics has recently attracted increasing interests in educational contexts. Ethics in education cannot be viewed from the perspective of the students because it is equally important that the teachers and the administrative staff are being ethical. The principal of any educational institute, being the highest in rank has the biggest responsibility in his or her shoulders of being ethical. People on such posts often face many ethical and legal problems which they have to deal with. This paper highlights some of such ethical and legal problems faced by principals of educational institutes and how these problems are being dealt with and what further steps could be taken to handle a situation, it also mentions the impacts of unethical conduct by teachers in schools and their effects on children. In specific it brings to light issues in educational institutes like ethical conduct towards students, their performances and between professional colleagues. Educational institutes are not only a place of education but it is also a place that helps build the personality of a person’ and human development may be one of the most important aspects of any person’s life and educational institutes plays a significant role toward it. One of the most important decisions a principle or a head of educational institutes has to take is about disciplinary decisions. Schools not only educate a student but build the sense of right and wrong in them. Teaching them to make rights decisions for themselves and showing them that doing wrong deeds and taking wrong decisions would lead to serious consequences. Ethical standards in education frames the ideas of basic principles, procedures and behavior patterns based and committed to the core values that are deeply rooted in education. Since education is closely related to teaching students not only about studies but also about building a better personality, the administration of the school have to think about policies like what things are punishable for students and what kind of punishments should be appropriate in teaching them a lesson while not going overboard. There are many punishments that are suspension from school, being expelled or even corporal punishments. Such punishments can either help students in teaching them a lesson or it could shatter their confidence leading to more rebellious attitude. The question that arises from the matters of punishment is whether punishing students has helped them and to what limits a student should be punished. Corporal punishment is a serious violation of ethics, it is described as any form of physical punishment that involves the voluntary infliction of pain for an offence it may be administered as a punishment or even as a deter, most commonly administered way of corporal punishment is paddling. Whether corporal punishment should be allowed or not has been one of the biggest questions in the field of education. Corporal punishment has been banned in almost 30 states in America since 1989 which includes states like New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, Ohio and many more (Corporal punishment in public schools, by state). It is still legal in almost 19 states in America, where students are spanked by teachers. In an article on ABC news on corporal punishment the author talks about such incidents where students where paddled and talks about the effects it had on the students. He quotes ‘Tenika Jones says the principal at the Joyce Bullock Elementary School in Levy County paddled her 5-year-old so severely last April that he cried for hours, triggering an asthma attack, which in turn required a trip to the emergency room’ (Nies, 2012). Corporal punishment not only leaves the victim with physical marks but the biggest impact it has on a victim is the psychological one. They may be as deep and harsh like nightmares, losing of confidence and in extreme situations suicides. In an article in Japan Times one such incident was reported where a student committed suicide after being beaten by the basketball coach (JIJI, 2013). Irrespective of the consequences corporal punishment, especially paddling is one of the most common methods used by teacher in teaching students discipline. Looking deep in to the matter of corporal punishment, in USA schools is applied by a wooden paddle to the students posterior. Until recent years these kinds of punishments are often given by teachers or sports coach in class rooms or even in hallways or even in sports locker rooms. But in recent times a teacher cannot paddle a student just at the spur of the moment as in most schools proper documentation is required. That is because most schools nowadays have made detailed rules about the administration of corporal punishment. Schools nowadays have close check and balance on the conduct of teachers. There is strict check that teachers are following the disciplinary and conduct code. In a documentation of the United Kingdom, ‘disciplinary procedure for teachers in institutions of Further education’ talks about the procedure that is to be followed if there has been some misconduct by the teacher. It talks from casual warnings to written ones and even suspension or dismissal in serious cases (Disciplinary Procedure or Teachers in Instituitions, 2000). There are various legal cases which were filed against teachers for misconduct and administration of corporal punishment. Cases like Blascovich v. Shamokin area school district, a case about a teacher sacked fro cruelty, including paddling students. There are many international laws that prohibit corporal punishment. According to the 1950 European convention of Human Rights, council of Europe article three ‘inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is barred’. In 2001 the European Committee of Social Rights concluded ‘acceptable that a society which prohibits any form of physical violence between adults would accept that adults subject children to physical violence’. An article on corporal punishment, ‘ending corporal punishment of children’ by the office of higher commissioner of Human Rights states ‘Violence against children, including corporal punishment, is a violation of the rights of the child. It conflicts with the child’s human dignity and the right of the child to physical integrity. It also prevents children from reaching their full potential, by putting at risk their right to health, survival and development. The best interests of the child can never be used to justify such practice,” said UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang’ (Ending corpoal punishment of children, 31). In 2001 Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children was launched which called all governments to declare their opposition to corporal punishment against children (End all corporal punishment of children) . This shows that several steps are being taken to eradicate corporal punishment from the education sector as it is unethical and against the law violating a number of basic human rights. In America the government has taken multiple steps to ensure that department of education either public or private is run ethically and according to law. A code of ethics for educators was created by AAE Advisory board and by the Executive committee of AAE which made sure of basic principles like the rights of students and educators (Code of ethics for educators). Such code and committees make sure that not only teachers but students are also dealt justly. In a book by David Carr ‘Professionalism and ethics in teaching’ he talks about moral dimensions required in teaching. Carr further explores in the book the basic ethics that are needed to be a professional and ethical teacher and talks about moral and ethical issues in educating like corporal punishment and many others (Carr, 2000). Since ethics in education is a very sensitive topic several books are being written on this subject another book The Ethical Teacher by Elizabeth Campbell. Campbell in this book talks about the ethical and moral role of a teacher in a classroom. She discusses the dilemmas faced by teachers now days. Firstly moral uncertainty, she discusses how sometimes teachers have to face difficult situations and make some very important ethical decisions without much guidance. She states any instances about herself and others which showed that since teachers lack proper training they fail to deliver and help students, problems like racism or students coming from broken homes (Campbell, 2003). Now that the paper has shed light on many steps taken to eradicate corporal punishment, the paper will now go on exploring the possible steps that could be taken to deal with such issues ethically and legally promising a brighter future for the educational sector. Teachers should be given proper teaching training which will help them dealing with students. An article, ‘ Should teachers receive ethics training’ Marissa Yaremich talks about how essential ethics training is for teachers. Yaremich says that ethics training should be made compulsory for the profession of teaching as it is in professions like medicine and law. She quotes Hutching who recently attended Educators Ethics Symposium “When it comes to ethics, there should be core, guiding principles about how teachers interact with their students” she further highlights the importance of such trainings by putting light on the subject of interactions between student and teacher and how it would help both in the process (Yaremich, 2012). Some initiative have been taken regarding the trainings of teachers like in Texas, The Texas Educator Ethics Training Course has been developed by the Texas Education Agency which will help teachers in identifying key ethical issues and will give them a better understanding of how to deal with them. (Teacher Ethics Trainig). Solving ethical issues may not always just include ethics training but also well informed and active administration which can identify and rectify such issues with the minimum possible time. Education sector is one of the foundation sectors of any nation it helps in building of the nation. By educating children they make their future a brighter one which in turn affects the prosperity of the nation. People working in this field let it be teachers or the administrative staff including the head or the principal of that educational institute. This profession due to its importance should be dealt with not only professionalism but also with care. People working in this profession should be given proper training including ethics training so that they do not face difficulty while doing their jobs. Such trainings would not only help professionals in performing a better job but also will have a good impact on students and will help them in not just education but in other aspects of life. These way teachers or the administrative staff would know how to deal with students in a better way and will stop them from turning to cruel and inhumane acts like administering corporal punishments, which have a negative impact on the society. Because with proper training they would have a better idea of how to deal with students who may have done something wrong or needed some punishment rather then turning to punishments that only shatters the personality of the student. Works Cited Campbell, E. (2003). The Ethical Teacher. Maidenhead, England: Open university press. Carr, D. (2000). Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. London: Routledge. Code of ethics for educators. (n.d.). Retrieved june 20, 2013, from association of american educators: http://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics Corporal punishment in public schools, by state. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2013, from Infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0934191.html Disciplinary Procedure or Teachers in Instituitions. (2000, November). Retrieved June 20, 2013, from University and College Union: http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/r/m/nifedisciplinprocedure2_1.pdf End all corporal punishment of children. (n.d.). Retrieved june 21, 2013, from Global Initiative: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Ending corpoal punishment of children. (31, January 2013). Retrieved June 20, 2013, from United Nations HUman Righst: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/CorporalPunishment.aspx JIJI. (2013, June 3). Corporal punishment rife in schols in 2012: survey. Retrieved June 20, 2013, from The Japan Times: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/03/national/corporal-punishment-rife-in-schools-in-2012-survey/#.UcNv3vkweXA Manuel Velasquez, C. A. (n.d.). What is ethics? Retrieved June 19, 2013, from Santa Clara University: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html Nies, Y. D. (2012, March 16). Should your child be spanked at school? in 19 states its legal. Retrieved June 20, 2013, from abc: http://abcnews.go.com/US/spanking-school-19-states-corporal-punishment-legal/story?id=15932135#.UcQ2KfkweXA Teacher Ethics Trainig. (n.d.). Retrieved 21 June, 2013, from Texas Education Agency: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ethics/ Yaremich, M. (2012, December 11). Should teachers receive ethics training? Retrieved June 21, 2013, from University of Phoenix: http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/perspectives/2012/12/should-teachers-receive-ethics-training.html Read More