Ethical Dilemmas and Moral Situations - Essay Example

Ethical Dilemma Introduction Professional ethics tend to exist in all the aspects in which social relationships are involved. In education, there are certain professional ethics that have to be followed by the teachers in class while teaching the whole class collectively. In order to carry out ethical teaching in class, the teachers might face ethical dilemmas often. Ethical dilemma is known to be the complex situation in which one might get when he has a mental conflict between moral essentials in which it is known that the choice of one may result in disobeying the other. They are also known as moral dilemmas and in these cases, societal and personal ethical guidelines may not provide any satisfactory outcome (Garber, 2008). Ethical dilemmas and moral situations can often arise in situations where one person can not take a moral decision and is bound to take a decision that does not fit in the ethical boundaries in one way or the other. Such situations may have many similarities and are at many times considered to be analogous (Carr, 1999). An experience I had that shows the similarities between the ethical dilemma and a moral situation is during my internship when I observed a situation in class where the teacher was in an ethical dilemma. The situation can be called as a moral situation and an ethical dilemma, as in both the cases, the teacher was bound to take a decision that did not fit into the moral principles and the professional ethics of education. In the situation, James was a classroom teacher of the ninth grade. His homework policy was that the homework would be given to take home on Friday and the students must bring it back and submit it on the following Thursday. He continuously emphasizes that it is the students’ choice to do it or not, but in case the homework is not completed and handed in on Friday, they will have to serve detention during one period of recess. Raoul was an excellent student in his class who always finished his work on time and correctly. He was a sensitive and dedicated student who strived hard to please the teacher. One Wednesday, Raoul gets sick and out of school, moreover the following day which was a Thursday, he forgot to bring his homework to class. This was the first time Raoul did not have his homework. James was sure that he had done his work and forgot to bring it. Raoul could get a day’s extension for being sick. And James also knew that the thought of serving detention was devastating for Raoul. However, James had to decide whether to follow the rule and have Raoul serve the detention, or make an exception based on the fact that Raoul has been sick and his routine is disrupted. This situation can very well be executed as a moral situation as well as an ethical dilemma. James is the teacher and he holds the responsibility in class to follow the professional ethics of education in which the teacher is supposed to apply the same rules for every student and avoid favoritism. On the other hand the professional ethics state that the teacher should understand each student and contribute in the best way possible towards his learning and his encouragement. James gets in ethical dilemma as he knows that taking a decision in regard of one ethical standard will violate the other. If James gives Raoul detention, he will discourage him and led his morale down, and if he gives him an excuse it will violate the professional ethics that he has set for his classroom (Robinson, 2005). In the similar way, the situation can also be called as a moral situation in which the teacher is bound by the moral principles of class and he is in moral dilemma. James is a teacher of ninth grade, who are teenage students and understand the situations of the class very well. If James gives an exception to Raoul, it will violate the moral conduct of the class in which the teacher owes a moral responsibility towards every child equally. Since Raoul has disobeyed the moral conduct of the class, James should give him the same punishment that all the students get, and if he doesn’t, he will tend to breach the moral responsibility that he has towards a student who was ill and forgot his work unwillingly at home. The situation I experienced deals in many of the problems associated with moral and ethical dilemmas and unfortunately they exist quite often in the day to day teaching practices. The teacher tends to have some ethical standards in the class that need to be fulfilled in accordance to all the students present in the class. Favoritism is one of the trends that have been long going on in the teaching practices and noticed by the other students a lot. This creates moral tensions amongst the students as well. In the situation, if Raoul will be given the exception, the other students will take it as favoritism by James. This would be the breach of the moral conduct of the class in which all students should be treated equally (Campbell, 2003). In day to day teaching practices many of these situations might happen where the teacher is bound to take a decision that would breach the moral code of conduct of the class. Every human being is tied into social terms with others. Even a teacher in class has a moral relationship with the students which can not be ignored. Ethical decisions are made in order to avoid clashes and conflicts amongst the socially bound humans; however ethical dilemmas will assume that the teacher will stand for the societal norms such as professional ethics and classroom code of conduct. And in case the teacher is unable to do so, it will create moral tensions (Reamer, 2006). Teachers often face moral dilemmas that can not be ignored. Despite having a code of conduct in class, many teachers are seen as creating unfairness in the classroom for their students. Good students are always given preference over the weak ones or the naughty ones. This is because of the performance and the efficiency of the student rather than the techniques of naughty ones to waste the time of the class and disturb others. These moral dilemmas are significant in day to day teaching practices but moral tension may arise when the teacher takes an unethical decision in the class which creates moral tensions between the students. Thus, it is rather better if the teacher stays in the professional ethics that have to be followed in class in all situations (Kasar and Clark, 2000). There are many of the Australian professional standards that can be related and regarded in this situation. Every government holds their own professional standards in education that have to be followed by every school and every licensed teacher. At times these professional standards and professional ethics conflict and the teacher faces a situation of ethical dilemma in which he does not understand the complexity of deciding under moral principles. Every school has some policy expectations that they expect in their classes from their teachers and students. These professional ethics are followed in order to avoid ethical dilemmas in class (Strike and Soltis, 2004). The professional standards for teachers are set in order to ensure quality education being provided to the students by professional and trained teachers. Professional associates provide a range of standards for the schools to be given to the teachers to maintain in classrooms. According to these professional ethics, the teachers hold the responsibility to provide the students quality education and contribute in their development skills and growth. The teachers are supposed to make sure that all the students in class are treated equally and are given priority. No student should be treated unfairly due to their personal weaknesses, behavior or other influential factors (McGrath and Mathur, 2008). The teacher will always have the primary concern for the student, and for the development of the student’s potential in every way. The teacher has to make sure that the student is given proper attention if he needs any extra and is given the solutions to all their queries. The teacher needs to be aware of the importance of maintaining the respect of the colleagues, students and the parents, and should always have the highest degree of ethical conduct in the community. An educator is regarded as a professional who seeks truth and conveys his knowledge out to the one who want to learn. He has a moral and ethical relationship with the members of the society; precisely the students and he should respect that relation through his honesty in work (Ornstein et al, 2010). The Australian professional standards can be applied in this situation as it suggests the duties and responsibilities of the teachers towards the students of the classroom. Ethical code of conduct is very important in all aspects and the duty towards the students should also be fulfilled by providing them equal rights to speak and participate in class. They should also be given fair chances to explain themselves when in need, and not to be lead down by any unfair means. The students should be given rights in the classroom which are not supposed to be violated intentionally. Teachers should provide the students encouragement and appreciation, and should strictly avoid the usage of harassing language or statements. In this situation, the application of these professional standards can be seen when the teacher has to make the ethical decision of taking care of one student and considering his situation, while obeying the decree of professional ethics (Maxwell, 2008). The different agents involved in this situation are Raoul, James and the other students of the classroom. The moral and ethical tensions exist in all the three agents. Raoul is intension regarding his record and his detention as he did not bring his homework and according to the rule he should get detention and at the same time he tries to explain himself and the reason why he could not bring his homework. He expects a moral decision made by the teacher to understand him and maintain his potentials. James is in ethical dilemma whether to take a decision regarding the professional ethical code that has to be followed in the shape of his own made rules, or whether he should respect the condition of Raoul and grant him an exception. The other students involved in this situation are in moral tension as they expect Raoul to receive the same punishment as they do. According to the roles of the agents, Raoul would be expecting an exception due to his previous records, the other class students would be expecting him to get the detention as they do and James is responsible to stand on the expectations of the class and respect the moral relationship that he had with the entire class and not only Raoul. He is responsible to take a decision that would be morally fitting in the situation and that solves the dilemma in the moral code of conduct, which seems to be difficult as one decision would violate the other moral principle. Ethical dilemmas are situation in which there are considerably no right thing to do, however decisions have to be taken. Thus, there are many ethical theories that help in determining these dilemmas and helping to know the best possible choice. Utilitarianism is one of the theories which suggest that the decision should be taken which is the most appropriate and has the most good out of it. In this theory, different ethics are given values and decisions are taken on the basis of these values. Deontology is another theory which opposes utilitarianism and suggests that whatever is good or bad is because of its consequences and thus they should be considered. Thus, many ethical theories assist in different ways to explain these dilemmas and the ways that they should be solved. In short, there is no right thing to do when in an ethical dilemma, but theories should be considered to do what benefits the most and is more good t han the other. References Campbell, E. (2003). The Ethical Teacher. London: McGraw-Hill International. Garber, P. (2008). The Ethical Dilemma. Texas: Human Resource Development (HRD) Press Carr, D. (1999). Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. Lomdon: Routledge Kasar, J., Clark, E. (2000). Developing professional behaviours. Texas: SLACK Incorporated Maxwell, B. (2008). Professional Ethics Education: Studies in Compassionate Empathy. London: Springer. McGrath, M., Mathur, S. (2008). Ethical dilemmas in education: standing up for honesty and integrity. NY: Rowman & LIttlefield Education. Ornstein, A., Levine, D., Gutek, G. (2010). Foundations of Education. London: Cengage Learning. Reamer, F. (2006). Social Work Values And Ethics. Columbia: Columbia University Press. Robinson, S. (2005). The Teaching and Practice of Professional Ethics. UK: Troubador Publishing Ltd. Strike, K., Soltis, J. (2004). The Ethics Of Teaching. NY: Teachers College Press. Read More