Ethical Dilemma

Dilemma 1:

As a year 6 teacher children there are certain standards that are necessary for us to pass a student into year 7 (secondary school). As a professional I feel that it is my duty to ensure that the student is equipped for secondary school, so I will encourage them to be retained so that they have a better chance of meeting the required standards. 

The dilemma that I face is that parents have the final say in the decision, and the parents decision needs to be supported by the school. The school may not agree with their decision but they do not have the power to force the student to repeat.

After going to the process of additional testing, meetings with parents and other professionals and endless paperwork, students who should be retained are being condoned into the next grade based on the parents decision. As a result, teachers are now skipping on the additional testing, meetings and paperwork because they know that the child will not repeat. Ethically, they have not done their job, but in the end does that really matter?

Question 1: Is there a problem? Yes. The gap between students who are meeting the grade standards and the students who are being condoned is widening. The students will eventually have to write an external examination and will not be properly equipped. 

Question 2: Am I responsible for the ethical outcome of the decision? No. In the end the decision is made by the parents and the administrators so it is out of my hands.

Question 3: Is this a right versus wrong dilemma? Yes. The decision to condone students who are not equipped to deal with the expectations of the next grade level, goes against my professional intuition and my moral principles. 

Dilemma 2:

I had a child in my class who was a behavioral issue. His outbursts, bad language, and bullying of other students was so frequent that I would, on occasion, find myself ignoring some other the lesser infringements out of exhaustion in repeating myself and repeated punishment with little to no improvement. Major behavioral issues were documented and reported to admin, and the student was eventually moved to another class.

Reflecting on the situation I believe I was ethically drifting from my responsibilities as a teacher. His outbursts, bad language, and bullying of students was most probably hurtful to one of the other students in my class, even though they were aware that his intentions were not always malicious. 

Question 1: Is there a problem? Yes. The students behavior is unacceptable. It is also against the schools policy. His behavior affected the other students in my class and also affected my ability to teach.

Question 2: Am I responsible for the ethical outcome of the decision? Yes. The bullying was happening in my classroom, to my students. It was my responsibility to deal with the student who had the behavioral issue, and it was my responsibility to protect the other students in my class. 

Question 3: Is this a right versus wrong dilemma? Yes. If this had to land on the front pages of the newspaper, I would be feeling guilty about it.