0Ethical Deliberation

Kenneth Howe discusses how teachers must have the capacity for moral deliberation. Have your students
consider the following scenarios to help them enhance their ability for ethical deliberation. Divide the
students into small groups of no more than five. Have each group do the following:

Define the problem

List the relevant moral or legal imperatives

Brainstorm a few solutions

Determine the pros and cons of each proposed solution.

Resolving ethical dilemmas involves applying three time-tested principles for deciding ethical dilemmas:
ends-based, rule-based, and care-based.
Ends-based thinking is best captured in the phrase: Do whatever provides the greatest good for the
greatest number.
Rule-based thinking asks, If everyone in the world were to do what I am about to doto follow the rule
that I am about to followis that the kind of world I would want to live in? Rule-based thinking is
opposed to ends-based thinking. It challenges the idea that we can ever really know what the
consequences of our actions will be. Instead, the rule-based thinker believes that we must always stick to
our principles and let the chips fall where they may.
Care-based thinking commands that we do to others what we would want others to do to us, most
commonly known as the Golden Rule.
An ethical dilemma is a conflict between two right courses of action. Ethical dilemmas tend to fall into
four different patterns or paradigms.0
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Individual vs. Community. The needs of the self or the small group are pitted against the
claims of the larger society.

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Truth vs. Loyalty. Personal honesty or integrity is at odds with responsibility and promise
keeping.

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Short-term vs. Long-term. Real and important requirements of the present come up against
foresight, stewardship, and deferred gratification.

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Justice vs. Mercy. Fairness, expectations, and an equal application of the rules are opposed to
empathy, compassion, and a desire to make exceptions.

Have the groups try to reach a consensus on one solution. Ask each group to present its findings to the
class. Compare strategies used by each group. Students should identify which of the three principles for
deciding ethical dilemmas is most applicable to their case and which of the four patterns above provides
the most insight.
Ethics 0Case 1: To Strike or Not to Strike
You are a tenured, first-grade teacher who has been teaching in an urban area for five years. You, like
many of the other teachers, are frustrated and angry at the citys and the school boards treatment of
teachers. You have seen oceans of the taxpayers money going toward civic projects (a domed athletic
stadium, a newly renovated city hall and downtown area), while teachers salaries and the conditions in
the schools have deteriorated. Like your colleagues, you are desperate to get the attention of the citizens,
so you support your professional associations decision to strike.

The teachers walked out three days ago, and gradually you are realizing that the real losers in this strike
are your twenty-eight first-graders, most of who come from disorganized, poverty-ridden homes. Whereas
many children in other parts of the city, and especially older children, can probably afford to lose the time
in school, you believe yours cannot. They are at a critical point in their basic skills development. Also,
they have just learned to settle down and really become engaged in their work. You are sure that
prolonging the strike will mean disaster for the students. Then, on the strikes fourth day, several of your
students parents approach you, saying that they have secured a church basement and, if you will only
come and teach, classes can go on there. However, such action might undermine the strike and would
appear to be a betrayal of your coworkers. What do you do?
-I would stop teaching the lesson and talk co workers into coming back to work because going on strike
will not solve the issue. I would also reach out to the parents.
Ethics 0Case 2: Pressure to Perform
You are a fourth-grade teacher in a suburban elementary school, which caters to the children of a largely
professional population. Most parents are quite interested in the schools keeping to high academic
standards and expect good performance from their children. It is late in the school year, and the parents of
a third-grade boy named Derek have approached you. They would like you to tutor their son for the rest
of the spring and possibly during the summer. You tell the parents that you would like to think it over for
a week. Since Dereks current third-grade teacher is a close friend, you speak to her.
She seems to know Derek well, and a picture emerges of a pleasant, cooperative, and hard-working boy
who is performing right up to his capacities. He is a slow reader, has trouble with abstractions, and
experiences difficulty with instructions when they become at all complex. His second-grade teacher says
basically the same things. The school psychologist tells you that Dereks performance and these
difficulties are confirmed in his test data. Everyone who knows Derek says that if there is a problem, it is
the unrealistic expectations of his rather intense parents. One is a lawyer, and the other is an accountant.
They are convinced that Derek is performing at C level, as they call it, simply because he is being lazy
and not applying himself. They dismiss the psychologists views as just so much silly psychobabble and
claim that Derek simply needs to be given more work to do and to be held to higher standards. Further,
they feel that if Derek doesnt catch fire soon, he will get accustomed to mediocrity and will lose all
chance of attending a good college. They have not asked you for your opinion, but you support the
professionals: Derek is working well up to his capacities.
Dereks parents want you to tutor him after school two days a week and for five hours on Saturday. They
have offered you $250 a week to do so. You have the time, and the money would mean that you could buy
a dependable car to replace the clunker you currently drive. You also are aware that if you do not accept
the assignment, there are several other teachers who will, teachers who are not as skilled and
conscientious as you are. What is the right thing to do?
-The right this to do is help out and tutor the student or find him a tutor if you truly cannot do it. You
could make it fun for him or find more of a fun tutor.
Ethics 0Case 3: The Games Children Play
Four months ago you began your first year of teaching in a fairly rural part of the state. The community is
spread out, but the people are closely knit, which you soon discover has pluses and minuses. Newcomers
like you are noticed by all and welcomed by most. As the new fifth-grade teacher in a strange community,
you were naturally sympathetic to Denise, a shy young girl who transferred in from out of state a few
weeks after the school year started. After the students initial curiosity wore off, they left Denise to
herself. At lunch and on the playground, she was always alone, and, from her appearance, she was not
happy about it. You made efforts to weave her into different cliques of girls, but nothing seemed to take.
Twice you tried to speak to her about it privately, but the first time she clammed right up, and the second

time she cried and fled the room. Not sure what to do, you had this problem on the back burner and were
watching it when things began to boil.
First, Denise started missing a good deal of school, and she apparently was not sick. Then, for no visible
reason, she would sometimes burst into tears or turn and yell at her classmates, Leave me alone! Some
students seemed surprised; others laughed at her.
Yesterday as school was letting out, Denise came up to you and showed you what seemed to be her new
gloves with the fingers cut off. You called her mother last night, and she said that Denise is convinced all
the kids hate her and are trying to punish her for something.
You think the apparent hazing is the work of a very popular, strong-minded girl with whom you have had
your own struggles of will this year. The girl is a natural leader, as is her mother, the president of the
Parent-Teachers Association. The mother has let you know in half a dozen ways that she is not thrilled
with her child having an inexperienced teacher.
Now, you have finally decided that you are going to send Denise to the library and talk to the entire class
about whatever is going on. However, when the children come back from lunch and begin to take out
their books, you first hear Denise gasp and then see her staring wide-eyed into her desk. After a moment,
she lets out a terrifying scream. You rush over and discover the cause. In her desk is a large paper bag
inside of which is a dead rat caught in a trap. There is also a note saying, Youre next!!! You recognize
the handwriting as belonging to your chief suspect who, when you glance her way, is looking very
pleased with herself. What should you do?
-As the girl if she knows anything about Denise being bullied. You can get her to spill out the details of
who is bullying her and figure out if it is her that is bullying Denise.
Ethics 0Case 4: Academic Moonlighting
You are just beginning your third year of teaching in a school district you like a great deal. Your first two
years of teaching were hectic but by and large successful. Your principal has recently asked you to move
from the fifth grade, where you were comfortable, to the third grade, where you are not. However, he has
confidence in you, and you are coming up for tenure at the end of this year. You are also working toward
a masters degree in education at the state university, and you need to take a course this semester. If you
get three more graduate credits during this fall semester and three next semester, you will not only be
closer to the degree but will also have a total of fifteen credits, automatically moving you up $900 on the
districts salary scale.
The only graduate course open to you this semester is a very demanding and time-consuming educational
statistics course, about which you have heard nothing but bad news. You have to take the course
sometime, but this semester could not be worse. You know very little about the third-grade curriculum or,
for that matter, about third-graders. You think that even without the course, you will be scrambling to
prepare and stay a jump ahead of the children. You are sure you can bluff your way through, but you are
worried about shortchanging the students. Still, the course is part of your graduate requirements. What do
you do?
-I would ask the principal if I could teach 5th grade for 1 more year. I would seek other positions that I
want more but also take the new position.
Ethics 0Case 5: For the Good of the Team
You teach in a city in which many of the students drop out of school, and the only type of job they are
qualified for is unskilled work. The city also struggles to keep its youth off the streets and out of criminal
activity. You are a history teacher in senior high, and most of your students are seniors. One student you
particularly admire is Bruce. One of four children, he was raised by his mother. His father left when he

was eight, and Bruce has been treated like the man of the family ever since. You think he has borne his
responsibility admirably. He is a kind and mature young man.
Bruce is also a star athlete. In fact, as captain of the football team and as quarterback, he led his team to
the state championship, the most positive news for the high school in twenty years. Bruces coach has told
you that college scouts are quite interested in Bruce, and that all he needs to do is graduate from high
school with a C average and he will be admitted to any one of the major universities that have nationally
ranked athletic programs. Bruce could be heading for a professional football career.
As much as you admire Bruce, he never has been a strong student. He is courteous in class, participates in
discussions frequently, but his writing and test-taking ability are weak. He has not been identified as
having any learning disabilities. You have worked with him individually after class several times, and his
improvement has been slight. In your class, he has been running a C-minus average, and U.S. history is a
requirement for graduation. You have figured that he needs a least a C-plus to earn a C for the year.
When you correct Bruces exam, you see he earned a 68, which is a D. Both the coach and Bruce have
said they will stop by later in the day to find out his grade. You check over his exam twice to see if you
made any mistakes in correcting. You didnt. Then you consider curving the exam, even though the grades
seem to be evenly distributed. When Bruce and the coach arrive, what will you do?
-I would let that student along with all the other students only if they worked hard enough to retake and
make up assignments.
Ethics 0Case 6: Social Promotion
You are a first-year teacher in a poor, urban public middle school. Some of your students, despite all your
hard work, have remained beyond your reach. Consequently, a number of your eighth-graders still cannot
read near grade level and have mastered only the most elementary computing skills. You and several other
eighth-grade teachers are reviewing the students files to see who will be promoted to ninth grade. During
the middle of the meeting, the principal enters. His agenda, you learned quite early, is far different from
yours. Central office judges his performance not on the students real academic achievement but on the
percentage of students promoted and on the number of student suspensions and expulsions. His goal is to
keep students quiet and out of trouble.
Look, he says bluntly. I would strongly encourage you to promote your students if they have met state
attendance requirements. He continues on for several minutes, talking about how important it is for the
eighth-graders to feel successful and to go to the high school.
You look at him dumbfounded. Essentially, hes telling you to pass all of your students, whether they are
literate or not. What will you do?
-I would encourage him to not let the students move up because they will struggle.
Ethics 0Case 7: Sex Education
You have taught for several years in Greenpond, a small rural town, and have developed a good rapport
with most of your students, especially those students who seem to need a caring adult in their lives. One
such student is Jessye. At thirteen, she is already sexually mature and looks to be nineteen to twenty,
rather than just beginning her teen years.
Several months into the school year, Jessye lingers in your room after school. Without speaking, she starts
to help you straighten the room, and after you finish, you sit down. You let Jessye speak. Its just small
talk at first; then she tells you details about her family life. Then she says she wants to know what form of
contraception you use.

You look at her and say nothing for a moment. Jessye continues unselfconsciously: I figured youre
about my moms age, and you dont have any kids. So either theres something wrong with you or you do
something so you dont have kids.
You ask Jessye why she is so curious, and she tells you that she has slept with four or five guys, and she
has just started going out with Pete, an eighteen-year-old who graduated last year. She hasnt gotten
caught so far, but shes not dumb. I figure sooner or later, Ill get pregnant, but Id rather it come
later, she tells you with a chuckle.
You mention to Jessye that she should talk to her mom about her questions, but Jessye looks at you and
snorts, Are you kidding? Shes never around, and she said shed kick me out if she found out I was doing
anything. What should you do?
-I would send her to the counselor and try to become closer with her knowing a lot is going on.