It seems unusual that my take on education and ethics module is: Work-life balance.
This is hard. Teaching is one of those jobs where it’s a battle not to take your work home with you every night. Whether it's marking, preparation, reports or just thinking about how you dealt with students and staff or what you will need to do the next day.
Separating personal from private.
From reading many ethical scenarios (CTEMP, 2012), a lot of the issues are when the boundaries are merged. When your personal self (space, time) is invaded by your work, it can be difficult to put your professional hat on - it would be easy to let your guard down on this (Hall, 2001).
What if I want to walk to the dairy barefoot and in stubbies?
It’s part of the job that I’m aware of students or parents seeing me. Consequently publicly (not just at school) I feel obligated to act the teacher. Perhaps it's an issue of authenticity, but I find there's not that much of a continuity error between my professional self and my public self in general. It would be challenging if this wasn't the case.
(I'm a jandal and shorts guy anyway)
And “seeing” is a key word
And “seeing” is a key word
PERCEPTION
A lot of the scenarios may be harmless BUT what about how they look for others? Remember, there is a power differential - not just by authority of the school, but age as well. With technology and social media, we can be viewed and dissected so much more (Hall, 2001).
How can this scenario look from another perception?
I don’t know if we can control the behaviour of those “professionals” who let the profession down, but I do think we have an obligation to put ourselves, without a doubt, out of situations where we can perceived like some of those who have breached professional boundaries. As a guy, any interactions I have with students, I want to be as open and public as possible.
JE SUIS UN MARTYR
I think for a lot of us, we are more likely to be in trouble because we were trying to do something good than bad.
- A student is struggling
- Someone is getting picked on
- A student doesn’t have a ride back from the game (this happened to me last week)
These personal moments, have to be within professional boundaries. While being sensitive to the issue, I don’t think it is ever a good idea to keep it a private issue.
When a student couldn’t get a ride home, he borrowed my phone to call his parents - maybe this itself is ethical. They asked if it was alright if I could drop him back off at school. Now I felt comfortable dropping him off, the parents knew and they had my contact number if there was a concern.
So who is the number one stakeholder you have to be concerned about?
YOU
You can do a lot more good by putting some boundaries up, so you can do what you do without being bogged down in complaints or matters much worse.
References
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual....
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers
Hi Byron, an interesting read. I agree, we are often erring on the side of 'good' when going close to those boundaries. I must confess I often do things that if I was thinking with an eithical/professional hat on wouldn't do...Like pick up the student walking home in the rain. I have several students I txt because I'm sorting out rehearsals etc (Music teacher) . Unlike you I'm a 55 year old female teacher with children and grandchildren, so maybe my demographic isn't one that people would raise their eyes about. I know for you the implications, rightly or wrongly are a lot more strict, my husband is a primary school teacher and always makes sure others are around him talking to female students etc. Thanks for such a readable blog. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI would also agree that many of us straddle the ethics boundaries and that we would be more likely to be trying to do good than do wrong. At our recent school ball, I saw a couple walking home in the dark at about 11.30pm, I stopped to ask them if they were ok and could I offer them a lift home. I was worried about what issues that they might encounter in the dark on their own. And if I admit, a reason which is slightly selfish, was that I would feel terrible if something happened and I had not done anything. However, they did not want a ride, as they were happy to walk home. Apart from manhandling them into my car, there was not a lot more that I could do. I did make sure that they had a phone and reminded them to ring their parents if they were feeling unsafe. However, as you state, this could have looked “bad” to an outsider and possibly put them and myself in an unethical situation, if I had taken them home. I do believe though that sometimes an ethical risk has to be taken to prevent a further unsafe situation. Just as in your case Byron, if you had not taken the boy home, what other issues may have arisen?
ReplyDeleteIsn't it sad that we have come to the situation where common sense no longer prevails- as we have to be careful of the consequences!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems incredibly unfair that the issue may not be legal but perception. In so many other professions something may be harmless but in teaching it is "perceived" as terrible. Think of any public sports person, politician, celebrity etc and any of their transgressions would have them out of teaching. In other arenas? Soon forgotten.
ReplyDeleteIt is really important that we ensure that we make sound decisions online. We need to be aware that what we do online may be misconstrued or misinterpreted. There are ramifications that may impact a teachers career. I firmly believe that we think before we post and who we befriend online. Remember hindsight is always 20/20.
ReplyDelete