Ethics For Teachers

As I said in my earlier blog on ethics I am only just moving into the area of teaching and as such my knowledge of the profession and the ethics involved are some what limited. I decided to start my investigation into teaching code of ethics by simply using Google. The first site I came across was a teachers' code of ethics as laid out by the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family. Here is the link;

http://www.education.gov.mt/ministry/doc/code_of_ethics.htm

One of the main things that struck me was the sheer detail of the code. Not only does a teacher have an obligation to his/her students (which is what I imagined) but they also have an obligation to the students parents, the other teachers they are working with, the school they are working for and the community as a whole. There are bound to be so many conflicts of interest when you have obligations to so many different groups. I initially thought that even though you should respect the relationship with the parents and the school your duty must be foremost to your student. I then read the following exert from the Association of American Educators website;

'We strongly affirm parents as the primary moral educators of their children. Nevertheless, we believe all educators are obligated to help foster civic virtues such as integrity, diligence, responsibility, cooperation, loyalty, fidelity, and respect-for the law, for human life, for others, and for self.'

I struck me that within this statement there lies a dilemma. You will have personal beliefs about the way people should behave and live. A personal code of ethics or sense of morality. However, as stated above it is not necessarily your place to morally educate a child, it is the place of the parent. If the parents' beliefs conflicted with your own on certain issues (as long as the actual welfare of the student was not at risk) you would have an ethical responsibility to hold your tongue. In this case you are surely giving more weight to your duty to the parents than to your duty to the student. I know that I would find this very difficult because the things I believe, I really believe. I think this must be the way science teachers feel when they are made to teach evolution and creationism side by side as scientific theories because of the moral beliefs of the parents and the school. If this was me I would feel like I was depriving the child of a true and fair education but it would not be my place to intervene. In protecting one ethical code are you not ignoring another?

I began to think about teaching on a vocational musical theatre course (as this is the direction I am heading in) and wondered what if any were the ethical conflicts involved. The first thing that occurred to me was that the students on a course like this would be over eighteen and as such you would no longer have an obligation to their parents. The decisions the student makes are entirely their own. This significantly reduces the areas of conflict. However, you still have an obligation to the school and the profession as a whole.

I started to think about the discussions that some BAPP students have been having about body image and how quite often people's perceptions of their bodies are strongly influenced by the way they were treated and how they were taught during their training. As a teacher on a vocational course is your objective to make your students the best they can be? To give them the best possible opportunity of getting as much work as they can? Is it to supply the industry with fiercely trained professionals who can strengthen and progress what is already in place? Is it also to improve the reputation of the college by producing graduating students of an incredibly high standard? If this is the case then you have to be hard on your students to make them the best. Who cares if you give them an eating disorder? In fact it would be unethical of you not to.

So clearly what I just wrote is ridiculous. There must be more to it. Perhaps it is less about making your students the best and more about making them the best they can be. It is about considering their individual needs not only as performers but also as people. I guess the ethics are really in place to keep a balance. You are obliged to train your students hard and make them good (you would be failing them otherwise) but you are also responsible for maintaining their emotional well being. In the long run this will also benefit the college and the industry because the graduating students will be well rounded individuals who have the chance of achieving longevity in an extremely challenging profession. This thought makes me come back to the idea that really the most important element is the student. As a teacher if you focus on their needs then ultimately there is advantage for everyone.