Ethics for Teachers Essay

Educators are held to a higher standard of behavior than other professionals. The behavior of teachers is judged more harshly. While some wrong behavior is excusable for others, unethical behavior is inexcusable for teachers. Teachers are authority figures, role models, behavioral examples and surrogate parents (Weldon 2003). In some instances the teacher is the only authority figure in a child’s life, so if that trust is broken where is a child to turn? There are many instances of unethical teacher behavior, I have found just a few. In school district 52 in B. C. two teachers are facing charges of sexual exploitation of students. One of the teachers was employed for five years and was charged on Dec. 23 with three cases of sexual exploitation of a young person (Schumacher, 2008). Another teacher was charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability (Schumacher, 2008). Upon the completion of the districts investigation the first teacher was fired with cause and the second teacher was suspended from his duties. Lisa â€Å"As with anything, it’s until something happens that you look a little closer at all of the policies that you have,† said Last. â€Å"I’m assuming as a parent and community member that here is a code of conduct for any teacher. Like doctors have their code of ethics, I’m assuming teachers have their own as well. †(Schumacher, 2008). Last is the chair of School District 52. After the charges the school district began reviewing practices to help avoid future issues. In Bakersfield, CA a teacher was charged with two felony counts of oral copulation with a person under age 18(Kotowski, 2008). â€Å"If we just say that we kissed that we made out, at most we made out we kissed we just kind of held and caressed each other ten that’s not statutory rape,† Neal said. â€Å"And that saves me from a hell of a lot of trouble. †(Kotowski). Neal told the student to lie about what had happened between them and was not aware that he was being recorded by police. He taught for 10 years and is on administrative leave. In Ontario a teacher had his license revoked because he made racist comments about Jewish people while he was off duty. â€Å"The Supreme Court basically said that, as a teacher, your off-duty conduct can impact on your roles as a teacher if what you’re doing is engaging in behavior that could create a poisoned environment within the school system,† said Brian Kenny, a lawyer with MacPherson Leslie and Tyerman in Regina. (Klie, 2007). He had been engaging in racist activities for years, but still kept his job until the board was sent a tape of him speaking at a Heritage Front rally in front of a swastika flag, extolling the virtues of a neo-Nazi who was convicted of violating the Canadian Human Rights Act. (Klie). Teacher’s returning to school in Woodstock, GA were greeted with a copy of Georgia school’s version of the 10 Commandments: the Teacher Code of Ethics. (Jonsson, 2001). During the summer one teacher was convicted of child abuse, while two others were indicted, they were soliciting students at school for sex. While there seems to be quite a few examples of sexual misconduct that is not all the unethical things teachers do. One teacher changed the answers to a test of a student because she felt she did not deserve to get promoted. Another teacher found that a student’s hyperactivity medicine worked so well she gave it to other students. (Jonsson). Teachers should be held to higher standards than everyone else they are molding the people who will one day be our future. I don’t agree that their life should be under a microscope, but I do agree there should be some standard of ethics that teachers should follow. References Jonsson, P. (2001). More school districts warm to lessons in correct conduct, hoping to stem a tide of ethical lapses. The Christian Science monitor, 11. Klie, S.(2007). Teacher loses license for off-duty racist conduct. Canadian HR Reporter, 20(22), 3. Doi: 1408253031 Kotowski, J. (2008). Teacher taped talking about sexual relationship with student. Bakersfield Californian, NA. Schumacher, K. (2008). Students are district’s top priority following charges school district 52 conducting its own probe into abuse allegations. Daily News p. 1. Doi: 1408253031 Weldon, J. A. (2003). â€Å"But it was on my own time! † Professional consequences of off-duty behavior. Retrieved November 2, 2005, from http://www. eric. ed. gov.