Ethical Dilemma
Storyboard Text
- Ethical Dilemma
- Teacher Role Model in School
- Teacher Role Model in School
- Teacher Role Model in School
- Teacher Role Model Out of School
- Teacher Role Model Out of School
- Teacher Role Model Out of School
- Reaction to Dilemma
- Ms. B teaches 2nd grade. You are an instructional assistant in her class. She gives the class directions for a short writing assignment that is to be completed in the next 15 minutes. Josh isn’t paying attention and missed the directions. He frequently bothers his classmates by humming, tapping his pencil, scraping his chair along the floor, making noises, and speaking out of turn. He asks for the directions to be repeated. The other students in the class begin to make fun of Josh and ridicule him for not paying attention once again. Ms. B, feeling frustrated because she is asked to repeat the instructions once again, ignores Josh and the other students and looks out of the window instead. What do I do? Well, I must decide how to handle the students laughing and ridiculing Josh, as well as Ms. B being stressed, and Josh's interruptions.
- A teacher role model in school considers safety and welfare of the students. This includes psychological, emotional, intellectual, sexual, and physical criteria (Safety and Welfare). Every decision or comment we make can affect these layers of a student's life. We are in place of parents when students are in our care, so students' safety and welfare become one of our main roles as teachers. We need to be aware of where our students are in each of these layers of their lives, protect them, and be good role models in all realms of life.
- A teacher role model in school is also enthusiastic about learning and maintains high expectations for their students. By maintaining high expectations, students will see that their teachers believe in them, which will build their confidence. If teachers are going to have high expectations, they need to work hard and show their students that it is possible to accomplish hard things (Barile, 2020). High expectations should not just be held for academic standards, but personal, life standards as well.
- Finally, a teacher role model in school is empathetic. Teachers will have diverse groups of students, so it is important to be empathetic to varying differences and challenges. Not only does this help students succeed by having support from their teacher, but it also helps teachers and students form that professional relationship. Without this, students may not be as engaged or motivated to do their best because they do not respect their teacher. This also shows students the importance of respecting and being empathetic to others' differences and challenges themselves.
- A teacher role model out of school is just an extension to the job (Safety and Welfare). A characteristic of a teacher role model out of school is professionalism. They remain professional and remember their roles as a teacher in school. A teacher could be neighbors with students, go to the same church, visit the same shops, etc. Even out of school, students still look to their teachers as role models in their lives. Safety and welfare extend beyond the classroom.
- A characteristic of a teacher role model out of school is also being ethical. As stated before, we replace parents when students are in our care during the school day (Safety and Welfare). Therefore, it is important for teachers to have ethics and professional values that the students can model and use to create their own ethics and values in their own lives. The school years are vulnerable for children and adolescents. They are becoming their own selves, so whether in the classroom or out of school, teachers should remain ethical. Teachers should strive for diversity and inclusion even out of school.
- Finally, a third characteristic for teacher role models out of school is living a healthy, active life (Barile, 2020). Again, students are becoming their own person and learning value, ethics, lifestyles, etc. Being active and healthy are two important attributes to be successful, have good mental health, and feel confident. If a student is struggling in one realm of life, it can have a domino effect on other parts of their lives. Struggling with mental health can debilitate a student, cause achievement gaps, poor grades, low confidence, etc. This may seem like a small characteristic, but it can have major effects on teachers' students.
- As the instructional assistant, I allowed the teacher to take a breather to overcome her frustrations. I discussed with the other students that it is impolite and unkind to laugh at and ridicule their other friends in the class. I asked them to put themselves in Josh's shoes and how they would feel if they were being laughed at and ridiculed. Ms. B was then ready to begin the writing assignment with the other students, and I asked Josh if he would like to go for a walk to relieve some energy. During our walk, we discussed how his actions caused him to miss the directions given and the importance of being polite to Ms. B and the other students during instruction time. I went over the directions with Josh and we returned to class.
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