Task 5C - Reader 5 thoughts.

After reviewing reader 5 I have been trying to organise my thoughts and assess what I have learnt. Most importantly how I can use the examples and ideas given in the reader to ensure my professional practise and my inquiry are carried out in an ethical way.

I liked the diagram which showed how ethics are related.

Personal – Profession – Organisation – Society

Working within schools I am working within the community. This means that way I handle myself professionally affects society. I have influence over my students. I behave in a way in which I believe to be ‘ethical’ to keep them safe, be a professional and set a good example of how to conduct themselves. Reader 5 has helped me to step back and think a little more in depth about my ethical considerations. There can be instances where it is not just ‘black’ or ‘white’. I know that I was influenced by my teachers.

The case study about the NHS got me thinking about a few things. It seems that one of the reasons things got out of control was because of people not speaking up or thinking too must about protecting the public image. In my opinion it is not worth keeping a positive but false view of the NHS when patient’s lives may have been put at risk. In my case, in class, if I notice that something is going on with one of my students I have to bring this up to the appropriate person. If I choose to ignore the potential for incident I would be partially responsible if a student was injury or affected in some negative way down the line.

                The Guardian article tells us that the NHS has, ‘no statutory obligation to be honest with patients when things go wrong.’ This surprises me as health is such an important issue. The same can be said of education. If I anticipate anything having a negative effect on a student’s education I would speak up because students don’t often get a second chance. I wouldn’t want to have a lastly negative impact on their lives.

People may be afraid to speak out if they see things going wrong – especially if they are in a lower position. However, management may not report things for fear of looking like they can’t handle something. I think that we are all responsible for ethical considerations and since I have started BAPP I have had more positive ‘change’ conversations with colleagues because I feel confident to do so. I am gaining a better understand of the ethics involved in my profession.

‘Ethics pervades all parts of our lives’ (Reader 5, p15)

Reader 5 says that ‘tacitly’ different professions have morals/virtues that people associate with them. I noted down a few things that people may associate with a teacher.

Fair, patient, understanding, knowledgeable.

It was hard to pick one because there is a lot for a teacher to think about. Not just making sure that they have knowledge of their subject but they have to deal well with students issues.  Because of this I would say that as a teacher the way you deal with ethics in the class could be tricky. It would make sense to be deontological because we start by teaching the students a set of rules that apply to the class. However, I think sometimes you may have to be consequentialist as you have to be understanding of your students and often take each situation into consideration as it occurs.  In the next task I will post on my SIG and on my blog about how ethical considerations may affect the way that I carry out my inquiry.