Introduction

In any profession, there are rules that govern the behavior and actions of the personnel, and this is known as professional ethics. It means that all the members of a certain field ought to follow these moral standards despite their personal belief systems or religious affiliations (Peters, 2015). In all careers, there are instances when the individuals are faced with challenging issues or those that are out of their belief systems, and this requires them to put the professional ethics first when making decisions. However, like all human beings, sometimes, these professionals fail and act out of character or their ethical obligations, and it can have consequences depending on the action committed. In such an instance, an individual is held accountable by the law for violating the professional ethics and can face jail term or hefty fines. Thus, there is a need to analyze a situation where a teacher violated a teaching ethical conduct, correct ethical response to this case, and argument against the objection.

Description of Professional Ethical Problem

In Baltimore, a teacher was recorded by one of her students while yelling and abusing African-American students. She was yelling in anger and was using rude language. She also asked a student to get out of her class, and while losing her patience, she started making racial discriminatory statements (Green, 2016). A teacher who disrespected students by yelling, abusing, and using racial abuse goes against the ethical obligation of teachers to care for students at all times. In addition, calling out and pointing out racial stereotypes create a discriminatory environment and goes against the professional code of ethics for teachers to ensure that the classroom promotes equality, security, and is free from offensive conduct. The teacher also violated the principle of promoting healthy relationships .

Key Ethical Elements in the Problem

Trust

The teacher has broken the trust of the school administration to lead middle school students and also uphold the image of the school as an environment for positivity and learning. Instead, she insulted them and used racially abusive words.

Honesty

The teacher has broken honesty, as she is obliged to uphold it at all times, but especially in a classroom environment.

Respect

The teacher did not respect the learners since she was yelling and cursing them and, at the same time, made racial statements. It demonstrates the lack of respect for the children, classroom, and African-American culture.

Avoiding Harm

The teacher’s actions could cause psychological trauma in the students later in life. Being racially discriminated by a teacher can lead to mental trauma for the learners and also create emotional harm. Thus, the principle of avoiding harm was violated.

Loyalty

The teacher demonstrated the lack of loyalty to the teaching profession. because the pedagogues are held up to a certain standard of maintaining and enforcing peace in a classroom environment. However, when being faced with emotional outbursts, she forgot the moral obligations of her profession and was ready to act out of character.

Argument for the Correct Response

In this case, the correct ethical response is to fire the teacher and revoke her license for some period of time. It would be ethical since the tutor is guilty of abusing and harassing the students and also being racially discriminative. It means that the pedagogue can pay for damages she caused, and the school administration should prevent future damages by suspending her license for a while. In the professional world, punishment for ethical misconducts helps mend the trust to the public. In addition, the teacher being fired would ensure that her actions do not go unpunished, and that the harassment and abuse of children by teachers are treated with the seriousness it deserves. The teaching profession is responsible for guiding the learners to the right path, and due to the fact that the children spend most of their time at school, the pedagogues have a moral obligation to uphold the ethical standards.

Objection to the Argument

It is ethically wrong for an individual to be fired with a revoked license based on one incident of an emotional outburst. A job is someone’s main source of income, and in most cases, there are others depending on that individual. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially with regards to their professional mistakes. Apart from that, being fired does not mean that the teacher has learnt her lesson and would not repeat the same behavior in the future. Following the proposed solution to the problem does not necessarily mean that justice would be served on the affected children, or the emotional and psychological trauma that she might have caused would be healed and disappeared. It just means that the teacher would lose her source of livelihood, while the children would also be traumatized and emotionally wounded at the same time. The tutor might also have been good at her job, and thus, being fired for one incident is not ethical. All in all, there are other means of rectifying her behavior that the school administration can use, such as community service, counselling, or sensitivity training. Thus, the management should think twice before firing her.

Response to Objection

Teachers are role models for students, as the classroom is a second-home for them. It means that parents trust the school to create a positive environment for their minors. Punishing the teacher by firing her from the school and also revoking her license for a year might seem a little harsh solution, but it is necessary since abusing children and being racially discriminatory towards them can cause extreme mental challenges. Apart from that, the children should be respected and treated with dignity, and punishing a teacher who has abused and humiliated a student by just offering her counselling without any harsh outcomes violates this notion. Although firing her might not take away her negative actions, it communicates to her that her actions are not tolerable in the teaching profession, and they have consequences. In addition, the minors also have an equal right the same way as the adults, and any person who takes advantage of their age gap to discriminate and humiliate children must be punished accordingly (Hutchinson, 2015). Although being fired does not guarantee that such mistakes would not be repeated in the future, it could prevent them from being repeated in the same school, or at least, this teacher and her colleagues would be morally careful with their behavior.

Conclusion

All in all, ethics is an important aspect of professional practice since it serves as a moral guide for right and wrong. Without professional ethics, the people would be careless in their actions or be tempted to use personal judgement (Strike Soltis, 2015). In the case of the teacher, she was responsible for creating a positive classroom environment but violated this by abusing and discriminating her African-American students. Ethical punishments may vary from one school of thought to another, but the most reasonable responses should be in line with the profession as well as future considerations. It is important for professions to have a clear ethical response to ethical violations to avoid gray areas when it comes to punishment. It means that each case deserves individual approach to finding a solution.

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