Begin Main Content Area

Case Studies

Consider the scenarios below. Each fictional scenario is loosely based on actual cases that have been brought to the PSPC in recent years or ones that have appeared in local or national news. In each situation, consider what you would do if a colleague behaved this way. Would you approach your colleague? If so, what would you say? Should you report any these activities to an administrator? MUST you report any of these activities to an administrator? to the Department of Education? to Child Line?

Case 1

Michael P. is a high school social studies teacher and an assistant football coach. During lunchtime conversations in the faculty room, you hear Mr. P. talking about female students and other teachers in a sexual manner. He refers to some of his students as "hotties" and says that he wishes he was in high school again so he could date them.

Case 2

A student shows you a gift she received from a Mr. K., a math teacher on your middle school team. The gift is a small teddy bear holding a heart and the student says that she received the gift because she did well on a test. When asked if other students had received similar gifts, the student explains that Mr. K had worked with her after school to help her prepare for the exam.

Case 3

After administering the state assessments in the spring, a colleague divulges to you that several students were struggling with the test and that she helped them with a few of the questions. With the recent poor test results for the school, the teacher explains that she was really helping the district not lose state funding.

Case 4

During lunch, Steven R. often walks around the faculty room giving his female colleagues back massages to help them "relax." Some of the teachers look visibly uncomfortable with the contact and attempt to avoid his massages.

Case 5

In the hallway one day, students from one of your classes stop and ask you what you think of Mr. S. When you ask why this would be important to them, they explain that Mr. S. had gone on a tirade in their class and complained about your ability as a teacher. One of them says that Mr. S. says that you were the worst teacher in the school.

While these cases are fictional, real cases that have been adjudicated by the Pennsylvania Standards and Practices Commission can be accessed by visiting the PSPC site.