Introduction
The Ethical Colleague
What does it mean to be a professional educator? Besides developing engaging lessons that meet the academic needs of students, a teacher needs to exercise good judgment and interact ethically with colleagues in a professional manner. Teachers must also be mindful that even when interacting with colleagues the foremost guiding principle is that these interactions must always be in the best interest of students and the profession. In this module, we will examine different ways that the ethical expectations of teachers can impact how they work with colleagues and how they maintain a safe, professional environment in their schools.
From the News
On this page, there is a news report from Las Vegas, a special education teacher was arrested after a teacher's aide reported the teacher for abuse of one of her students.
Discussion Questions
- How do you feel about the teacher's aide's actions? Do you believe she had a legal responsibility to report the misconduct? What would have happened if the aide had not reported the misconduct? To what entity or entities should the misconduct be reported?
- Do you believe that the teacher should be disciplined either on the local level or on the state level (certification)?
Video Example