Schools’ Ethical Issues

Schools face numerous ethical issues everyday. While some might be

more difficult to see, such as poor curriculum choices, others are more
obvious, such as cheating. Sometimes, the sheer number of students
and work load may make teachers less than willing to risk their jobs to
tackle ethical issues.

For Teachers

1. Social And Ethnic Issues

Social and ethnic differences are often ignored in public schools,

possibly leaving some students behind. For instance, a child from a
poor background might be malnourished and have issues at home that
prevent them from doing homework. The child is punished at school
versus having an alternative presented.

2. Cheating And Assisted Cheating

Cheating has always been an ethical issue plaguing schools. It’s often
difficult to uncover in the best of circumstances, but large classroom
sizes in public schools make this worse. In addition to standard
cheating, assisted cheating is also becoming a major ethical problem.
Teachers may “assist” students who are struggling in order to boost a
classroom or school’s overall scores to increase funding. Performance
isn’t the way to offer funding and it’s hurting the ethics of public
schools.

3. Bullying

Bullying affects all schools. However, public school teachers and

counselors often ignore the signs or brush it off when students report
something. They’d prefer to stay out of moral and ethical issues as
much as possible to avoid any public complaints from parents.
However, it’s the moral obligation of adults and students to report and
stop bullying whenever possible to avoid escalation.

4. Assessment Problems
Assessments should always be graded ethically. Teachers may give a
student extra points to ensure they pass. Or, they may even grade
lower at times to provide a better curve for all students. However, any
type of false grading is unethical. It doesn’t help the teacher, student,
school or even society. Assessments should be used to determine if a
student fully understands the concepts or needs additional help.
Unethical grading prevents students from getting the help they need.

5. Preferential Treatment

It’s far too common for teachers, principals and school administrators
to show preferential treatment. Teachers may grade one student
harshly while letting another slide simply because they like them
better. A principal wanting more money for boosters might show star
athletes preferential treatment in order to keep parents donating. They
might also suggest teachers give them better grades so they can keep
playing.

No matter what the reason, preferential treatment is never ethical.

This shows students they don’t have to work hard in life. At the same
time, this happens with staff as well. Some teachers may be shown
preferential treatment and get away with unethical behavior simply
because of tenure or they went to a certain university.

While there are many ethical issues in schools, all of these issues are
teaching opportunities to improve ethics in students to create a more
ethical society.

What are some examples of good ethical behavior in school?

1. Showing up to class on time

2. Turning in your homework on time
3. Being honest in tests and homeworks (no cheating)
4. Not texting/phoning/etc. while in class (unless perhaps it’s to look up something
relevant?)
5. Not talking in class while the lecture is on going.
6. Not talking disrespectfully to the Teacher (unless they are being disrespectful and you
are calling it out)
7. (For boys) Not treating girls like meat / making lewd comments / “rating” them on that
stupid 1–10 patriarch scale / any other bad sex stuff
8. (For girls) Same as above but this is not equal-handed
9. NO BULLYING of any kind and sticking up to defend those who are being bullied
(even if you get ejected from the school - you said good ethical behavior not
good rules behavior, those aren’t necessarily the same!)
10. Snitching on classmates when they’ve been observed doing unethical behavior,
especially if it’s of a kind that poses a danger to others. Have integrity, not cronyism.
The latter is how corruption begins and breeds. Be warned.