Page 20 - Inquiring into the Ethical Dimensions of Professional Practice

Vignette 13: Struggling with Professional Obligations
For the last couple of years I have worked with a colleague and fellow Department Head. In my 15 years of teaching with Clarence I have found him challenging to say the least. Clarence likes to teach a grade nine course in the department at least once a year. He does not seem to be very effective, always doing just the minimum and focusing only on the aspects of the course he likes to teach. In my department we collect a course fee from all of the students. I have a strict department policy that all members of my department are to deposit all fees collected over $100.00 at the end of each day and provide me with a copy of the deposit slip. Clarence does not follow this policy. Since he is a department head, I have given him some leeway but I do remind him several times both orally and by e-mail to deposit his course fees. Lately my patience has worn thin and I have had to involve the budget secretary. Eventually he does make the deposit sometime after the end of the semester, but it leaves me frustrated and I am sure that his reputation does not go unscathed. I also wonder that if he does this in my department with me watching, what does he do in his? Another area of concern is Clarence’s lack of planning as he often avoids teaching the theory/ history part of the course and is often forced to provide students with a crash course one week before the exam period.
This last semester one of my department members, who was teaching the same course and needed to collaborate with him on the common exam, came to me to report something that was told to her openly by a former student that was in Clarence’s class. It seems that this teacher provided both some questions and the answers for a number of the questions in the final exam. I was aware of what needed to be done, yet this is a colleague who is also a department head and someone whom I have to work with in the future. I struggled with my own professional obligations related to this situation. What are my professional obligations and what are the professional obligations of our staff as a collective?
Ethical Inquiry Cycle
Ethical Inquiry Dialogic Process
After reading the vignette, educators are invited to engage in critical reflection and dialogue related to the following ethical inquiry process:
1. Experience: Identify the ethical challenge(s), issue(s) or dimensions inherent within this vignette.
2. Reflection: Critically reflect on the underlying values or assumptions that are influencing the professional practices in this vignette.
3. Critical Analysis: Critically analyze this vignette through the ethics of Care, Respect, Trust and Integrity.
4. New Perspectives and Insights: Identify new insights or understandings have been gained from reading this vignette?
Ethical Knowledge and Action
Generate suggestions for enhancing the ethical awareness, sensitivity and ethical efficacy of the educators in this vignette?
18 Ontario College of Teachers