Page 12 - Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration and Ethical Leadership

COLLEGE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS & ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
Ethical Challenge Two
Questioning Ethical Responsibilities
Taking a nature walk on the public trail behind the school is a common outdoor activity that we engage in several times throughout the year. With the harsh weather and ice storms that we experienced this past winter, the Conservation Authority put up
a temporary trail closure sign that warned of potential unsafe conditions on the path. Despite this sign, we did observe many dog walkers and joggers continue to use the path. We were hopeful that the winter clean up would take place before our scheduled nature walk in a couple of weeks.
The day of our nature walk had arrived. When I got to school that afternoon I was disheartened to see that the temporary trail closure sign remained. I was also uneasy
to learn that other members of the school’s early learning team ignored the sign and took classes on the nature walk anyway. They assured me that they had walked
the path before school started and it was clear — at least there were no obvious dangers that they spotted. What should I do?
After weighing the potential and unknown risks and the responsibility to ensure the safety of the children, my teaching partner and I decided that we would not take the class on a nature walk on the public trail. Instead, we took a nature hunt around
the property surrounding the school. The children had a great time listening and looking for signs of spring.
Parents trust that schools and educators are committed to their child’s well-being and safety. While the potential risks
may have been minimal, my professional judgment told me that even the slightest possibility that a student could be injured would be too great a risk to take. This situation caused some minor tensions between me and other members of the early learning team. Although I did not make any direct comments, it seems that our refusal to take the children on the path could have been perceived as an assertion of judgment on their actions and interfered with future collaboration. However, I did not want to jeopardize my certification and the safety of the children for an activity that I viewed as being too risky.
On the other hand, I did not report this incident to the principal or families of the children that participated in the nature walk on the temporarily closed path. I
was concerned about what this might do
in terms of my ongoing interprofessional collaboration with fellow early learning team members. By default, am I equally guilty of not upholding my own ethical responsibilities by failing to do so? Educators are in the public eye. The public and specifically parents trust educators with the duty to care for their young children, which is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
9 EXPLORING INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION AND ETHICAL LEADERSHIP