Ethics Case Study

Steven Smith was employed by the Avon School District as a high school English Language Arts teacher. He posted three photos of his students’ writing on Facebook®, highlighting their grammar gaffes and misspellings. He also commented on the mistakes.

Smith’s posts weren’t shared publicly on the social media site, but a customized group of his Facebook friends could see the photos. Someone who thought his posts were inappropriate for a school teacher did not contact Smith, but did contact the local newspaper about the photos and comments. The school district’s central office received an anonymous tip about the teacher, his posts, and the forthcoming newspaper article.

Prompt:  Write two paragraphs (100 words each).  In the first paragraph consider either the perspective of the teacher, a parent, the administrator, or a student.  What would they likely say about the news release and the actions of the teacher?  In your second paragraph,  discuss which dispositions (SCRIP), ethical standards (MCEE) and/or Biblical principles were violated or upheld?  Include at least one specific example from each category.

Case Scenario:

Seven-year-old Alfonso has two months left in his first grade year. He is active and outgoing, has many friends, and loves to play soccer. Science is his favorite subject. He enjoys learning anything related to space and sloths. He is very curious and particularly likes hands-on academic activities that use manipulatives.

Alfonso enjoys reading and writing, but struggles. During literacy class instruction, Alfonso is able to sound out words well, but struggles with word meanings and finding connections among words in various grade appropriate texts. Alfonso also struggles with reading comprehension and has a particularly hard time making connections between what he reads and what he already knows. He often brings up irrelevant information when trying to make these connections.

Alfonso’s teacher, Ms. Seymour, wants to utilize specific strategies for Alfonso to ensure he masters the vocabulary and comprehension skills that are expected before the end of the year.