Moral Questions In The Classroom

In this study, Katherine Simon analyses the ways teachers address or avoid moral issues that arise in middle and high school classrooms, then explains how morally charged issues may be taught responsibly in a diverse democracy.

In this groundbreaking book, Theodore and Nancy Sizer insist that students learn not just from their classes but from their school's routines and rituals, especially about matters of character. They convince us once again of what we may have forgotten: that we need to create schools that constantly demonstrate a belief in their students.

The third edition of the best-selling text, Ethical Leadership and Decision Making in Education, continues to address the increasing interest in ethics and assists educational leaders with the complex dilemmas in today’s challenging and diverse society. Through discussion and analysis of real-life moral dilemmas that educational leaders face in their schools and communities, authors Shapiro and Stefkovich demonstrate the application of their four ethical paradigms—the ethics of justice, care, critique, and profession. After an illustration of how the Multiple Ethical Paradigm approach may be applied to real dilemmas, the authors present a series of cases written by students and academics in the field representing the dilemmas faced by practicing educational leaders in urban, suburban, and rural settings in an era full of complexities and contradictions. Following each case are questions that call for thoughtful, complex thinking and help readers come to grips with their own ethical codes and apply them to practical situations. New in the Third Edition: An entire new chapter on privacy versus safety, including ethical issues such as strip searches, gang membership, cyber-bullying, and sexting. New cases infused into chapters on early childhood education, diverse student populations, and technology. Updates throughout to reflect contemporary issues and recent scholarship in the field of ethical leadership. Including teaching notes for the instructor stressing the importance of self-reflection, this text is easily adaptable for a variety of uses with a wide range of audiences. Ethical Leadership and Decision Making in Education is a valuable book for both aspiring and practicing administrators, teacher leaders, and educational policy makers.

The fourth edition of the best-selling text, Ethical Leadership and Decision Making in Education, continues to address the increasing interest in ethics and assists educational leaders with the complex dilemmas in today’s challenging and diverse society. Through discussion and analysis of real-life moral dilemmas that educational leaders face in their schools and communities, authors Shapiro and Stefkovich demonstrate the application of the four ethical paradigms—the ethics of justice, care, critique, and profession. After an illustration of how the Multiple Ethical Paradigm approach may be applied to real dilemmas, the authors present a series of cases written by students and academics in the field representing the dilemmas faced by practicing educational leaders in urban, suburban, and rural settings in an era full of complications and contradictions. Following each case are questions that call for thoughtful, complex thinking and help readers come to grips with their own ethical codes and apply them to practical situations. New in the Fourth Edition: A new chapter on technology versus respect, focusing on ethical issues such as cyber-bullying and sexting. New cases on teachers with guns, the military and education, children of undocumented immigrants, homeless students, videos in bathrooms, incentive pay, first responders, private alternative high schools, verbal threats, and gaming etiquette. Updates throughout to reflect contemporary issues and recent scholarship in the field of ethical leadership. This edition adds teaching notes for the instructor that stress the importance of self-reflection, use of new technologies, and global appeal of ethical paradigms and dilemmas. Easily adaptable to a variety of uses, this book is a critical resource for a wide range of audiences, including both aspiring and practicing administrators, teacher leaders, and educational policy makers.

Moral Problems in Higher Education brings together key essays that explore ethical issues in academia. The editor and contributors – all noted philosophers and educators – consider such topics as academic freedom and tenure, free speech on campus, sexual harassment, preferential student admissions, affirmative action in faculty appointments, and the ideal of a politically neutral university. Chapters address possible restrictions on research because of moral concerns, the structure of peer review, telling the truth to colleagues and students, and concerns raised by intercollegiate athletics. Cahn selects two key readings in each are to offer a readable introductory guide to these critical subjects for students studying academic ethics and higher education policy. In addition to the selections and a general introduction, Cahn provides study questions for use in the classroom.

"This is a book that should set off needed conversations in every school and classroom and school board meeting—and the dinner table. Sometimes I wanted to quarrel with the authors, and that′s part of its genius. It always managed to provoke me to think and to engage with these dilemmas." —Deborah Meier, Senior Scholar and Adjunct Professor New York University "The Mackenzies show us how to recognize moral dilemmas, employ guidelines for addressing them, and teach us how to resolve them on our own. A gift to educators, the educational profession, and to all who would behave ethically and professionally within it." —Roland Barth, Educational Consultant Guidance for navigating the ethical dilemmas that teachers face! Teachers deal with ethical issues on a regular basis, from confidentiality regarding student information to discipline to communication. As moral exemplars, educators need guidance for handling such challenges. Written by an educator and a national authority on ethics, this professional development resource helps educators confront and resolve ethical questions. Featuring richly detailed, real-life case studies, this volume outlines the intricate relationship between ethical propriety and school success. Chapters focus on: The role of teachers in developing, sharing, and implementing ethical policies for their schools Four guiding principles—the Rule of Publicity, the Rule of Universality, the Rule of Benevolence, and the Golden Rule—for developing ethical approaches and practices Relationships between teachers and students, colleagues, supervisors, parents, taxpayers, and other stakeholders Now What? Confronting and Resolving Ethical Questions is a crucial tool for ensuring equality of opportunity and a quality learning environment for all involved in the educational process.

Addressing the many ethical issues that arise daily in school, this volume is a hands-on guide for all K-12 practitioners, an excellent teaching tool for preparing future teachers, and an essential resource for anyone who wants to create a caring and supportive school environment. This book features: realistic, provocative, and ethically challenging case studies that can be adapted to both private and public school settings, ideal for generating discussions about how to resolve given issues; a range of encounters educators are apt to experience, such as between teacher and teacher, teacher and student, parent and teacher, and parent and administrator; an array of ethical dilemmas and issues encountered at different grade levels on topics such as: racism, teasing, cheating, plagiarism, anorexia, free speech, violence, religion, and much more; and appendixes listing ethical standards for each member of the school community and overviews of student understandings of right and wrong, presented according to grade level.

In Teaching toward Freedom, William Ayers illuminates the hope as well as the conflict that characterizes the craft of education: how it can be used in authoritarian ways at the service of the state, the church, or a restrictive existing social order-or, as he envisions it, as a way for students to become more fully human, more engaged, more participatory, more free. Using examples from his own classroom experiences as well as from popular culture, film, and novels, Ayers redraws the lines concerning how we teach, why we teach, and the surprising things we uncover when we allow students to become visible, vocal authors of their own lives and stories. This lucid and inspiring book will help teachers at every level to realize that ideal.

This booklet deals with moral education examining major issues of theory and public policy and suggesting how educators might approach their roles as moral educators in the real world of schools. Written in a question/answer format, the booklet is organized into four major sections. In the first section, the author defines moral education to mean what the school does, directly and indirectly, to affect both the student's ethical behavior and his capacity to think about issues of right and wrong. The second section examines the pros and cons of moral education. Cons include: there is too much diversity in our society to have a program of moral education in our schools, moral education is difficult to teach without indoctrinating, and morals and values are very complex. The pros include: teachers and parents recognize the need for moral education and that moral education is inevitable. Approaches to moral education are presented in the third section of the booklet. Values education, Kohlberg's cognitive moral development approach, moral reasoning, and an approach which sets out to teach a particular set of values are discussed. In the concluding chapter, the author points out that each approach has certain strengths and should be used to gain certain ends. The author suggests that we draw on all of these alternatives and use a synthesis approach. Four steps for a program of moral education are suggested: consciousness raising and information sharing with teachers and parents, a study program leading to a general plan, the development of a curriculum and implementation plan with a strong experiential dimension for students, and a system of evaluation. (Author/RM)