Ethical Decision-Making in Teaching: An Analysis of a Scenario

Background

Instructions
1.    Watch the following video. Picture this: Life as a Parent of Children with FASD to provide you with an understanding of what parents of children with FASD are experiencing.
2.    Read the following scenario and respond to the questions below:

Scenario: The teacher observed a 16 year old girl with FASD leaving the school with another student 4 days in a row and not returning for classes. When the teacher called the parent to let her know that her daughter had been leaving school early consistently that week the parent asked who she was leaving with. The teacher was then left in a difficult situation.

Questions to consider: 
    Should the teacher tell the parent about who her child has been leaving with? Be sure to analyze both sides, if you were the parent of the child with FASD and if you were the parent of the other child. Be clear with your decision to tell or not tell the parent at this point.
    Is there more information you would want to know? How would you advise the parent or teacher in this situation?

More information: 

Scenario: The student that this individual has been leaving has just been released from a detention center where he was charged for drug possession and was a known distributor in the community.

Questions to consider: 
    Does your answer change if you knew the individual she was leaving with has a criminal history specifically with drugs?
    How does it change?
3.    Upon the completion of the paragraph above, please respond to two other students’ posts.

Student-1
Should the teacher tell the parent about who her child has been leaving with? Be sure to analyze both sides, if you were the parent of the child with FASD and if you were the parent of the other child. Be clear with your decision to tell or not tell the parent at this point. Is there more information you would want to know? How would you advise the parent or teacher in this situation?

The teacher should not tell the parent who her child is leaving with. The teacher/school can (and should!) report student absences to parents, however, they should not discuss details about other children with other parents. The teacher should encourage the parent(s) to cultivate trust and a relationship with their child. It is the parent’s responsibility to be aware of the whereabouts of their child. All the school should do, is report the absences, discuss any school related matters in regards to their child, and encourage parents to have a conversation with their child without revealing information about other students.

The Scenario and Ethical Considerations

Other questions that came to mind after reading these scenarios… has the teacher discussed this matter with either of the students directly? Is the teacher only considering to speaking to the parents of the child with FASD? What about the other child’s parents? Would sharing this information put either of the children in danger? Have the parents been notified at all about the absences? If so, have the parents spoke to the child about it? 

Another point that came to mind was the topic of “Gay Straight Alliance” groups in schools. Although the scenario described in this thread and GSA’s are very different… I do see some similarities and I thought it would be a good comparison for discussion purposes. Should schools inform parents their children participate in Gay Straight Alliance groups? Even if the events happen on school grounds? What if the sharing of information could put the child in danger? 

Does your answer change if you knew the individual she was leaving with has a criminal history specifically with drugs? How does it change?
No, my answer would not change. Young offender information is protected by the courts. How does the teacher even know the information is valid? It would be a complete breach of confidentiality and ethics for the teacher to reveal any information about a student to anyone except their own parents or guardians. If my child had drug charges or a criminal background, I would not consider it appropriate whatsoever for teachers to discuss the matter with other parents.

What if it wasn’t even true and it was all hearsay? As I mentioned above, has the teacher had a conversation with the child or her/his parents? In addition, having a drug charge or experiencing addiction does not make the child a bad person. If the teacher labeled the other student as “troubled” or a “bad person”, and spread those labels to other parents, that could seriously have a negative impact on the individual in question, their future, and their life in general. Stigmas and labels are always dangerous; even more so for children and teens. 

I am looking forward to reading other students’ thoughts on this matter! It is quite an interesting topic to consider. Although I stated my stance on the matter… I did find myself seeing valid points from both sides. 

Student-2
This scenario encompasses ethical decision-making for the teacher. This is because the teacher should be mindful of the individuals who will be affected by the decision of whether to tell or not to tell the parent. 
 
In my opinion, the teacher should not tell the parent about who her child has been leaving with. Still, the teacher has the social responsibility to protect the identity of the other student. Not disclosing the identity of the students to the other’s parents shows a respect for the dignity of both the students. 
 
It is also the teacher’s responsibility to communicate with, suggest plans, and support the parent of the child with FASD and the parent of the other child. The teacher should collaborate and work hand in hand with the parents to solve the issue.
I believe that every behavior or action is a form of communication, and that every behavior serves a purpose. The information that I want to know more of is the purpose, the antecedents and the settings that lead the students to consistently leave the school early.
 
I know that each person has existing values, principles, and beliefs, thus, as a future disability support worker, the best advice that I could give to the both of the parents is to have open communication with their children in order to gain more trust, and in order to help and support the children in meeting their needs. I believe that the parents are the most trusted people of the children involved, and the teacher is considered to be a trusted professional, hence, it is a collaborative effort to know what is going on with the children. The teacher can have an open forum with both of the students together. But of course, the teacher cannot discuss the situation with both the parents of each students at the same time as it will breach the confidentiality of the identity of the students involved. Additionally, patience and understanding are the keys to a better solution to the situation.

No. Even with the added information, still, my answer does not change at all. Every school recognizes Protection of Privacy Act, and that the disclosure of personal information to the public may pose potential risks to the student involved. The student that the individual has been leaving with still has the right to privacy, and the teacher and the school are accountable for safeguarding the personal information of each and every student.