Ethics and Legal Issues: Freedom and Liberty in Blogs

One of the most problematic and - challenging issues facing teachers is the ethical issues associated with their professional boundaries. Primarily, boundary issues most happen in circumstances in which teachers encounter potential or actual conflicts between their responsibilities as professionals and their sexual, social, religious, or business relationships. As the Administrator of the Jack White School, this is a presentation of my findings and recommendations to the school Superintendent regarding two teachers. Primarily, the report highlights suggestions for consequences, as well as remediation for Case 1 involving Ms. P and Case 3 Involving Mrs. K. Principally, the typology of boundaries, will be used in how plagiarism checker works for my decision-making.
Case 1: Ms. P
When invited to the end-of-the-year party and found out that some of her underage students were drinking, as a responsible teacher, Ms. P should have brought up those concerns to the parents of the students. In case no action was taken, she should have informed the Administrator’s office and eventually reported the matter to the police. Also participating in the drink with the underage students on the pretext that there was no problem just because their parents were also drinking was both unethical and illegal.
The person whose needs were met was the needs of Ms. P because she is the one who decided to enjoy her drinks without considering the negative impacts it had on her students. Even though it is not illegal for Ms. P to drink privately, her action of drinking with her underage students exposed them to serious social and health risks was irresponsible. Primarily, Ms. P acted in an unprofessional manner that was not befitting of a good teacher.
Ms. P exhibited particular vulnerability by trying to be ‘‘too friendly’’ to her students. Given that she is a relatively new and young teacher, she had a strong desire to be extremely friendly or liked by her students. In brief, the small age gap between Ms. P and her students made her lose control and go to an extent where her pictures were taken while she was drunk with her underage students. Basically, her vulnerabilities led to serious boundary crossing or violations which were, immoral, unethical, and illegal.
There are several things that Mrs. K should have done in a different manner. She should have masked her emotions and not to have broken down before her students and starting to share her challenging marital issues with her students, on the contrary, she should have approached the school Administrator for help. Basically, accepting the comfort of her young male student was totally unprofessional. Spending too much time with her student on matters that are unrelated to his academic development was completely unethical. Mrs. K should have looked for assistance from her fellow teachers or outside professional help instead of deeply involving herself with her students.
In this case, it is Mrs. K whose emotional needs are being met. Due to her marital problems and rough divorce, she breaks down emotionally and shares her story with her class in an emotional manner. She ends up attracting sympathy from one of her male students who genuinely wanted to assist her.
Mrs, K crossed her communication boundaries by breaking down and being extremely emotional in front of her students. In her attempt to reduce the concerns of her students, she ends up discussing her marital as well as other personal issues with her students which exceeds the self-disclosure limits a teacher is allowed to reach. Even if it is not wrong for a teacher to share with her students some basic information about their families, it is unethical for them to share too much and lose their emotional control.
Basically, Mrs. K went beyond her emotional intensity boundaries by allowing a male student to help her in her recovery. Even though it is not wrong for teachers to share their emotions with their students, the intensity or level of emotion shared should not go beyond reasonable limits. There are some emotional levels that a teacher should not share with their underage students. It was unethical for Mrs. K to rely on a young male student for her recovery from her divorce. Her extremely close relationship with her male student was suspicious and could have easily led to some form of sexual improprieties. It was unprofessional for Mrs. K to spend a lot of time with her male student on just her own personal recovery. In reality, the teacher could have gotten better help for her emotional needs from her fellow teachers or from the Principal’s office than from a young male student.
Suggestions for Consequences and Remediation
The conduct in Case 1 of Ms. P was completely illegal, unprofessional, and unethical. As the Administrator, I am charged with the responsibility of promoting ethical behavior in the school. As a result, I recommend serious disciplinary action against Ms. P by the office of the Superintendent. Ms. P should not be allowed back in the school on any basis because doing so, will deeply affect her performance as a teacher and her ability to exercise control of her students. Due to her actions, she lost all the moral authority and respect needed for one to be a good teacher. Her actions of drinking with underage students and taking inappropriate photos are illegal and legal action should be taken against her.
For Mrs. K in Case 3, it is recommended that she should undergo a professional development and marital counseling program from appropriate institutions. She should be able to learn her boundaries as a professional on what she can share with her students and what she can’t. She also needs to learn to mask her emotions especially when it relates to her private life.
In conclusion, both Ms. P and Mrs. K flouted their professional boundaries, in their relationships with their students. They both had difficulties with setting the boundary lines as well as the problem of negotiating those lines with their students. As a school leader and Administrator, one needs to provide proper leadership to tackle any issues that could be emanating from the teacher-student relations.