Ethics in the Elementary Classroom

Deborah HammDepartment of Teacher Education

California State University, Long Beach

Todays learning outcome

•Identify, observe, and problem-solve about the particular ethical issues you (may) see at your student teaching site.•Identify how they can be agents of change.•Related SLOs: Students will identify theory and application of multicultural education, social justice, anti-bias and anti-racist education, and an awareness of educator-activist models; and, students will identify and reflect upon their attitudes, beliefs, & approaches to diversity issues.

Whole Class

• View photos of Civil Rights pictures, respond to each one, discuss our responses.

• Did those photos make the reading “Whites only” more real for students? Is this in the past- who cares now? What does this have to do with being a teacher?

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Today

Discuss in your group

• Is Civil Rights just a thing of the past?– Donald Sterling– NBA– Arizona Immigration Laws– Other current events?

• What connections can we make to theories? Readings? DVDs? YouTube presentations we have watched?

Historical Heroes

• Choose an historical hero. • Write them on the board. Identify why.• Discuss the “unknowns” why are they

unknown?• Did they each face challenges/obstacles/

adverse reactions from others?

Teacher as Activist

• Can a teacher make a difference?• View the Hagopian presentation. • Read the Activist article.

Pyramid of Hate

• Where on the Pyramid can you as a teacher respond?

• What is the Teacher’s Ethical role?

Guidelines

• Identify an ethical issue/challenge you have had during student teaching (or perhaps as a student or SERVE student).

• Even if you did not respond appropriately at that time given your powerlessness, how do you pledge to respond better in the future, or what are you going to work on?

Ethics in the Elementary Classroom

•Jessica Zacher Pandya•Teacher Education & Liberal Studies

•CSULB College of Education•EDEL 300

Today’s learning outcome•Learn more about ethics: identify, observe, and problem-solve about the particular ethical issues you (may) see at your SERVE site•Related SLOs: Students will identify theory and application of multicultural education, social justice, anti-bias and anti-racist education, and an awareness of educator-activist models; and, students will identify and reflect upon their attitudes, beliefs, & approaches to diversity issues.

Start with a whole-class brainstorm

•what have we learned about inequality in the elementary classroom so far, in terms of class, ethnicity, gender, and language learning?

Sample from actual class—one group’s discussion

Ethical treatment in our readings: Education Specialist Teachers

•Some Principles for Education Specialists (and all teachers!) from the Council on Exceptional Children:

•Maintain challenging expectations for individuals with exceptionalities to develop the highest possible learning outcomes and quality of life potential in ways that respect their dignity, culture, language, and background.

•Promote meaningful and inclusive participation of individuals with exceptionalities in their schools and communities.

Ethical treatment in our readings: Undocumented students

•Plyler vs. Doe, 1982: Teachers and Administrators may not engage in:• Chilling: Creating fear amongst potentially

undocumented students (e.g.: by asking them to fill out forms completely, including SSN, even when forms are not required to be complete)

• Exposure: Exposing undocumented students, asking for documentation, or asking about documented status

• Disparity: Treating potentially undocumented students differently

At your table1. Discuss the ethical issues or unequal

treatment of students you have seen at your SERVE site related to those inequality issues.

2. Each student should have already noted at least one issue in their observation/SERVE notes. If you did NOT write about them, please add to your #3 observation by hand so I can read about them when you turn the observation in today

Whole group questions

1. What issues did you see?2. What are teachers’ ethical obligations?

Look at today’s readings [Morse & Ludovina, CEE]

3. What are teachers’ legal obligations?4. Let’s make some ethical treatment

guidelines to take with us in our (your and my own) future classrooms:

Ethical treatment guidelines(assessment)

• Take 15 minutes at your table to come up with your own—or your group’s—ethical treatment guidelines for your own teaching in your future classroom. I’ll ask you to turn them in (ungraded) and will return them to you next week

• You may also wish to draw on your own past educational experiences to create your guidelines

• We will share these aloud in class today and discuss our reasons for including each guideline