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Beginner Teacher's Guide to Ethics
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Beginner Teacher’s Guide to Ethics
Watch Magazine MAY 2014
What does ethics look like at school? How does the Australian Curriculum incorporate ethics? How does ethics connect to learners?
Overview of
General
Capabili>es in
the
Australian
Curriculum
Links to useful
websites
Editor’s Note
Welcome to Mays edition of Watch magazine. This month we focus on ethics and how the Australian Curriculum has incorporated ethics into key learning areas. As this is a special edition for beginner teachers we hope that even the most experienced of us can get some new information. Enjoy! Yours truly, Lydie V & Fono O Editors
“Educa?ng the mind without educa?ng the heart is no educa?on at all.” ― Aristotle
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General Capabili?es in the Australian Curriculum
The Melbourne Declara?on on Educa?onal Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA) outlines that all young people in Australia should be supported with the right tools to become successful, confident, crea?ve learners that will be equipped with the right skills to live and work successfully in the 21st Century. It iden?fies key learning areas that are essen?al for 21st Century learners. These general capabili?es are literacy, numeracy, ICT, crea?ve and cri?cal thinking, social/emo?onal learning, ethical understanding, and intercultural understanding. Literacy looks at the skills needed to interpret and use language confidently as well as the ability to communicate effec?vely in society. It involves students in reading, speaking, wri?ng, print, visual and digital texts, and being able to use these in different context. Numeracy is the ability for students to recognise and understand the role of mathema?cs in the world. Informa?on and Communica?on technology allows students to develop a good understanding of ICT and be able to use it effec?vely to access, create and communicate ideas as well as collabora?vely and solve problems. With the rapid change in technology, ICT will be able to give students the knowledge to get the best out of digital technologies. Cri?cal and crea?ve thinking as a capability equips students with the ability to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts, look at all possibili?es, consider alterna?ves, and solve problems. Students will learn to be self mo?vated and be able to evaluate their own learning. Personal and social capabili?es look at how students develop personal and social rela?onships. Students develop a sense of self worth, self-‐awareness and op?mism for the future and assist in building healthy rela?onships in society. con?nued page 4è
“The Australian government wants a curriculum that delivers what students need for their future, what parents want
and what the na9on requires in our increasingly compe99ve and globalised
world.” Christopher Pyne
“The new na9onal curriculum has been produced by experts who have worked to ensure it is balanced.” Julia Gillard
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
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Con?nued from page 3 (General capabili?es) Ethical understanding helps students to iden?fy the nature of ethics, inves?gate ethical concepts, and build up strong values and character traits that allow them to become ethical students and ci?zens. With the rise of new technologies students in the 21st Century have new demands in ethical behavior when it comes to the online world. Intercultural understanding is for students to value their own cultures, languages, and beliefs and being able to accept the diverse cultures around them. They learn to engage with a diversity of cultures and recognise the uniqueness of everyone. This is a fundamental skill in equipping a mul?cultural society for the future. The General Capabili?es cover everything needed for students to be able to manage their own well being, relate to others, make informed decisions, be ethical ci?zens who embrace diversity and individual who work towards the common good of the society they are in locally, regionally, and globally.
Ethics Dic>onary defini>on (Noun) Moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conduc9ng of an ac9vity
Ethical Understanding Ethical understanding is the iden?fica?on and inves?ga?on of ethical concepts, values and individual behaviour. It is the understanding of how reasoning can assist ethical judgement and how our own values and behaviour can influence others. In the Australian Curriculum, students develop ethical understanding which will help them manage ‘context, conflict and uncertainty.’
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Rationale What does ethics look like in a classroom? The phrase ‘live what you preach’ or ‘walk the talk’ comes to mind when thinking of ethics and children. It is of utmost importance for teachers to uphold and model for their students what professional ethics looks like. This includes ethical behavior, exploring rights and responsibili?es, and being able to make ethical decisions and ac?ons. The following ra?onale will outline the key aspects of ethics in a public school and ethics in a Chris?an se`ng. One of the key aspects is educa?ng students on what ethics is in the classroom. In a professional se`ng an effec?ve educator is able to put into prac?ce and model what ethics looks like. This is achieved by incorpora?ng ethics in to every aspect of the teachers life. If the teacher is living an ethical life then modeling won’t be difficult. But if they are living one thing and teaching another, then there is a conflict in behavior that children will pick up. We as educators need to equip students with the skills needed to live and work ethically in the future. They need to be able to explore values, rights, and responsibili?es in social and legal areas. This is achieved by examining values, rights, and responsibili?es in social and legal areas. They need as many opportuni?es as possible to iden?fy what ethics looks like and how it relates to their learning. Reflec?on on ethical issues is also important. Jus?ce, right and wrong, freedom, truth, empathy, goodness and abuse cover core ethical issues. Students need to be able to go through a thought process where they can give valid reasons behind certain behaviors and will ensure that they have a full understanding of what is acceptable and what isn’t. Then they will be able to make sound judgments on ethical issues and in turn be able to prac?ce what it is. In a Chris?an se`ng ethics should remain the same. The same concepts above should be incorporated in Chris?an schools. Where it differs would be that in a Chris?an se`ng basic ethics stem from biblical values. The ten commandments outline moral behavior and ethics and of course the modeling of Jesus who showed that the most important thing was to love God and love each other. If love outlined everything we do then we wouldn’t be dealing with so many ethical dilemmas. Therefore it so vital that teachers ins?ll the values that they are keeping into their classrooms so that it causes a type of chain reac?on. This is where ‘do unto others what you would have them do unto you,’ the golden rule will be in prac?ce. Ethics will then be able to stem out from our school in to society and beyond.
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Early childhood (4-‐6 years old) Ø Founda?on Year students draw upon past familiar situa?ons and their own values to make
ethical decisions. For example, discussing familiar situa?ons that illustrate the concepts of kindness or caring. At this point, Founda?on Year students are capable of expressing their own view upon a ethical maier but may be unaware of alternate views. (Level 1)
Ø According to Piaget, children at this age consider rules as fixed and absolute. They also base their moral judgements mostly on the consequences of ac?ons. For example, one person breaks 15 cups in order to help someone and another person breaks one cup in order to steal to steal cookies. The young child will believe that the first person did worse.(Stage 1)
Relationship of ethics to developmental stages
Middle childhood (6-‐13 years old) Ø According to Kohlberg, children
at this stage are more realis?c. They recognise that rules are not absolute and there are more than one view handed down by authori?es. (Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange)
Ø Piaget also states that these children base their ethical judgement on the inten?ons behind ac?ons, rather than the consequences. ( Stage 2)
Ø With the awareness of views other than their own, Year 6 students inves?gate the values and responsibili?es within the community and the influence of social media upon ethics. They also examine the range of possible interpreta?ons within ethical dilemma. For example, unpacking biased research findings. (Level 4)
Adolescence (13-‐19 years old) Ø According to Kohlberg, at this stage ‘morality is seen
more than simple deals.’ They believe in living up to the expecta?ons of the family and behave in ‘good’ ways. Good is seen as whatever helps others and brings approval from friends or peer group. (Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Rela>onships)
Ø Students in Year 10 are involved in the study of a more in-‐depth approach towards ethical understanding. They inves?gate and analyse the reasons behind clashes of belief and the subjec?vity behind decision making. They also deliberate over a global scale, such as the conflic?ng rights and responsibili?es of laws over the world. (Level 6)
1. hip://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm 2. hip://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm 3. hip://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/290691/Ethical-‐behaviour.pdf
Links to useful websites
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Ethical understanding is organised into three elements. Exploring values, rights, and responsibili9es This involves students considering and interpre?ng points of view in an ethical context. It consists of examining values, and exploring rights and responsibili?es in social and legal areas. Understanding ethical concepts This involves students recognising and exploring ethical issues and concepts and understanding it in different contexts. Making ethical decisions and ac9ons This involves students reasoning in making ethical decisions. They analyse the reasoning behind situa?ons, thinking about the consequences and being able to reflect on the ethical ac?on. Students need to be able to ar?culate understanding of ethical responses in social se`ngs.
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Retrieved from A.C.A.R.A. (2014). Australian Curriculum. from hip://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ on 23 May 2014
A table demonstra?ng how this capability links into Key Learning Areas
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If only… If I could wish upon a star I would wish for an ethical world. Where you say what you mean and you do what you say All the time. Not just sometimes, Or whenever you feel like it. Where young minds are still sponges But they only get all the good stuff In reality though, we live in a world of struggles Filled with ethical dilemmas Where we see injustice everyday ‘How do we make a difference?’ We say Do we make a stand or stand by? Because how we deal with them is the key. It will either make or break someone’s future Fono Osa
Unity Poem I dreamed I stood in a studio And watched two sculptors there. The clay they used was a young child’s mind And they fashioned it with care. One was a teacher, the tools he used Were books, music and art. The other, a parent, worked with a guiding hand And a gentle, loving heart. Day after day, the teacher toiled with touch That was deft and sure. While the parent laboured by his side And polished and smoothed it o’er. And when at last their task was done, They were proud of what they had wrought For the things they had moulded into the child Could neither be sold nor brought. And each agree they would have failed If each had worked alone. For behind the parent stood the school And behind the teacher, the home. Unknown Author
Where do you find your inspiration?
My Impact as a Teacher I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized. by Haim Ginott
Top 5 books every teacher should read!
1. The world according to Mr Rogers Important things to remember Fred Rogers
2. Chicken Soups for the Teacher’s Soul Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen
3. The Freedom Writers Diary Erin Gruwell
4. The Element How finding your passion changes everything Ken Robinson with Lou Aronica
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5. Other people’s Children Lisa Delpit
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