In response to Case Study #1

Ms. K is a veteran teacher who is very popular with her students. She frequently offers students extra help after
school, so its not uncommon to see students visiting her classroom after school. She has tutored one of her
students, Melissa, in a variety of subjects over a two-year period. During that time, Ms. K has emailed and
texted Melissas cell phone using her personal email address. At first, the exchanges were very general;
sometimes unrelated to school work (e.g., asking Melissa about a sick family member, or how she was getting
along with friends). Recently, the student began to text her teacher about more personal feelings.
1) What is the dilemma? What are the issues?
The issue in this case is that the line between a professional and personal relationship between Ms. K has
become blurry over time. The dilemma seems to be finding a way in which Ms. K can continue to provide the
extra help, guidance and support that she wants to give her students in a way that doesn't compromise her
professional standing and boundaries.

2) What are the legal aspects? What professional considerations are there?
Core values

I think that most relevant core value in this case is integrity, particularly the line that states "we
demonstrate our integrity by maintaining a professional relationship with students, parents, colleagues
and the community". I think this is the point that Ms. K has (unintentionally) let slide in this case.
Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct states that a professional relationship will be violated if a teacher holds
conversations of a personal nature or has contact with a student via written or electronic means
including email, letters, telephone, text messages or chat lines, without a valid context. While Ms. K's
conversations with Melissa started in the educational context of tutoring, I believe that they are beginning
to cross the line into an ethically grey area.
Principles of professional practice - standards

Principle 1.5 of the Standards states that teachers are ALWAYS in a professional relationship with
the students in their school, whether at school or not. I think that Ms. K needs to keep this in mind in all
of her dealings with Melissa. Additionally, Principle 1.4 states that teachers must maintain objectivity in
their relationships with students. This may be harder for Ms. K to achieve if she continues to discuss
matters of a personal nature with Melissa (being seen as a friend rather than a teacher).
Policies and guidelines drawn from school experiences

All three of the schools that I have conducted placements with have had policies stating that all
communication between students and teachers should be done using an officially e-mail address
(edumail for example). In this case study, Ms. K is using her personal e-mail to contact Melissa, which
may open her up to scrutiny should any questions be raised as to the nature of their communication.

3) What ethical principles are at play and how would you resolve conflicts between principles?

I think that Ms. K is currently most focused on Principle 1.1 in that she wants to provide her students with every
possible opportunity to learn. I think that she needs to learn to balance this with integrity, specifically by ensuring
that her relationships with her students remains within professional boundaries.

4) What values do you hold that might influence your response? What experiences have you had which might
influence your response?
On my placements I have found it exceedingly easy to become great friends with my students. I, like Ms. K,
offered them help outside of class time should they choose to avail themselves of it. However, knowing that I
tend to form emotional attachments which I am heavily invested in something (such as teaching), I also set firm
boundaries for myself (such as only using my 'professional' e-mail for student contact, CC-ing their usual class
teacher on communications and never giving out my mobile number/personal details).

5) How might you involve negotiation in responding to the situation? What would your judgement be? include a
plan of: action, documentation and reflection.
There are a few easy steps that Ms. K can take in order to reset the line between personal and professional
while also continuing to help her students out as much as possible. For example:

She should document all after-school tutoring sessions, and make sure that these ALWAYS take place in
the classroom setting

She should only contact students using her professional e-mail account. She should create a folder with
each students' name so that she can save all e-mails should there be any problems later on down the track

She should discontinue using text messaging for student contact, and should rescind her mobile number
as an option for students

She should have a meeting with Melissa, in the classroom after school, just for a discussion about how
contact between them should be made in the future, and what topics are appropriate for them to speak
about.

In response to Case Study #3

Mr. J is very popular with the students. He often converses and jokes with the students in the halls between
classes. It is common for him to greet female students and staff with a hug and male students and staff with a
pat on the back. One student has complained to the administration that Mr. Js hugs or physical contact makes
him uncomfortable. Mr. J has been advised by the principal to stop all physical contact with students and staff.
He agrees to try, but he cant promise anything because that is the way he is and he isnt doing anything wrong.
1) What is the dilemma? What are the issues?
The dilemma here is that Mr. J, while saying he is willing to change his ways, doesnt believe he is doing anything
wrong by engaging in friendly and seemingly harmless physical interaction with students and other staff
members. The issue is that a student has reported that this makes him feel uncomfortable.
2) What are the legal aspects? What professional considerations are there?

Core values

I think that most relevant core values in play here are integrity and respect. Mr. J needs to
understanding that hugging and pats on the back, while innocuous outside of a school setting, could be
seen as unprofessional in a school context. Additionally, by disregarding his students discomfit over the
contact, he is demonstrating a lack of respect for that students feelings.
Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct explicitly points out that a professional relationship will be violated if a
teacher touches a student without a valid reason.
Principles of professional practice - standards

Principle 1.5 of the Standards states that teachers are ALWAYS in a professional relationship with
the students in their school, whether at school or not. Clause C of this principle is reflected in the Code
of Conduct item discussed above
Policies and guidelines drawn from school experiences

This one is tricky, because on my placements (particular the early years one) I had students who
liked to come up and hug me throughout the day. I think that the difference here is that the teacher
should never be the one to initiate the contact and they should stop IMMEDIATELY AND WITHOUT
QUESTION if a student reports that they are uncomfortable with it.

3) What ethical principles are at play and how would you resolve conflicts between principles?
I think that Mr. J physical affection as a means to build rapport with his students and colleagues, and that he
believes this is just a fun personality quirk of his. Unfortunately, Mr. J cant really argue that he has a valid reason
for touching his students and therefore his behaviour isnt condoned by the Code of Conduct. Additionally, the
student has officially reported that he is uncomfortable with Mr. Js hugs/physical contact. Principle 1.2 states
that a teacher should protect students from intimidation, embarrassment, humiliation or harm. In this case, Mr. J
is the one responsible for this students discomfort. He is therefore ethically obliged to stop touching/hugging the
student.
4) What values do you hold that might influence your response? What experiences have you had which might
influence your response?
As stated above, on my early years rounds I had students who liked to come up and hug me throughout the day.
I think this is okay, and that sometimes it would be more harmful for students if I were to refuse them or send
them away. It needs to be taken by a case to case basis, and teachers should use their better judgement and the
Code of Conduct to guide their actions.
5) How might you involve negotiation in responding to the situation? What would your judgement be? include a
plan of: action, documentation and reflection.
I dont really think that there is much negotiation to happen here. Mr. J is in the wrong, his actions are in direct
violation of the Code of Conduct and a student has reported that he is uncomfortable with the teachers
behaviour. Therefore, I think Mr. Js conduct needs to be monitored and he should be made aware that he isnt to
try to stop hugging and touching students, he is simply expected to do it or risk further action being taken.

In response to Case Study #7

Mr. L would frequently catch his students high-fiving each other as they made up names to describe a female
student in their class who they thought was unattractive. He would give students a disapproving look, but their

behavior didnt stop. On more than one occasion, he witnessed them kick her in the back of the knees or trip her.
When the female student complained to Mr. L, he explained to the student that this type of behavior will stop if
she simply ignores it.
1) What is the dilemma? What are the issues?
To me, the issue here seems to be a lack of behavioural management skills on the part of Mr. L. The dilemma is
whether or not ignoring bullying is the best way to deal with it.
2) What are the legal aspects? What professional considerations are there?
Core values

I believe that Mr. L is breaching all three of the core values of the Code of Ethics. He is not
demonstrating integrity by acting in the best interests of his student (he has witnessed verbal bullying
and taken no action), he is not demonstrating respect by acting with care and compassion (he
disregarded the complaint the harassed student made to him) and he is not demonstrating his
responsibility as a professional teacher (he made no attempt to discipline the bullying students)
Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct states that a teacher must maintain a safe learning environment for all
students. Not only has he failed to do this, he has also failed to correct an environment that he has
personally witnessed as being unsafe for one of his students. Additionally, the Code also states that
teachers should have high expectations of every student, which I believe he is neglecting by not seeking
to correct the behaviour of the bullying students.
Principles of professional practice - standards

In addition to the above, Principle 1.2 of the Standards states that a teacher should protect
students from intimidation, embarrassment, humiliation or harm and use consequences commensurate
with the offense when disciplining students. I believe he has failed on both of these counts.
Policies and guidelines drawn from school experiences

Every school that I have worked at has had a strict set of guidelines in regards to policies for
bullying. I cannot imagine any school issuing guidelines that would condone a teacher ignoring the
verbal and physical bullying of a student.

3) What ethical principles are at play and how would you resolve conflicts between principles?
The ethical principles at play here are all discussed above. There arent any ethical principles that are in conflict
in this particular case. Under no ethical guideline is it okay for a teacher to ignore bullying and so thoroughly
disregard a legitimate complaint from a harassed student.
4) What values do you hold that might influence your response? What experiences have you had which might
influence your response?
I was bullied myself at school, and I come from a Psych background, so I have fairly strong views when it comes
to bullying. I believe that a huge part of a teachers job is to develop the well-being of their students and the
ensure that the school is a safe space for learning and growth.
5) How might you involve negotiation in responding to the situation? What would your judgement be? include a
plan of: action, documentation and reflection.

The bullying needs to be addressed immediately and my response to this would depend on the school policy
(whether it be disciplinary action for the bullies, counselling for the harassed student or some form of mediation
between the involved parties, as examples). The situation needs to be monitored in a more official capacity. For
example, Mr. J should be taking anecdotal notes every time he sees an instance of bullying, in order to identify
patterns or any underlying issues that might be in play.
Additionally, I think that Mr. J could use some professional development on how to handle situations such as this.
I think that a whole-school program (such as a PD for all staff or an anti-bullying focus for the week) might be a
way to do this without specifically targeting Mr. J, therefore making him less likely to respond positively to the
PD.