8085 mod 3 discuss
RESPONSE1
RE: Discussion - Module 3
Top of Form
Main Question Post
Employment discrimination means that someone in the workplace is being treated unfairly. This could be due to a race, color, religion, sexuality, nationality, disability, genetic information, or age. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is required, by law, to protect a person that is being discriminated against for unfair treatment based on one of these reasons (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). However, in the case study presented, Sarah was not specifically targeting the other teacher, the comment was made on a personal social media account, and it was not seemingly done through a school-based website or platform. This is why the ethical and correct course of action for this case study can become tricky, although many might think it is a quick fix.
First, a leader would need to know the school policy for social media platforms. Most employers have a set of rules and regulations that employees must agree to follow. These often require employees to maintain professionalism and ethics if participating in social media. One example would be the guidelines for the St. Paul Public Schools Office of Communications guidelines. Under their Etiquette and Reputation section, these are the expectations listed for employees:
· At the end of the day, it’s all public. Don’t think someone won’t put all the pieces together. Remember anything you put on social media is a reflection on the school district and your peers.
· SPPS employees are in positions of public trust. Avoid making comments or post that erode that trust.
· SPPS respects every employee’s free speech rights. However, we are obligated to act on public comments that are discriminatory, malicious, threatening and that result in a disruption of operations.
· Maintain professional boundaries between your personal and professional sites and materials. Never misrepresent your position, status or influence within the district.
· Do not post negative information about students, co-workers or school administrators. If you would not want those parties to read it, then don’t post it.
· District-issued devices should only be used for instructional purposes and in support of district operation. Do not access inappropriate sites on your school-issued devices (Office of Communications, 2022).
Employees are made aware of the policies for their place of business and often must sign something showing they understand and agree to follow them. So could Sarah’s action be a fireable offense? The short answer is yes (Kane, 2021), but there is a lot more that would go into this decision before that would happen.
Second, a leader would need to investigate the situation, starting with talking to both parties involved. Often those in leadership positions will ask if you have discussed your concerns with the offending party. If not, you are encouraged to do so, and then bring it back to the administrator’s attention if it cannot be solved. In fact, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has this as one of its principals under Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues. Principal P-3A.2 says,
When we have concerns about the professional behavior of a co-worker, we shall first let that person know of our concern in a way that shows respect for personal dignity and for the diversity to be found among staff members, and then attempt to resolve the matter collegially and in a confidential manner (NAEYC, 2005).
The newer teacher should have used the concerns she mentioned in the case study to approach Sarah in this manner even before the social media post. Nonetheless, she can now use this post as a way to broach the subject of her concerns. The administrator could even be a part of this discussion as a third-party mediator, witness, etc. to keep the conversation civil. School operations personnel may also become involved due to the nature of the social media post being in a public forum.
Finally, we all know a person’s beliefs and values color the context of how situations are seen. In fact, a study looked at how one’s morals affected their thoughts on whether or not someone should have gotten fired for what is called “off-duty deviance”, or an inappropriate social media post. The research found that those with a more sensitive moral foundation saw a firing for something that violated the rules as acceptable, and those with less sensitive morals did not condone the firing as they did not see the post as offensive. This shows that if the content of the social media post offends a person’s moral foundation or it is something they care about, reactions can be vastly different. The study goes on to share two thoughts on how this might further affect an outcome. One thought says yes, employees should be punished for off-duty behavior, and the other says no, only their behavior at work will be judged. This creates ambiguity in whether or not social media is related to the workplace and can result in changes but not dismissal. For this reason, leaders cannot rely on one set of ethical leadership principals. It is imperative that those who want to provide fairness in their organization must have policies that understand moral diversity will be involved in situations that arise even though employees have agreed to the terms set forth by the business (Cook & Kuhn, 2021).
This would be a tough situation to be in as a leader. You want to protect the rights of all - the new teacher, the students and families, and Sarah. You want to uphold the law, as well as the values of those in your charge. However, employees must remember that we are representatives of people and places other than just ourselves. If termination was not deemed appropriate in this situation, other solutions would be to separate these two teachers and/or pull Sarah from her current leadership role. In an earlier discussion, we shared leadership principles that we felt were essential for early childhood settings. The five I chose were:
· Lead by example.
· Be human and admit mistakes.
· Understand the value of listening.
· Promote diversity.
· Work together to achieve more (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021).
I believe if I was the leader or administrator in this case study scenario and I followed the points made in thinking through and coming to a decision, I would be representing these leadership principles.
References
Cook, W., & Kuhn, K. M. (2021). Off-Duty Deviance in the Eye of the Beholder: Implications of Moral Foundations Theory in the Age of Social Media. Journal of Business Ethics, 172(3), 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04501-9
Kane, P. (2021, July 2). Can teachers be fired for social media posts? The Courtroom. https://thecourtroom.org/can-teachers-be-fired-for-social-media-posts/
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, June 9). 11 Effective leadership principles. Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/leadership-principles
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2005). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011_09202013update.pdf
Office of Communications. (2022). SPPS social media best practices for staff. Saint Paul Public Schools. https://www.spps.org/domain/15920
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). What is employment discrimination? https://www.eeoc.gov/youth/what-employment-discrimination
Bottom of Form
Response 2
Julie Wright
Julie Wright initial post RE: Discussion - Module 3
Top of Form
Earlier this term I posted the following leadership principles that guide my practice:
· Listen hard and talk softly
· Respect and trust teachers to be professionals
· Be visible and approachable
· Be positive
I believe that ethical practices are part of each of those principles. The ethical dilemma presented in the case study is very complex. There are considerations to be made with respect to the students, their families, the writer, and Sarah. Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan (Walden University, 2013a) stated that doing things right is not always the same as doing the right thing. Holly Elissa Bruno (Walden University, 2013a) would agree that it takes courage to identify what may be the right thing to do in a given situation to be true to the greater good. With these ideas in mind, I reviewed the case study (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2014) and offer the following observations.
Sarah has been recognized and celebrated for her work bringing racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity to the early childhood program. Yet, it seems that her focus is limited to specific aspects of diversity. Sarah's refusal to include the books about gender and sexual identity failed to address and support the needs of some children by missing the opportunity to highlight diversity. This violates our ethical responsibility to children to provide a safe, healthy, nurturing and responsive environment that respects individual differences (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2011). The wedding in the dramatic play center also illustrates another failure to adhere to ethical responsibiities to children (NAEYC, 2011). The children involved should feel safe to express themselves without ridicule, yet Sarah's response left them feeling confused and punished. This interaction also represents a violation of our ethical responsibilities to families (NAEYC, 2011). Marlon's family accepts all forms of love and he expressed that value to Miss Sarah but was told to stop anyway. We do not know for sure if Feng's father really requested that he avoid playing with dolls or dressing up. If that is true, then the staff are obligated to respect his wishes, but it should be done more discretely so the rights of other children can be upheld and in a way that does not humiliate Feng in front of his peers. Sarah was openly annoyed by the placement of a male student teacher in her program. She told a female student not to sit in his lap. She indicated that student teachers were not permitted to be alone with children in the washroom although no such policy was known by the writer. This represents a violation of our ethical responsibility to colleagues (NAEYC, 2011). As a leader in the early childhood program, Sarah should ensure that program practices respect personal dignity, diversity, and professionalism. Rory's gender should have no bearing on his ability to be an early childhood professional, nor should it reflect on his trustworthiness with the children in his care. Finally, the social media post seems to violate all three of the responsibilities above as well as the last ethical responsibility to community and society (NAEYC, 2011). Stating publicly that "queer families are an abomination" on a social media site is risky. It is important for all to remember who might be included or excluded from certain social media sites (Buchanan et al., 2021). Sarah's comments reflect the virtues held by some in the community, but may be seen as confrontational and aggressive to others who hold differing values.
I am about to make a statement that may seem crazy, but Sarah also has a right to her own morals and values that guide her through life. As a leader in this early childhood setting, I must take care to recognize her rights and treat her with dignity even if I do not agree with her. Ethical decisions in education must be culturally responsive and inclusive practices that are appropriate to the situation and bring about deeper understandings for all stakeholders (Buchanan et al., 2021). The term school climate refers to the affective atmosphere of a school community and has been directly connected to feelings of belonging as well as alienation (Buchanan et al., 2021). After years of dedicated service and recognition, my goal as a leader is not to alienate Sarah but to practice listening to multiple points of view, engage with people charitably, and critique with kindness. Because of the delicate nature of this dilemma, I can understand why the writer has kept her personal lifestyle private. Over time, Sarah has engaged in several micro aggressions she may not even be aware of. With that in mind, it may be unreasonable to expect the writer to approach Sarah directly to discuss her concerns. I believe that our first responsibility as educators is to the healthy and safe development of the children in our care. I would offer to mediate a discussion between Sarah and the writer. I would encourage both ladies to speak truthfully, respectfully, and from the heart. I would refer to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and assure both of them that it is in fact the children's best interest we all support. I would also want to address the policies of the center regarding preservice interns to clear up any future misunderstandings. Rory, as a student, deserves to be treated with respect and dignity as well. As educators and leaders, we owe it to the future of our profession to provide the best possible learning environment for student teachers.
Reference
Buchanan, R. A., Forster, D. J., Douglas, S., Nakar, S., Boon, H. J., Heath, T., Heyward, P., D’Olimpio, L., Ailwood, J., Eacott, S., Smith, S., Peters, M., & Tesar, M. (2021). Philosophy of education in a new key: Exploring new ways of teaching and doing ethics in education in the 21st century. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(8), 1178-1197. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1880387
College of Early Childhood Educators. (2014). Case study 1: Sarah’s confusing behavior. https://www.college-ece.ca/en/Documents/Case%20Study%201.pdf
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2011, May). NAEYC code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011_09202013update.pdf
Bottom of Form