Two articles that we have picked based on teacher’s misconduct is about child sexual abuse and bullying. As we all know, teachers had gone through a long period of time in preparing themselves to be a teacher. Being a teacher is a noble profession. Based on the chapter one of professionalism and ethics subject, the word “professional” means long & arduous years of preparation, a striving for excellence, a dedication to public interest and commitment to moral & ethical values.
A teacher should commit themselves to moral, ethical and religious values and dedicate themselves to the service. But sadly, the teachers who are involved in both articles is clearly not following the word “professional”, as they are sexually abusing and bullying their students. They should have possessed dignity and high reputation with moral values, and teachers adheres to observe and must practice ethical and moral principles, as stated in chapter two of professionalism and ethics. In the child sexual abuse, the teacher not only sexually abusing the students, but also “sexually grooming” with the students, which means the offender builds an intimate relationship and sexualizes the relationship.
It is illegal for a teacher to get involved in sexual activity with any students at their school. A teacher should always maintain the professional distance with students. Sexual abuse cases by teachers should be taken seriously. As mentioned in the article, the teacher involved in the sexual abuse had continued teaching at the school and when the case was brought up to the education department, police will involve if the parents of the child lodge a police report.
Cases like this should have a standard operating procedures, which brings on chapter seven of professionalism and ethics, the due process. In this case, the substantive due process, whereby it has to do with the issue itself. Not only it protects certain legal procedures, but also protects certain rights unrelated to the procedure. In chapter five of professionalism and ethics, a teacher cannot involve in any activity which will affect the efficiency performance of the teachers as a whole, and to strive hard to maintain the good image of a teacher. This can also be applied on the teachers as bullies article. As teachers, it is also their responsibilities to handle bullying cases. But in the teachers as bullies article, the teachers are the ones who bullied their students. Based on chapter five of professionalism and ethics, a teacher should be fair in dealing with every students without considering any factors such as physical, mental, emotional, political economics and social aspects, as one of the teachers mentioned in the article were verbally abusing the students and referring her students ‘bodoh’ just because her students could not recite the alphabets on the blackboard. Also in chapter five “Code of Ethics of Malaysian Teaching Profession”, a teacher shall not intentionally expose the pupil to embarrassment or disparagement. A teacher mentioned in the article failed to do so, as a teacher referred her student as a nerd and a loser and made the student stand on the table for getting low marks in a test. This particular teacher has failed in dealing with the student’s emotion. The student may have felt humiliated, hurt and exposed. It could also affect the student’s self-esteem. Nevertheless, a teacher should not be involved in any misconducts, as they should know what they are liable for and the consequences they could face for their actions