Do you believe the Board of Education violated her privacy rights?
Yes, I believe the board of education did violate Mrs. Elizabeth Pettit’s rights to privacy. I could understand why they would think that her private lifestyle was, or should be tied with her professional life, but the fact is that the incident in question happen while off the clock and in her private life. Even if it seemed unethical and immoral it wasn’t because the incident happened in private and away from her professional life.
Were they justified in firing her? The board was unjustified in firing Mrs. Pettit because it did not violate any school rules. The Supreme court also concluded that the teacher did not constitute any immoral conduct or unprofessional conduct. No evidence was found that she was unfit to continue teaching.
Was Pettit’s behavior unprofessional or immoral?
Mrs. Pettit’s behavior was not unprofessional. The incident took place in private and in her own free time and not during working hours from her job as a teacher.
She was not in school or a public setting nor was she around any students where her action would be called in for questioning. I feel that her private life should have been kept private because it did not affect, nor did it play any part in her professional life.
If teachers have good performance inside the classroom, should they also be held to a higher moral standard outside the classroom? Explain why or why not.
I believe if teachers have good performance in the classroom they should not be held to the same standards outside the classroom. Teachers have a right to privacy and if what’s going on in their private life is not affecting their professional life it should not be a problem. I feel that teachers are entitled to their down time to do whatever they want if it’s not affecting the students that they are teaching. For example, Mrs. Pettit’s performance in the class is proof that her private lifestyle did not affect her ability to do her job. She still showed up for work and helped many students with disabilities, so her work was not lacking.
Analyze five behaviors you believe would show unprofessional or immoral conduct for a teacher. If Mrs. Pettit was teaching the children how to become a swinger, performing sexual acts in class, having sex at school in the class, anywhere on campus, or If she was getting reports on her for inappropriate behavior with students showing too much attention to students and dressing inappropriately for teaching students that would be unprofessional and immoral.
Conclusion
It is important to strive for Ethical Integration in any given organization. The company’s objectives should be coupled with ethical considerations. Every employee should be aware of the ethical practices inside the organization. The company should include key values of integrity, respect, communications, and excellence in its strategic objectives. The employees should always strive to achieve the code of ethics in their operational activities in the organization.
References
- De Cremer, D., van Dick, R., Tenbrunsel, A., Pillutla, M., &Murnighan, J. K. (2011). Understanding ethical behavior and decision making in management: A behavioral business ethics approach. British Journal of Management, 22(s1), S1-S4.
- Ferrell, O. C., &Fraedrich, J. (2014). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. London: Cengage learning. Moon, J. A. (2013).
- Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. London: Routledge’s. (2015).
- Ethics in the Workplace – VPSC. Retrieved 19 June 2015, from http://vpsc.vic.gov.au/ethics-behaviours-culture/ethics-in-the-workplace.