Ethical Dilemma: Ken's Social Studies Grade You expected to encounter a sour apple or two in the teaching profession, but
Kingsley is authentically rotten. He is lazy, way out of touch with his field,
hostile to students, and totally uncooperative toward his colleagues and the high
school's administrators. He has been tenured for twelve years and has been acting
this way for about eleven. He flaunts his behavior, occasionally referring to
himself as "the Untouchable One." He is also as smart as he is mean.
For reasons you can only guess at, Kingsley is carrying on some kind of personal vendetta against Ken, one of the best students in the senior class. Ken's father has been out of work for three years, and Ken has had an after-school and weekend job to help the family stay afloat. Besides carrying a heavy academic load of demanding courses, he has stayed active in a number of the school's key extracurricular activities. This year, as editor of the school newspaper, he took a dull sports and soft-gossip paper and made it genuinely interesting, addressing issues of real concern to the entire high school population and doing it in a mature, evenhanded way. In the process, Ken seems to have gotten on Kingsley's wrong side, and Kingsley, his senior-year English teacher, is making him pay. Ken has told you, as his social studies teacher and friend, about what is going on in English. Besides regular ridicule and baiting, Kingsley has given him very low marks on writing assignments and term papers that you frankly think are across-the-board A work. As a result, Ken is running a low C in English, which has been his best subject, and this could mean he will get no honors at graduation. Worse, it will probably bring his average down just enough that he will lose the state scholarship he needs to go to college next year.
You have tried to talk with Kingsley about the situation, but after smugly telling you about "a teacher's right and responsibility to give the grade he sees fit," he in effect told you to "butt out." In as professional a manner as possible, you have discussed the matter with the principal, but she has told you that although she sympathizes, her hands are tied. Finally, it dawns on you that there
is something you can do. Ken is running a solid B-plus/A-minus in social studies as you enter the last weeks of the school year. If you were to change a few grades upward so he will receive an A-plus, it could compensate for the unjust grade he is receiving from Kingsley. It would also assure Ken of getting the state scholarship. You would love to see Kingsley's face at graduation, too. What will you do?
For Further Reflection
- Does this situation really involve ethics? Does it involve unfairness or a breach of ethical standards?
- Are there complexities that cause ethical conflicts? If so, what are they?
- What are the consequences of various courses of action?
- Who needs to be considered as you try to decide on courses of action?
- What, specifically, would you say or do?
