What Would YOU Do?

Teachers are faced with ethical dilemmas almost daily. Take, for example, the area of discipline. Which behavior infractions warrant referral to the administration, which a call home, which just a stern talkin to? When is it worth taking time from the other students' instruction to redirect and redirect and redirect again an errant student and then address her inevitable question, "What did I do?" With experience and of necessity, most teachers develop a "sense" of these things, but although we try to be fair in our reactions, sometimes we're not, because, well, we are human, and it's really hard to be sheriff, judge, jury, executioner, and instructor all at once.

Acknowledging the challenge is the first step. I try not to impose consequences during class, but rather ask the students to "see me" at lunch or after class. Sometimes I do this after a cooling off period-- for them-- outside the room. I guess what I'm looking for in those follow-up conversations is a little remorse and a lot of accepting responsibility for one's actions. An apology, a sincere one, never hurts, either. If the behavior is of great concern, then I take the time later to document it by writing a referral to the principal. It's really best that way: after a little time, I have calmed down and am able to describe the situation much more objectively. Plus, nothing undermines a teacher's authority more than to make a huge show out of sending a kid to the office, only to have him or her come back in few minutes to report that the principal said she'll "talk to me later." So, unless they are a danger to themselves or others, they stay in class, and I do my best to continue with the lesson.

Sometimes, though, we are faced with more complicated situations. On Monday, we sent home interim progress reports. The students are supposed to go over them with their parents and return a signed copy to school. We collect them through homeroom to make sure this happens, and the last of my 12 signed interims was handed in today by one of my favorite kids. A quick look at the signature told me that she had forged it. It had all the tell-tale signs: it was in pencil, it had been erased several times, and although the final product wasn't bad, a couple of letters weren't formed quite right when compared to the real signature I happened to have at hand. I waited until the end of the class and then asked the student to stay for a moment.

(I'll post the rest tomorrow)