Ethical dilemmas teachers face - Essay Example

He came from a financially well-off family. His parents were always very concerned about Joseph’s progress in studies and had left no stone unturned in the way of making Joseph take interest in studies, but all went in vain. One day, the school had arranged the parents-teachers’ meeting. Joseph’s parents approached me and asked me about Joseph. I wished there was some improvement in Joseph’s studies but there wasn’t any. Caught in distress, his father, Henry asked me to give Joseph extra time.

I told Henry that Joseph to me was like my own child and that I was trying my best, but there were time constraints. I could not attend Joseph beyond a fixed duration, and there were other students that equally required my attention as well. Henry told me that he had arranged a number of tutors before, but nobody managed to do his job successfully. Henry also told me that Joseph had told him that he understood nobody’s lecture better than mine. I also knew that because whenever I told Joseph something, he seemed to have got that there and then.

Henry asked me if I could give Joseph time after the classes. He also asked me if the school forbade me as a teacher to see some student after the school. I told Henry that although there was no such rule in the school, but it would be very difficult for me to do justice to my job as a teacher. However, I did not refuse him, though it was no less than an ethical dilemma for me. On one hand, I had the potential to save a child’s future from getting spoiled because Joseph understood what I taught him and just required a little more time from me.

On the other hand, paying more attention towards Joseph alone might be an injustice to other students who were studying with him. “It is important to remember that your job entails keeping the entire class engaged” (Wood, 2009). But I decided to accept the offer because by giving Joseph tuition after the school, I would not have done as much