Ethics for Educational Leaders - Case Study Example

Ethics for Educational Leaders Case Study Analysis: Teacher Becomes Ill Introduction It is an ethical thing to do for education leaders to use ethics and school policies to guide them when making decisions that are involving teachers’ or students’ health issues. In any decision that the principal of the school will make, always the interests of the students should be upheld, and at the same time, those issues that affect the teachers should be considered and accommodated with the right principals. Decision Making The teacher really needs to be retained in school at least to help her cope with her health issues. According to the doctor’s advice, the teacher needs to keep active for as long as possible in order to prolong her life, and this is only easy when the teacher is allowed to engage teaching which has been her job for long. It means that the teacher really has no option than to just continue teaching even though it has been realized that her output in class with her students is declining by the day. This is also a serious matter given that the students also should not get low marks or underperform at the expense of retaining an under-performing teacher. However, as a good principal, there is the need to balance the needs such that both the students and the teacher will not have to lose. The teacher can be allowed to teach for a few hours the students be given a replacement to help them pay for the lost time. If the teacher is left to continue teaching, at least this will help her family to be able to find some ease in dealing with her health issue. As a Principal, it would be wise to find more information about such a case from the doctors who specialize in such health issues before making any decision. This will help the principal to find out more about the disease in order to make an informed decision that will be of ethical value to the teacher and not go against the interest of the students. In case the principal does not want to consult the doctor or a victim of the situation, they can still get the information related to such issues from the internet, newspapers and magazines. Through this way, the principal can know how the victims of such cases are supposed to be treated and taken care of. Instead of allowing the teacher to teach full time, there are alternatives that can be applied. She can teach for fewer hours, leaving the rest of the time for the other teacher to help the students. Alternatively, the teacher can be allowed to work in other departments such as disciplinary or counseling. This will be done after being in touch with the employers or the supervisors who will assess and find out if it is necessary to give the teacher other duties from other departments (Jennings, 2012, P. 1 & L. 35). These are departments that are non-academic, hence the students will not have to lose in academic performance. The principals should ensure that he complies with the written local school policy and applicable laws and regulations (AAE, 2011, P. 1 & L. 27). In this situation, there is a policy such as, the students should be given the best education by their teachers and this should not be compromised by anything else. Also, any teacher who is not able to deliver according to the specifics and requirements of the school or the rules of the schools should be dismissed. But more specifically, those teachers found suffering from any form of disability should be allowed to take an early retirement to be able to deal with their situations at home, and also to allow a replacement to take place so that the students are not disadvantaged. It is right for the principal to investigate the teacher’s health, especially given that it might affect either the teacher or the performance of the students. The principal might be required to fill an injury report form as a witness for the teacher which is to be forwarded to the employers, it means the principal will have to investigate to know the manner in which the incident happened, time and place (Safety makes Sense, 2012, P. 1 & L. 17-19). It is true that the teacher’s health is a private matter, but not when the indulgence of the principal is required to make some decisions that will directly affect the health of the teacher. The principal is therefore justified to carry out an investigation to find out the health issues about the teacher in order to find the right way to handle the situation. The principal can only understand the teacher after knowing exactly the truth about their health status which only comes after an investigation. However, when such information is acquired from the teacher, the principal is not supposed to disclose or discuss with anyone else, unless it is required by law (EPSB, 2012, P. 2 & L. 24-28). In the school setup, the interests of the students normally prevail. It therefore follows that what is best for the teacher cannot be preferred to what is best for the students. The teacher can always be transferred to another school, offered a chance to teach somewhere else, such as in church or in a lower learning institution that do not require a lot of input. She will still have to keep being active and at the same time the students will not lose a lot. However, the interests of the students should come first. The school is there fundamentally because of the student, which explains why what is best for the student should always prevail in every situation. Conclusion and Personal Experience From a personal experience, I would love to give the teacher a chance to teach for longer if that would prolong her life, if I was in-charge of making laws in this school. However, if this would affect the performance of the students, I would request the school board to allow the teacher to teach for a few hours and if she can be given responsibilities that are non-academic so as to help her prolong her life, but at the same time, get a replacement teacher who will enable my students not to lag behind as far as academic performance is concerned. References AAE. (2011). AAE Code of Ethics for Educators. Journal of AAE , 1. EPSB. (2012). Professional Code of Ethics: For Kentucky Certified School of Personnel. Code of Ethics Bronchure , 2. Jennings. (2007). Reporting On-the-Job Injuries. A Journal of Sage Publications , 1. SMS. (2012). Comprehensive Injury Report:Instructions for Completion of Comprehensive Injury Report. Journal of Safety Makes Sense , 1. Read More