Unprofessional Conduct: Ethical Business Decision Making

Unprofessional Conduct
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Unprofessional Conduct
1 Do you believe the Board of Education violated her right to privacy? Were they justified in firing her? Explain two to three (2-3) major reasons why or why not.
I do not believe that the board violated her privacy but acted in the best interests of the students. Obviously, Pettit had her right to privacy and did what pleased her. However, as a teacher for elementary pupils, she had a responsibility to uphold a high level of morality. As a teacher, her private life could be easily linked to her teaching profession because her students held her with the highest regard.
The Board of Education had a responsibility to act in the best interests of the students and the education system. The board was justified to fire Pettit to avoid her sexual behavior manifesting in the classroom and cause harm to the kids. Pettit had shown disregard to the acceptance standards of moral conduct as expected of a person in her profession. She was likely to start impressing on the minds of the kids that such behavior was acceptable and hence corrupt their morals.
The board was right to fire her to prevent mistrust between the teachers and the parents. The revelation of the private life of Pettit could destroy the delicate and intimate relationship that existed between the parents and the teachers. Parents would not wish to have their children taught by a teacher who has defied the accepted standards of moral conduct.
2 Was Pettit’s behavior unprofessional or immoral? Do you believe she was unfit to teach? Provide a rationale for your position.
I believe that Pettit’s behavior was immoral. According to Brengelman (2013), immoral behavior is a failure to conform to the accepted standards of morality deliberately. When kids are growing up, they are taught what is right or wrong. They look up to the adults including teachers for guidance. Teachers are role models for children and what they say, do or teach plays a critical role in shaping the worldview of the children (Lunenberg, Korthagen and Swennen 2007). Hence, teachers have a moral responsibility of acting ethically and setting forth good morals to the students. It was wrong for Pettis to belong to the club yet her profession as a teacher required her to uphold morality with high standards
Pettit was unfit to teach. I do not doubt her credibility as a teacher since she had a good track record for 13 years. However, once the information about her sexual behavior came out, she no longer qualified to continue teaching the kids. I do not have any issues with her views because people have a right to their opinions. What makes me disqualify her from teaching is that she might inject her immoral sexual views to the classroom and mislead the children who hold her in high regard. Ideally, teachers shape the morality of children not only by their words but also the way they conduct themselves. Children emulate what they see or hear about their teachers. Since her sexual behavior was now public, allowing her to continue teaching would have implied that her behavior was acceptable and kids would not have a problem emulating her. Additionally...