Ethical Issues Within Teaching

[Celestia]

I faced multiple challenges as a teacher in a University, in Central American country. I was teaching students who would eventually be teaching English in primary schools (provided they PASSED my course). One of the challenges I had was that so many of my students weren't even at the academic level of English themselves to be able to grasp much of the materials in the course load. Here's the issue - if a student doesn't do well in a prerequisite (repeatedly), then a reasonable "fine" would be paid to the Uni and the student would be allowed to move forward in classes. This resulted in a classroom in which about 70% of my students were NOT prepared for the current material.

 

What would you have done? Failed them all, passed them all, "bent" the rules so that a number of them passed...? I'm curious! 

[ErlyRisa]

Sadly its happening everywhere,

 

I recently dropped out of a science degree, where personally I wouldn't have allowed ME in in the first place.

 

...but then again, I have known kids I was growing up with, that had "special needs" as they were young, when I was one of the "excelled" kids...

 

guess which ones the the civil engineer!! - not me.

 

Sometimes: especially in a field like teaching, its' not always about the "skill", but the want to excel.

 

 

About bending the rules...I thought you university professors did that all the time, to make sure your students passed to "your" standards, in order for you too look "reasonable" as a teacher...isn't that the first lesson in teaching, and come to think of it, middle managment: Make yourself look good first. :)