ETHICAL DECISIONS

The Parent-Teacher Dating Dilemma

David a teacher at the school who is romantically involved

with a parent. He is the subject of the case study. Davids ethics
are in question. David has been romantically involved with the
parent for the last four months.

Janet Davids department head. Janet first notices an

abnormal interaction between the David and the parent. Her
ethical decision making is being tested in this case study.

The Parent she lingered around after Parent Teacher

Conference and attempted to make her relationship with David
appear causal. The case study alludes to the fact that David is
her sons teacher. She is a member of the party responsible for
the ethical dilemma. It is unclear if she is married.

STAKEHOLDERS AND ROLES

The Student he is never directly spoken about in the case

study. Should his mothers relationship with David surface to the
community he could be victim to bullying, end up with a broken
home, and be accused of receiving preferred treatment from
David. There is victim potential in The Student

The Administrators Should Janet bring this issue to the

administration they must decide if they should act on it, and if
so, how. If they react inappropriately they could end up in a
public relations nightmare.

The Community It is unclear of Davids motives with the

parent. Is David a home wrecker, a predator to single parents, or
wanting to get closer to kids? The community will have a lot of
questions about Davids character.

ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

David is in his third year of teaching social studies at a high

school

During parent-teacher conferences, Janet, Davids department

coordinator notices him being extra friendly with a mother.

Janet confronts David and asks if everything is okay with the

mother and David says that all is well.

The next day, David then confesses that he is in a relationship

with the mother and has been for 4 months.

BACKGROUND

THE EDUCATOR RECOGNIZES THE MAGNITUDE OF THE

RESPONSIBILITY INHERENT IN THE TEACHING PROCESS.
THE DESIRE FOR THE RESPECT AND CONFIDENCE OF
ONES COLLEAGUES, OF STUDENTS, OF PARENTS, AND OF
THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY PROVIDES THE
INCENTIVE TO ATTAIN AND MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST
POSSIBLE DEGREE OF ETHICAL CONDUCT.
NEA (2014)

MORGAN & REYNOLDS (1997) EXPLAINS, THE APPEARANCE OF

IMPROPRIETY IS A PHRASE REFERRING TO A SITUATION WHICH
TO A LAYPERSON WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPECIFIC
CIRCUMSTANCES MIGHT BE SEEN TO RAISE ETHICS QUESTIONS.

An educator should never give the appearance of impropriety by behaving in any manner that
would give a layperson any reason to believe that the educator is being ethical. The PTR is a
situation in which a layperson could question the character of the educator, and the educator
should not risk this public trust nor lose the respect and confidence of colleagues and the public.
The NEAs Principle I Commitment to the Student #4 states that the educator in fulfillment of
the obligations to the student, Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions
harmful to learning or to health and safety. In addition, #5 states that the educator shall not
intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement (NEA, 2014). The PTR has the
potential to expose the student to conditions harmful to his learning and mental health, and
embarrassment and disparagement. If it is decided that the student should be transferred to
another classroom, then the students learning will be interrupted and disturbed. The student
becoming the target of teasing will effect his learning and mental health. The potential for the
student to be distracted from learning exists. The relationship of the student to his teacher will
change the usual teacher-student relationship, and has a potential to harm the student.
The domain of my response is based on dispositions not law. There is no law that prohibits
teachers from dating their students parent. Dispositions are not clear cut rules, and are subject to
discussion on whether a certain behavior is ethical. Teachers must be proactive and find ways to
better understand teacher dispositions to maintain the level of respect of their profession.
Zinsmeister & Hill (n.d.) conclude that Some specific strategies we encourage GTAs and new
teachers to consider at the outset of their teaching duties include reviewing their institutions
faculty handbook for policies and expectations that address the ethics of teaching, doing additional
reading on ethical principles and their application to specific situations. As stated above a
proactive position should take into account avoidance of the appearance of impropriety.

Janet, as Department Coordinator should let school

administrators know of the romantic relationship between David
and a students parent. It should be up to the Principal and/or
Assistant Principal on how they wish to handle the situation

Different sanctions can be issued depending on the severity of

the case

David should not be terminated if he has treated the student

fairly and has not exposed student to uncomfortable situations
or has not compromised confidentiality

SOLUTIONS

Janet tells David that although there is no school rule against

dating the parent of a student, the situation has potential for developing into a bad
situation. First, the student could feel uncomfortable if other students were aware of
his
mom dating their teacher. The other students could tease him, or feel that he is
getting
preferential treatment. The parents of the other students may scrutinize the situation,
and
feel that this child is getting preferential treatment. The other parents also may
worry that
this child or his mom may have access to confidential information. Therefore, David
must
ensure that this situation is handled professionally and maturely. Janet may feel that
David should have mentioned the relationship to her so if there were any questions
of
impropriety then she could have controlled the situation.

MORE SOLUTIONS

Administrators should provide a workshop to all teachers at the

beginning of the year explicitly stating the repercussions of
parent-teacher relationship, since consequences may vary from
school to school
As a teacher, if interest towards a students parent arises, it would
be best practice to handle it in a mature way and preferably wait
until such child is no longer a student in your classroom

SUGGESTIONS

The PTR situation shows how community values and expectations influence an
educators values and dispositions because although an educator may see nothing wrong
about
dating their students parent, community members may see the situation differently. Once the
public sees a situation they may not have inherent trust in educators and may worry about
the
worse outcome possible. Educators inherently are highly scrutinized by the community
because
parents are concerned about the quality of the teaching and the school environment. Parents
demand the best for their children, and will become upset if they feel their child is being
treated
unfairly. They may worry that the student whose parent is dating the teacher will get
preferential
treatment. Professionals in the public eye must realize that they have a higher level of
personal
responsibility and must proactively prevent an appearance of impropriety.
COMMUNITY VALUES & EXPECTATIONS

References

Ethical Standards in Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from

http://www.nwfsc.edu/SACS/documents/AdjunctFacultyStudentPrivacy.pdf
Morgan, P., & Reynolds, G. (1997). The Appearance of Propriety. In The Appearance of Impropriety. Free Press.
National Education Association. (2014). Code of ethics of the education profes- sion.
In NEA handbook 2014 (pp. 425). Washington,
DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/2014-NEA-Handbook-Code-of-Ethics.pdf
University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.ualr.edu/vspillai/images/Picture12.png
Zinsmeister, D., & Hill IV, G. (n.d.). Becoming an Ethical Teacher Chapter 14. Retrieved
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/43586_14.pdf

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