Education Stories Center on Ethical Issues

Nov 23rd, 2009 • Posted in: News

Teachers selling lesson plans online raise money as well as eyebrows; Miami-Dade school district to implement mandatory ethics training; consulting firm wants to bring ethics to high-school curricula

NEW YORK and MIAMI
Several stories touched on education ethics last week. Among the coverage:

• The New York Times reports that thousands of teachers are selling lesson plans online — sometimes to raise money for school supplies, but in other cases for personal profit. Some administrators object to the latter option, contending that if school resources are used, it’s only fair that the school shares in the profit. The practice is so new, according to the Times, that most places have not yet generated policies or guidelines. Some, such as New York University professor Joseph McDonald, say the practice cheapens a tradition of teaching: “Teachers swapping ideas with one another, that’s a great thing,” McDonald said. “But somebody asking 75 cents for a word puzzle reduces the power of the learning community and is ultimately destructive to the profession.” But one teacher quoted in the article told the Times that they see payment as an overdue reward for a thankless job.
• The Miami-Dade school district has instituted mandatory ethics training for all employees, according to the Miami Herald, which notes that the new measures come in the wake of a series of scandals involving a school board member charged with accepting bribes and a Miami City commissioner charged with redirecting funds to a family business. The ethics training will be complemented by new procedures for procurement and tougher standards for avoiding conflict of interest, reports the Herald.
• Consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is starting a series of high-school educational programs stressing social responsibility, reports the Wall Street Journal. Deloitte will assign 20 managers to design a yearlong program to help students develop ethics, innovative thinking, and global awareness, issues the firm says often are missing in traditional curricula. (Editor’s note: Deloitte Touche is a sponsor of Ethics Newsline®.)

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Nov. 19 – Miami Herald Nov. 17 – New York Times, Nov. 15.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 2 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 19 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 5 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 28 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 28.

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