HARSH DILEMMA I EXPERIENCED

A dilemma elicits a lot of friction and frustration which interferes with our psychological functioning hence causing conflicts either within ourselves or to others. Harsh dilemma refers to a case where by you find yourself fixed in a rugged situation and making a decision is totally puzzling. This essay will talk about a harsh ethical dilemma which I encountered while teaching for one year. According to Ulvik, 2016, Education is described as ethical industry and numerous professional dilemmas confronted by teachers have a native aspect.

After completion of my Form four examination, I commenced training in a secondary school as a language teacher. I was an inexperienced and apparently I knew little about schools in the area. As weeks elapsed by, I learned that the school’s management was really awful. This stemmed from failure to elect an appropriate staff. Teachers were understaffed despite students paying fees termly as required. Unfortunately, the management hiked the tuition fee during the third month and did not offer quality education in reciprocation. In fact the teacher student relationship was displeasing and hence teachers cared little about the students. According to Sointu, 2016, a productive teacher to student relationship affects the academic achievement, emotional adjustment and behaviour positively. The staff could spend the better part of class time basking in the spacious staffroom instead of attending to students. I was relentlessly committed to offering my best to my students but I would not help them weed out the rogue management. I was afraid of raising my voice or taking any action because absolutely I would be sacked off and charged with gross misconduct. I was not in a position to oppose the organization but I was infuriated to see the students’ future in thick darkness. Actually I had two options but I opted to remain silent because I grew stingy. Doubtlessly, I should have thought of the students’ futures which hang in suspense and not me; but I was helpless.

The decision that I reached that time was selfish and unsatisfactory hence many values like professional, societal and personal were affected. Considering social values, a teacher remains to be the second parent of our children because they do teach and protect them. The world anticipates a lot from teachers because they are respected professionally and highly educated. It’s shocking that I breached all these social values. Parents and students have vast trust on their teachers and it’s saddening that I became egocentric and failed to salvage the students from the poor management. But since I was in fear of being laid off, I could not go against the institution I worked for; again I violated my professional values. Lastly I compromised my religion rules that we should assist everyone albeit our selfishness.

In conclusion, it was a nasty experience as I would not resolve the dilemma at expense of being sacked and branding my organization nonproductive. As a result, the future of innocent students was shattered and this annoys me much. According to Thiroux, 2017, we should constitute and follow rules which bring greatest good to the concerned. Literally, many of my societal values were ruined during my stay at the school.

References

Ulvik, M. S. (2016). Ethical aspects of professional dilemmas in the first year of teaching. Professional Development In Education, 236-252.

Sointu, E. T. (2016). Longitudinal associations of student-teacher relationships and behavioural and emotional strengths on academic achievement. Educational Psychology, 457-467.

Thiroux, J. a. (2017). Ethics: Theory and Practice. Pearson Education.