Individual Freedom and Public Interest

Individual Freedom and Public InterestChapter 3The Ethics of School Administration3/14/2011

Case InformationSam Endicott is the principal of Dennison Junior High School in SpencertownMr. Endicott stopped off for a beer at an adult establishment, in Belleville, on his way home from a countywide administrators meetingThe community of Spencertown would not be supportive of a school principal patronizing a topless bar.Mr. Endicott was stunned to see a dancer who resembled one of his teachers, Susan Loring.Miss Loring, who taught 9th grade English, was an outstanding teacher and a consummate professional.Miss Loring had recently spoke to Mr. Endicott indicating that she had to take on a second job to support her ill mother.Mr. Endicott did not object as long as she did not let it interfere with her teachingHer classroom instruction only improved.She was talented as a dancer.When she spoke to him, he was embarrassed for her and him for being seen there. He couldnt keep his eyes on Susans face.

Moral DisputeEducators have an obligation to be morally goodEducators serve as role modelsEducators have a responsibility to the community and the students they serve

VS

Educators have the right to choose the kind of life they want to leadWhat one chooses to do in their private life is their businessAs long as educators arent harming anyone, it should not be anyones business

Items to Consider:Gender EquityMiss LoringMr. EndicottIs Miss Loring wrong for performing in a topless bar?Is Miss Loring being exploited?Should the teacher be held to a higher standard?Is Mr. Endicott wrong for patronizing a topless bar?Is Mr.Endicott participating in the exploitation?Should the administrator be held to a higher standard?Key Points to Argue Public vs. Private Behavior

Freedom of Choice vs. Responsibility to the Community and its Beliefs

Effects-positive vs. negative

Moral vs. Value Judgments

Discussion QuestionsWho decides if behaviors are right or wrong?Where to educators public lives end and private lives begin?Are educators held accountable to their moral standards or someone elses? Who?Morality/Ethical Behavior policy-Should this be vague or well defined?Should/Are Educators held accountable by their districts for behavior even if it is a legal activity? Ex. stripping, gambling, drinking in public?Are jobs considered public or private actions?Should educators be evaluated only on performance in the classroom? Should they be evaluated on their behavior outside of school?

Similar CasesPregnantAs an administrator, how would you respond to this type of situation? The Aryan BrotherhoodHow would you respond to this type of situation?Would it make a difference is Mr. Mueller were a history teacher rather than a science teacher?Tiger! Tiger! Burning BrightWhat ethical problem is Dr. Smith faced with? What do you think he should do and why?

Teacher won't get second chance to escape porn-star past BY STEVE GIEGERICH sgiegerich@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8172 | Posted: Friday, March 11, 2011 12:30 am

Much has been said and written over the past three years about an economy that has cruelly stripped away millions of jobs. But we rarely encounter someone heading for the unemployment office because a salacious past came back to bite her on the derriere that was rather overexposed 15 years ago. As you may be aware, this is the circumstance that has tripped up the career of Parkway North High School science instructor and one-time X-rated movie actress Tera Myers.

Parkway officials placed Myers on administrative leave at her request last week after a student passed the word among classmates about what he had observed in a decidedly noneducational video found online. She has informed the district she won't return when classes resume in August. Myers, 38, isn't talking. But she had plenty to say five years ago, when the same issue led to the loss of her first teaching position. According to a story by my colleague Elizabethe Holland, Myers (then known as Tericka Dye) responded to her dismissal by the Paducah, Ky., schools by appearing on the syndicated talk show hosted by pop psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw.

In an account posted on McGraw's website, Myers traced her X-rated career to a period when, as a 22-year-old single mother of two, she fell in with the wrong crowd. "I was broke and wound up meeting some strippers who introduced me to stripping. I was making a lot of irrational decisions, porn only being the worst," Myers told McGraw.It could be reasonably argued that sharing one's deeply personal problems on a national stage with an Oprah wannabe also falls squarely into the category of inexplicably poor decisions. But I digress.

Myers told McGraw she initiated the effort to turn her life around by enlisting in the Army. Honorably discharged, she took advantage of the GI Bill to enroll at Murray State (Ky.), earning the degree that brought the teaching job at Paducah's Reidland High School. Students and parents believing the expertise Myers brought to the classroom trumped whatever talents she once publicly exhibited in the bedroom came to the teacher's defense after Paducah officials terminated her contract. Rejecting the argument that she deserved the benefit of the doubt, the district proceeded with the termination a decision that drove Myers into the armchair of Dr. Phil.

Five years later in St. Louis, Myers has stayed mum as the media swirls around her. But others have spoken up on her behalf, including some you might not expect to defend ex-porn stars. Among scores of online comments on the Post-Dispatch story, a woman who called herself a "Christian Soldier" wrote: "I think she should have her second chance. She has proven you can screw up royally early in life and turn it around into a positive. I'm wondering what some of the other teachers may have been involved with at college or before their teaching careers that, if known, might 'distract' students they teach! We've all done stuff we regret. It's how to overcome it that counts. Following the lead of their counterparts in Paducah, Parkway North students added their voices to the chorus supporting Myers. Interviewed by local television news reporters, they praised Myers' abilities as a teacher. They additionally volunteered that the instructor's predicament has imparted a valuable lesson about the long-term consequences of one's actions.

In education circles, this is known as a teachable moment, the lesson being to think before you act.

Hitting close to home