In reader 5 the concept of ethics for social good the theory of moral obligation made me look into my initial perception regarding my stance as a teacher. I began to look at what is actually expected of me as an educator by law compared with what I just assumed was necessary. What are my moral obligations within my workplace? How do I consider ethics for social good?
In task 5a I detailed my own personal views on what I believed would make a reasonable set of ethics/code of conduct to teach under.
When comparing this to the Health care policy (code of conduct) for my School I found that there were things I had only briefly touched on that were considered to be of high importance. I discovered that a large emphasis was put on promoting health education and a healthy lifestyle for pupils which seems obvious but reading the policy I found that it is something that lies under my responsibility to incorporate when teaching. I see that in order for me to fully educate pupils I must consider the physical implications as well as the educational ones. I'm not just nurturing a talent on one level in order to fully maximise potential a deeper thinking approach maybe needed.
I would say I lead a healthy lifestyle with a well balanced diet so I questioned had I been doing this already?
Before any class/exams I always advise pupils to refrain from eating or drinking dairy products for singing classes in particular. Many of my younger pupils have found this to be very beneficial to aid their progression and develop technique. I also try to advise against drinking fizzy drinks, sugary sweets anything that has a high sugar content (which will probably make then over active )in order to keep the voice as clear as possible. I can see that this is something that could be seen as trying to promote a healthier lifestyle so I am actually following the schools guidelines on this. Too often I see younger pupils consuming large amounts of rubbish foods very rarely fruit is seen which is a shame. I feel I could to more to highlight this issue, I may even consider buying fruit and replacing the snacks on offer at work with a healthier alternative to promote this healthier lifestyle and health education more.
I have been aware in the past of pupils suffering from colds/sore throats but resisted the temptation to suggest to use of certain remedies/medications. It would be too easy of me to think I was helping but I know I'm not trained to give such advice. Its brings up a moral dilemma because I want to help but know any advice I give could be harmful and I am accountable .Instead I try to ask questions like what can you do to help take care of your throat and hope they reply with an answer making them realise what preventative measures to take in the future.
I guess there is a need to set boundaries between my personal views and where my professional obligations lie which to some existent I believe I have done. The two clearly overlap at times so considering these guidelines has given me further clarity for knowing what must be done in an educational setting.
Another point brought up in the Healthcare policy was the schools responsibility for staff's safety and injury prevention. I hadn't really thought about my wellbeing and how I needed to be accounted for. I can see if I were to sustain an injury whilst demonstrating a move improperly that it would be incorrect procedure and create a negative impression of my professional practice something that I believe I have a legal and personal obligation to prevent where possible but for the school to set these out as part of the guidelines was a new discovery.
I am begining to see the full impact these guidelines can have on theeducation and learning capabilities of pupils. This really links in well with my SIG entitled 'Musical Theatre Education http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/topic.php?uid=145821545478191&topic=79 where I have been trying to explore different perceptions of musical theatre and the impact it has to teaching and learning capabilities.
I understood that there are clearly things you can and can't do but I'm now beginning to see why these guidelines need to be implemented because of the knock on effect and accountability of everyone involved. It’s not just my actions and my pupil’s position that needs to be considered, I can see it is a much bigger process extending to parents involvement and my employers obligations and reputation of the institute as a whole which I represent. I decided to display diagram to show how my understanding has developed from my initial assumptions and perceptions. http://rebeccajanegaskell24.blogspot.com/2011/04/ethical-framework-diagram.html.
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