MINDLAB REFLECTION
WEEK 28 – INFLUENCE OF LAW & ETHICS IN PRACTICE
Social Media such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and other apps has become entrenched in the way we interact and communicate with family, friends, colleagues and professional support groups in the 21st century. Reflecting at some of the Legal and Ethical issues, we as teachers confront on a daily basis and how we engage and interact using social media will help us in our decision making about the awareness and boundaries we have to be mindful of.
I am going to use Rolfe’s model of reflection (2001) to guide and support me in my ethical decision making when interacting and engaging using social media.
STEP 1 - What?
I use social media, Facebook, on a daily basis. Facebook provides the tool that allows me to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. As a migrant to New Zealand, communicating with family and friends overseas, using the landline or mobile phone, is very expensive. Facebook has made the process of staying in touch simple and most importantly it happens in real time.
My concern, at the moment, is two-fold. I have received many friend requests from current and ex-students.
In my first dilemma, it is pretty straightforward. My students currently at Intermediate School are between 11 to 12 years old age category. I have declined friend requests as I believe my current students are too young and they should not be on social media.
In my second dilemma, this is where I need to confront my ethical and professional decision making if I should accept friend requests from my ex-students who have now move on to secondary college and universities. As a teacher, I shared a very warm, caring and professional relationship with my students, whilst they were at Intermediate School. Now that they have moved on, I personally will love to hear about their journey and successes in life. I am also mindful of my ethical, moral and professional boundaries and how this sort of friendship might unfold. What should I do?
My dilemma is that if I accept friend requests from my ex-students, all my personal and family information will be accessible to them. Many of my ex-students have younger siblings that are currently at my school and nothing stops them from sharing my photos and personal life with their younger siblings. This could potentially have a huge and detrimental impact on my career.
STEP 2 – SO WHAT:
To help me process my decision making, I used the Ehrich et. al. (2011) ethical decision-making model to unpack my concerns. In this model, it describes the implications that educational leaders may often be faced with the choices that require them to make decisions that have no clear-cut resolution and are likely to be problematic. What will the implications be now and in the future if I accept friend requests from my ex-students?
It was important for me to look at the Professional Ethics that governs the codes and standards that we must meet as teachers. The Education Council (2017) states ‘As teachers, we respect our trusted position in society’ and ‘sets out the high standards for ethical behavior that are expected of every teacher.’ By me accepting a friend request from my ex-students and knowing that many of these students have or will have their siblings at my school can eventual compromise my integrity and my personal life. How can I maintain my professional standards knowing that I have opened up a platform for my personal information to be shared on Social Media?
As a school teacher and a leader, I have to contemplate what message I will be sending to my greater school community if they see and read about my personal life?
STEP 3 – NOW WHAT:
As a teacher, I am governed by professional standards and ethics. As much as I would want to follow the journey of my ex-students, I feel that accepting a friend request might compromise my integrity and the role model that my students see me as.
I have decided not to accept friend requests from my ex-students. I also decided to educate my current students on why it becomes a difficulty in befriending ex-students on Social Media. This dilemma is not only unique to me, there are other teachers on my staff that have received similar requests. At a staff meeting, we discussed these issues on cyber safety and how this could possibly impact on your professional responsibilities and our privacy. Different case scenarios were model to staff and this helped make an informed decision about our roles and responsibilities.
REFERENCE:
1. Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards. Retrieved 10 March 2018 from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf
2. Education Council (2018). Guide to Teachers and Social media. Retrieved 11 March 2018 from:https://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/teachers-and-social-media
3. Ehrich, L., Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.53979
4. Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical Reflection Model.
