Unethical Behavior Among Teachers and Other Professionals

Over the years there has been a influx of ethical violations with teachers. Many of the teachers who have been brought to the spotlight have had sexual relations with their students. The most infamous teacher is Mary Kay Letourneau. Mary Kay was a sixth grade teacher. This is where she met her 13 year old lover, Vili Fualaau. Mary Kay was twenty one years older than Vili. Mary Kay was sentenced to prison time for her involvement with an underage student. She also bore two of his children. Even more recently now that Vili is now 22 years of age, they have plans to get married next month. (KOIN.com) There was a no contact order in place to keep Mary Kay away from Vili after her release last year after serving seven and a half years in prison. However Vili plans to go before the judge and ask that it be revoked. (Court TV.com)

This is one of the most infamous cases of unethical behavior against a teacher. This is not the only one though. It seems that there are constantly new cases popping up in the news Young girls sleeping with their older male teachers, and younger men and older female teachers. It would almost seem that the ethics these people swore to uphold have been blatantly violated without remorse.

According to the New York State code of ethics for educators there are 6 principles that are essential to ethical behavior. Principle one states that "Educators nurture the intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and civic potential of each student." No where within this ethical code does it state that the teachers have any right to come onto sexual contact with the students. Principle two, states that "educators create, support, and maintain challenging learning environments for all." The third principle states that "educators commit to their own learning in order to develop their practice." Principle four, "educators collaborate with colleagues and other professionals in the interest of student learning." Principle five, "educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and respecting confidentiality." This principle was seriously violated by Mary Kay. She took the trust that she was given and blew it up. She shattered the trust of the community in which she was a teacher. Principle six, "educators advance the intellectual and ethical foundation of the learning community." Mary Kay showed the community that the ethics she was supposed to be guided by meant absolutely nothing to her. Mary Kay placed her own needs before those of the students and the young man she took advantage of. Mary Kay was a poor role model for demonstrating the importance of proper ethics.

The American population is tempted by unethical actions on a daily basis. These could be things such as keeping money you find on the ground, not reporting unethical behavior, to telling white lies. The solution lies within the person, not on society as a whole. While it seems like a noble idea to regulate and govern the codes of ethics, the problem lies within the person who chooses not to follow the code. (Jahn, 1999)

There is no easy answer as to what the solution would be for ethical behavior in the professional scenario. People are easily tempted by the thought of being risqué and the possibility of getting caught. It doesn't necessarily mean that they want to get caught but the thought can be exciting to some people. The thought of stiffer penalties for those caught having illicit relationships with students may deter some teachers, but there will always be the risk. There are some people who do not care about the consequences of their actions, they merely live for the moment and if prison time can't deter them from their actions, a code of ethics is going to be deemed useless.