Case
Teacher instructing wrong-doing

While volunteering in a special needs school, I have witnessed a teacher who has done things against the Code of Ethics. She has a student who has frequent outbursts that can get out of hand. When it becomes too much for the school to handle, they call the grandfather to come pick the student up. While I was there, the student had an episode and the teacher instructed me to egg the student on to escalate the behavior. She said she wanted her to still be acting up when her grandfather arrived so he could see what they were dealing with (she is normally calmed down by the time he gets there to pick her up). Obviously I knew this was very wrong but I didn't know what to do. I was just a volunteer, and here a veteran teacher is telling me something that I know is wrong. I wanted to report it to an administrator but I didn't feel it was my place because I was just a volunteer. Should I have reported this???

Posted on: 10/10/16 | Views: 1102
Solution #1
Top Solution
While you are a volunteer you should never do something you are uncomfortable doing whether that mean finding new volunteer work or not, never do something that you don't feel right doing. Should you have told someone, I believe yes, as the idea that this teacher is sending a student home just to get her out of their hair is both ridiculous and plain wrong. All students are supposed to get an education and as long as they are following the rules and they should get it. You even said that she calms down before her grandfather got their then she should have stayed in the class end of discussion. The administration would know how to handle this situation and you may not even be named at the end of it.

This is great advice!

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Solution #2
You should report this to administration because she is going against the code of ethics. The teacher should be teaching, not telling you to aggravate the student so that she can send him home. There is a reason the student has outbursts, and it is important to get to the root of the problem in order to solve the behavioral issue. What causes the student to have outbursts? Is it something the teacher says or does? Maybe the student is upset by the teacher's behavior, or maybe the student needs a behavioral management plan because it is part of a disability.
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Solution #3
Even though you are a volunteer, you should never do something that you feel is wrong simply because someone else told you to do so. I would definitely report the incident to my university supervisor, and administration of the school you are volunteering with. What this teacher asked you to do is definitely inappropriate and against the code of ethics.
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Solution #4
I understand her situation as i have been in that situation and you want the parental figure to see the behavior being displayed at school. But egging it on is never the correct thing to do. I would not do anything when you are volunteering that you are not comfortable with. I would then mention to the teacher that you are nto comfortable egging on the outbursts.
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