During my first years of teaching, I had a female student come in with a black eye. She was reluctant to tell me what happened. After some intensive prodding and questioning, she finally broke down and said her father had hit her. She was insistent that it was an accident because he had been drinking. As a beginning teacher, I understood my responsibility as a mandated reporter. I went to our Head Counselor to discuss the incident and seek guidance in how to report it to CPS. His reaction was disturbing, he said he knew this family well and worked with other siblings. He had filed reports before and it only made things worse for the whole family. I was completely blindsided by his answer. Although I could see how things could get worse, I knew ethically that the right thing to do was to follow the law and file the report. I walked away from that counselor’s office feeling strongly that reporting it was the right thing to do even if the parent would become more upset. Although I felt, bad that I could possibly be making things worse for the family, I think not reporting would be negligent on my part. I also think I could not live with myself if I chose to ignore it and the abuse continued in intensity. After filing the report, I felt strange when talking with that student and knowing that I might cause additional issues. However, I knew it was the right thing to do. After a few months, I received a response that the report was unfounded. This is when I realized that my only responsibility is to report was disclosed. It was not my job to investigate the incident. It is the role of CPS to investigate and determine next steps.
I think I would ask myself what are my legal responsibilities as a mandated reporter. I would also reiterate that my responsibility as a mandated reporter is only to report the disclosure. The responsibility for CPS is to investigate and determine if there needs to be further action. Deviating from my responsibility would be breaking the law and much more harmful for the student if it was ignored. I think this is a great example of what Josephson (2005) identified in his six pillars of character as “having the courage to do the right thing.” I filed the CPS report despite the ill advice from a school counselor about making things worse for the family.
Josephson, M. (2005). Making ethical decisions: The six pillars of character. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/MED/MD-2sixpillars.html.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Making Ethical Decisions
During my first years of teaching, I had a female student come in with a black eye. She was reluctant to tell me what happened. After some intensive prodding and questioning, she finally broke down and said her father had hit her. She was insistent that it was an accident because he had been drinking. As a beginning teacher, I understood my responsibility as a mandated reporter. I went to our Head Counselor to discuss the incident and seek guidance in how to report it to CPS. His reaction was disturbing, he said he knew this family well and worked with other siblings. He had filed reports before and it only made things worse for the whole family. I was completely blindsided by his answer. Although I could see how things could get worse, I knew ethically that the right thing to do was to follow the law and file the report. I walked away from that counselor’s office feeling strongly that reporting it was the right thing to do even if the parent would become more upset. Although I felt, bad that I could possibly be making things worse for the family, I think not reporting would be negligent on my part. I also think I could not live with myself if I chose to ignore it and the abuse continued in intensity. After filing the report, I felt strange when talking with that student and knowing that I might cause additional issues. However, I knew it was the right thing to do. After a few months, I received a response that the report was unfounded. This is when I realized that my only responsibility is to report was disclosed. It was not my job to investigate the incident. It is the role of CPS to investigate and determine next steps.
I think I would ask myself what are my legal responsibilities as a mandated reporter. I would also reiterate that my responsibility as a mandated reporter is only to report the disclosure. The responsibility for CPS is to investigate and determine if there needs to be further action. Deviating from my responsibility would be breaking the law and much more harmful for the student if it was ignored. I think this is a great example of what Josephson (2005) identified in his six pillars of character as “having the courage to do the right thing.” I filed the CPS report despite the ill advice from a school counselor about making things worse for the family.
Josephson, M. (2005). Making ethical decisions: The six pillars of character. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/MED/MD-2sixpillars.html.
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