Julianne turned me on to this interview today -- thanks Julianne!
Ethics are the foundation of this business. I spend more time on ethics than on any other single subject, and though we finish the unit, the discussions about ethics continue for each paper we write.
I didn't speak of this in class, but the greatest ethical dilemma I faced as an adviser was whether to allow publication of a cartoon that lampooned our principal. I knew it would cause him embarrassment, but for me, that's not enough if the content is true and ethical in all other respects. I consulted experts at the WJEA, SPLC, and local professional media. All supported our right to run the cartoon, though the WJEA knew that I likely would receive flack for doing so. I did, and it lasted for years. Sometimes doing what is ethically right, or what we think is right, causes more pain than we would like. I have since tried to avoid some of that pain by shying away from stories that likely will cause controversy. It's bad teaching, I know, but it's survival.
The ethical scenario work today was difficult because it asks us to debate and discuss. Teachers are caring people who like to get along. It is uncomfortable for me when I disagree with other members of my group, though I value that disagreement and know that it makes me better for having thought about an issue from multiple perspectives. I think about my students and how they must feel, immature as they are in experience and years. If it's tough for a 41-year-old (gasp!) woman to disagree, how tough must it be for a 15-year-old kid to stand up for what she thinks.
The ethical scenarios we worked with today will supplement my instruction. I have used other scenarios from Poynter, but I grow tired of the same old things, so Steve's contribution to my curriculum is much appreciated.
Hilari Anderson
Kentridge High School
Kent, WA
Here's a link to the Newsroom Brain: http://mediamanagementcenter.sectorlink.org/research/brain.asp. Perhaps there's more in there for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story about that cartoon. It's unsettling for me to imagine now what my adviser at Washington High School in Phoenix, Donna Pierce, must have done to run interference for our newspaper staff. All we wanted to do was drop the big one without any consideration of consequences (or perhaps even hoping to provoke a response). I knew she was brave, but until I started working with high school teachers I never truly understood how hard she worked on our behalf.
Steve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix