Breaking Confidentiality

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Our world is interconnected in many ways. We see people in the store, at the park, and in other public places all the time. This can be a great way to catch up with friends and family but it can lead teachers into a slippery slope of breaking confidentiality. One large ethical issue I see teachers and administrators face is someone breaking a child’s confidentiality while outside the work place. An important rule to remember when working with children is to keep confidentiality. I did note that this has become an ongoing problem where I observe. The director told me that she had had to deal with it on more than one occasion. She says the reason many employees break confidentiality I because they don’t realize they are doing it. Many parents and family members are eager to discuss their child when they see the teacher outside of the class. The teacher may think that it is harmless to mention how the child is doing. This is inappropriate because anyone could be listening and that is when it becomes a problem. Now it’s as if a teacher has discussed this child’s progress with everyone at that place. Breaking confidentiality can also lead to a distrust between parents and caregivers. A caregiver giving information to a family member or …show more content…

The director for where I observe says that during a first offense she sits down and discusses the implications of breaking confidentiality. If there is a second offense that person gets written up. It takes three write ups for a person to be terminated. The director had a few suggestions that she offers to employees who break confidentiality. One was if you see a family in the store give a quick wave and avoid stopping to chat. The second was if a parent or family members asks you to discuss the child just say you like to keep work time and off time separate. Third was if they persist just say that it is against the policy to discuss those matters outside the work

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