Teacher Violated Code Of Ethics Essay

Teacher Violated Code of Ethics

The code of ethics for teachers is a document that states how a teacher should portray themselves in a professional setting. The ethical philosophies are based on the school or state itself. The code of ethics also states the standards in which the teacher should interpret themselves or in which the teacher should conduct oneself properly. On Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 Brian Stroh a former Bethel elementary school teacher was escorted in to superior court. According to Oliveria (2016), “Stroh, 31, of New Fairfield, was a first-grade teacher at Berry Elementary School when State Police learned that he sexually assaulted three boys — ages 6, 9, and 11 — during a sleepover in his house.” Brian Stroh was one of

the three teachers in Fairfield county accused of sexual assault with students. Brian Stroh pleaded no contest in the sex assault case of Bethel elementary. Students are not supposed to have any contact with teachers outside of school, but the parents of Bethel elementary school were not aware of that stated in the code of ethics.
Throughout the article the author interviews the parents of Bethel elementary school.

A lot of the parents were unaware of the code of ethics. According to Oliveria (2016), one parent “Dennis O’Brien, who has three kids in the Bethel school system, said he was not familiar with the policy. Although he doesn’t blame the district for what happened, he wishes there was better communication about teacher ethics.” I believe O’Brien is right. He should not blame the district for what happen and there should be better communication about teacher ethics. I do not feel like teacher ethics is communicated enough between schools and parents. According to Code of Ethics for Educators (1994-2016), “The professional educator accepts personal responsibility for teaching students character qualities that will help them evaluate the consequences of and accept the responsibility for their actions and choices. We strongly affirm parents as the primary moral educators of their children.” The code of ethics should be communicated more with the parents in this day in age. Parents are sometimes unaware of the regulations teachers have to follow. If teachers expressed this to the parents, this incident could have been avoided. The parents of Bethel elementary were allowing their children to go home with the now convicted sex offender, Mr. Brian

Stroh.
Finally, Mr. Brian Stroh violated the code of ethics by not making a constructive effort to protect the students from unfavorable conditions such as health and safety. According to The Code of Ethics for Educators (2015), He ultimately violated the code of ethics by Standard 2: Conduct with Students - An educator shall always maintain a professional relationship with all students, both in and outside the classroom. Unethical conduct includes but is not limited to: committing any sexual act with a student or soliciting such from a student” (p. 2). From this article I have learned a few things. One thing I would capitalize on, is maybe if the parents of our students were more involved and aware of the code of ethics then these bizaar incidents could be prevented. Parents need to be more aware of the ethical values in which teachers have to follow. Parents should be aware of the standards teachers are held to, incidents like this are rare, but not unheard of. Teachers should always provide a positive and active role in the student’s life, but to what extent? I believe parents should not just know, but to understand the code of ethics and to be conscious in situations like these.