Ethics and the Educator

Education News Headline Roundup

• Last week brought news of a long-simmering conflict within OpenAI, a dominant player in the generative artificial intelligence space, over whether or not the company should release to the public a watermarking tool that would leave a secret trail of encoded breadcrumbs in textual output from ChatGPT.
• Updates from ongoing literacy reform initiatives across the country:
  • A literacy reform bill in the state of Massachusetts failed to pass after pushback from the state’s teachers union and some school administrators.
  • Maryland’s State Board of Education is also in the midst of a comment period related to literacy programming changes, in this case having to do with a controversial retention policy that could hold back third graders who don’t score high enough on state reading exams.
• Katie and guest educator Allyson discuss their state-mandated Science of Reading coursework after completing 10 modules that may have missed the mark of preparing teachers to tackle literacy challenges.

Ethics and the Educator

Teachers serve as ethical role models, and their personal philosophies deeply influence their day-to-day decisions and interactions with students. In this episode, we discuss how teacher education programs prepare (or fail to prepare) educators to approach these responsibilities with sensitivity and moral understanding. 

Contemporary challenges in teaching ethics are also examined, including the importance of age-appropriate content, the legal and policy constraints public school teachers face, and the necessity for cultural and ethical sensitivity in diverse classrooms. We discuss strategies for educators to recognize and mitigate their biases, promote respectful dialogue, and prepare students to navigate today's ethical and moral dilemmas, particularly in the digital age.

Finally, we consider the influence of parents and community members on classroom ethics and how educators can involve these parties constructively in the project of education. The episode concludes with a discussion of the value of formalized ethics lessons versus the ethical lessons naturally woven into everyday classroom experiences.

Discussion Questions:

• How do your personal philosophies as educators shape your daily actions in the classroom?
• In what ways do teacher education programs equip educators to handle ethical sensitivity and moral responsibility?
• How has the role of the educator as a moral and ethical exemplar evolved throughout history?
• Are formal ethics lessons more beneficial than the lessons students learn from everyday classroom interactions?
• How can teachers effectively tailor ethics-related content to different age groups while keeping it engaging?

Sources & Resources:

OpenAI has the tech to watermark ChatGPT text—it just won’t release it | Ars Technica

There’s a Tool to Catch Students Cheating With ChatGPT. OpenAI Hasn’t Released It. - WSJ

Understanding the source of what we see and hear online | OpenAI

Massachusetts Literacy Reform Bill Dies, But State Spends $20 Million on Reading Education – Solondais