Ethical Judgement in Teaching" (Karl D. Hostetler) (original) (raw)

Hostetler' s book is as organized, comprehen sive, and as involving as a play in several acts. It begins with a rationale for exploring ethical judgments in teaching and ends with short essays on the same theme. There is even a denouement consisting of case studies on additional teacher education topics. Between the volume's beginning and end are a series of imagined school situations or case studies and analytical essays on the ethical implicatio ns of school problems with revealing discussion s about disagreem ents over meanings and priorities in classroom practice. Hosteller wants to show readers, teachers, communit y members, post-secon dary students, and scholars how to see and to resolve ethical conflicts in education. He expects those who face perplexing situations are wiJJ be better able to handle them if they understand ethics and ethical judgment. Most educationa l problems, he maintains, have ethical componen ts which can be viewed from the ethical point of view-eve n smaJJ things teachers do such as choosing items for a buJJetin board, arranging desks, practising certain rituals eaU for ethical judgment. But the most important educationa l decisions, and some of the most contentiou s, have various peoples' interests at the core. Often, these interests conflict. Fostering educators' abilities to make good ethical judgments about teaching and learning conditions and practices, Hostetler suggests, means encouragi ng them to think about and to appreciate others' points of view. This may lead educators to uncover diverse beliefs, opinions, reasons, and principles. AJJ of us can tackle appropriat ely the problems we face in education, Hostetler believes, if we learn to reason with reference to ethical norms, standards, and practices and are disposed to analyze the relevant concepts. Hostetler wants us to see the complexit y of educationa l problems and to have due regard for those who are or who may be affected by our decisions. He is equaJJy concerned about maintainin g values and adhering to duty. Learning to do this weJJ, he suggests, means learning how to make good ethical judgments. Hosteller' s thesis is that ethical judgment, perception , caring, and reflection are inextricab ly linked. We should not mistake ethical judgment, however, with being judgmenta l. Nor is making an ethical judgment a simple affair: rarely does one just "see" what is right or good. Ethical judgmentmaking is not just the "uncover ing" or "discover y" of answers to our dilemmas; problems "have to be bashed out." Nor, he says, is judgment the same as just thinking about a problem since judgment implies "some evaluation of the objects of thought." Judgment is a discrimina ting and normative form of thought or reflection, and it should not be confused with reflection, "since reflection does not always involve the vital activity of judgment and discrimina tion." But judgment also differs from calculation even though both are non-capric ious. Judgment, Hostetler argues, is best described as "know-ho w about when and when not to apply a rule." And frequently , there is no rule "that clinches [a] decision one way or the other." Judgment , he says, enters into ethical deliberatio ns at three points: in determining what is relevant and important for people, for values, or facts about a