Ech301 Wk 5 Discussion

The race to prepare children for academic success has become a topic of ethical conversation lately. Parents or guardians want to make sure their children do not fall behind academically, teachers strive for good reviews and evaluations, and schools compete for funding based on test scores. All of this usually results in “teaching to the test” and unethical teaching practices. Consider this ethical dilemma from Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education: Karen has been working as a pre-kindergarten teacher for more than 10 years. She feels a sense of pride in her teaching practice and was thrilled when her classroom achieved the highest score during a NAEYC reaccreditation visit. Karen diligently employs best practices in her work with young children. She is aware that developmentally appropriate curriculum practice has a positive impact on children’s learning and on their attitude toward school. Karen has observed children sitting for long periods of time at a desk, writing letters over and over again in another teacher’s pre-K classroom. The children in this classroom have little or no time for self-selected or child-led activities. When Karen asked the teacher why she was assigning this activity to children, the teacher shared that parents want their children to be able to write before they begin kindergarten. She also attempted to justify her approach by saying that children need to be prepared for the tougher environment of elementary school. The teacher is aware that she is not following the school’s curriculum approach and asked Karen not to let the program director know because she needs her job. Karen thinks that the children’s needs are paramount but does not want to do anything that might jeopardize the teacher’s employment (Morrison et al., 2020, p. 37). Review NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for guidance on this scenario. Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: • What would you do if you were Karen? • Should Karen share her concerns with the program director and by doing so, possibly put her coworker’s career as a pre-K teacher at risk? Or should Karen keep quiet and do nothing? Review the College’s Conceptual Framework. • How does this topic link to the College’s Conceptual Framework and the framework’s philosophical relationship to effective teacher preparation? Please use the verbiage from one of the spokes on the framework wheel in your response. You will not get credit if you make up your own.