Taylor Appel

Level 3 Intern

Ethics Critical Task

1. What do you see as the purpose of the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct

of the Education Profession of Florida?

The purpose of the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the

Education Profession of Florida is to set forth guidelines for educators. It provides

educators with a framework on what behaviors or actions are acceptable in the field.

Without these two-important set of guidelines, educators would be working in the field of

education surrounded by gray area situations in which they could however they see

justifiable. In addition to being a guideline for educators, it also acts as safety precautions

to the students, the public, and even the education profession. The guidelines set forth are

there to protect these aspects of our society from corrupt individuals.

2. What is a specific detailed example from this semester when you demonstrated being an

ethical educator?

There have been several occasions this semester where I have practiced being an ethical

educator. All of these circumstances have involved the same student due to this student’s

beliefs. In my class we have a student who is a Jehovah’s Witness. Due to the beliefs of

this student, there are many activities that my CT participates in annually that she

assumed we could not do this year because of this situation. However, my CT and myself

have come up with alternative ways for the rest of the class to participate in the different

holiday activities and such without cutting into the boundaries of this particular student’s

beliefs. For example, for Halloween each student made a “scary” candy bag that either
Taylor Appel

Level 3 Intern

Ethics Critical Task

had a spider, pumpkin, or bat on it and each student would get to decorate their own in

the spirit of Halloween. However, My Ct and I helped modify this bag activity for the

student by having him decorate a fall tree on the front. This way the activity was no

longer about Halloween for this student, it was about the fall season.

3. How is the specific example you described connected to the Code of Ethics?

This specific example is connected to the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional

Conduct of The Education Profession in Florida because it adheres to rule 3g of 6b-1.006,

which states,

“Shall not harass or discriminate against any student on the basis of race, color, religion,

sex, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, handicapping

condition, sexual orientation, or social and family background and shall make reasonable

effort to assure that each student is protected from harassment or discrimination”.

The reason this example connects to this rule is because we did not discriminate this child

from learning or participating in fun activities because of his beliefs. Instead of sending

him out of the room, which some teachers choose to do, we decided to modify

assignments/activities so that way he could still participate in the class with the rest of his

classmates. This student fully understands why his activities or assignments differ at

times, but he is grateful that he is still able to be a part of the class.