a] This chapter, along with many other sources, recognizes teaching as
an inherently moral activity. An issue, however, is the degree to which teachers are
consciously aware of the moral import of many of their actions and interactions. According
to Morrision, "one reason to account for teachers’ lack of awareness of moral
influence relates to their directed attention to keep the instructional ball afloat,
leaving little room to attend to the moral significance of practice." Can you
identify examples from your own practice in which the ‘tyranny of the urgent’
has overshadowed what was perhaps the more important ‘lesson’ of the situation?
Has such a ‘tyranny’ become an institutionally entrenched aspect of contemporary
schooling, considering the many demands being placed upon schools and teachers? How might
this trend be countered in both personal and corporate practice?
b] The example of primary and secondary epistemic seeing
raises some important questions related to the discrepancies that can exist between
students’ and teachers’ perceptions and interpretations of classroom structures
and interactions. Has such an example ever occurred in your own teaching contexts? Were
you able to evaluate the situation from the perspective of secondary epistemic seeing,
and then to communicate your understandings to the student(s) involved? Were there any
obstacles to the fulfillment of this process?
c] The taxonomy of moral influence from Jackson, Boostrom and Hansen
(1993) is cited as a means by which teachers can "screen and interpret classroom
interaction and practice" and "discern how they shape classroom practice and
instruction for students." Can you identify elements of your own practice which
reflect the categories related to both ‘Moral Instruction’ and ‘Moral
Practice’? Do you consciously seek to provide moral ‘lessons’ and examples
to students for the purpose of developing their moral awareness? How might such an
approach take account of the ‘Paradigm for Moral Intelligence" proposed by
Greenhalgh and Kessler in Chapter 9?
d] Again the importance of open and trusting relationships between
teachers and students is emphasized, this time in relation to helping preservice teachers
develop insight into the area of moral reflection. Considering the discussions of this and
a number of the preceding chapters (in particular Chapters 11-14), how might
‘relationship’ be developed in your setting in order to facilitate the growth of
students’ moral faculties?
e] The assumption underlying this chapter is that teachers are
"moral stewards". Although there are views that would seek to divorce education
from issues pertaining to values, there are equally, if not more, powerful voices which
would unequivocally unite the two. How, then, might the arguments contained in this
chapter relate to the issue of multicultural education? If multicultural education is
prone to moral relativism, as authors such as Hasseler (Chapter 10), Parker (Chapter 11)
and Haddad (Chapter 13) have stated, what will guide the ‘choice’ of morals to
be given prominence by classroom teachers? The application of "moral
stewardship" to Christian education is obvious, but what of the public school sector,
keeping in mind the ethical and constitutional directives discussed by Nord and Haynes in
Chapter 1? This is indeed a significant issue, particularly when considered in terms of a
teacher’s accountability before God (James 3:1). To give Morrison the final word on
this matter: "As one teacher stated, although uncovering the moral aspects of
practice is often considered too complex to call up for scrutiny, ‘…once you see
it, you can’t go back and pretend it isn’t there.’"