Ethical Dilemma: Can I Keep This Child

Amanda has been caring for four-year-old Jamie for the past six months. While Jamie is a
great kid, when things dont go his way he gets really angry. He throws things and can be
destructie. !ts getting to the point that Amanda feels she is ignoring the other children while
trying to handle Jamie. Amanda has been trying to be consistent in her discipline of Jamie, but
shes starting to wonder if she should ask his parents to find another place for him. What
should Amanda do"
1. In your own words, identify what you think is the main concern, issue, or problem in this
situation.
I think the main concern in this situation is, Amanda wants to make sure she is giving
enough time to the other children, which she feels like she is not getting because of
Jamies behavior.
2. o whom do you have responsibilities! "hom and what do you have to consider in
making a decision!
#y main responsibility is the safety of all the children in the classroom. I also have a
responsibility to the childrens families, who should feel their children are safe in the
classroom. hirdly, I have a responsibility to help Jamie.
$. "hat guidance can you find in this section of the %ode of &thics! "hat specific items in
the code are helpful in guiding your decision!
P-1.4- We shall involve all those with relevant knowledge (including families and staff) in
decisions concerning a child, as appropriate, ensuring, confidentiality of sensitive
information.
he staff, and Jamies family, should know what is going on in the classroom with the
situation. he concerns should be e'pressed to Jamies family, and everyones opinion
should be considered in making the decision on whether or not to remove the child from
the program.
p-1.- We shall strive to !uild individual relationships with each child" make
individuali#ed adaptations in teaching strategies, learning environments, and curricula"
and consult with the family, so that each child !enefits from the program. $f after such
efforts have !een e%hausted, the current placement does not meet a child&s needs, or the
child is seriously 'eopardi#ing the a!ility of other children to !enefit from the program,
we shall colla!orate with the child&s family and appropriate specialists to determine the
additional services needed and( or the placement options most likely to ensure the child&s
success ()spects of this principle may not apply in programs that have a lawful mandate
to provide services to a particular population of children).
As teachers, we have a responsibility for the safety of all the children in the classroom. his
should be considered when making the decision to keep Jamie in the classroom, or
remove him.
P-*.1+- We shall !e familiar with and appropriately refer family&s to community resources
and professional support services. )fter a referral has !een made, we shall follow up to
ensure that services have !een appropriately provided.
If the family feels the need to take Jamie to a specialist about his behavior, it is my
responsibility to have the resources available to provide to the family, and then follow up
with the family.
P-,-.1- $n decisions concerning children and programs, we shall draw upon the education,
training, e%perience, and e%pertise of staff mem!ers.
I would make sure that my co(workers e'perience in handling this situation has been considered,
and that they have had the chance to guide Jamies behavior.
). "hat do you think an early childhood educator should do to best resolve this situation!
"hat action*s+ should you take in resolving this situation!
I feel that if the teachers have tried their best to guide Jamies behavior and it is not
improving, I would involve the parents in the classroom to see if they may have a
constructive way of handling his behavior. As long as the other children in the program
are not harmed, I feel that removing Jaime from the program will not be helpful for his
development. If he is removed and moved to another program, who is to say he will not
have the same behavior in that program, then once again removed for his behavior. his
child still needs to feel as though he is welcome in the program, and I think his self(
esteem may deplete each time he is removed from a program. I might suggest letting
Jamie have a shorter day in the classroom, maybe he is not ready for the hours the
program has set up.
Ethical Dilemma:
They Want the Children to Succeed!
A parent of a preschooler in your program is concerned that her child will not be ready for
kindergarten next year and has talked with other parents who hae the same concern. #he
group of parents has a copy of the kindergarten placement test and would like you to begin
preparing the children and delier the test before the end of the year. #hey want the children
to succeed in school$
1. In your own words, identify what you think is the main concern, issue, or problem in this
situation.
he main concern in this situation is, the parents are worried their children are not
developing appropriately to move on to kindergarten. he parents may not be aware of
the many ways their child has shown growth through the year. he teachers may not have
had conferences about their childrens development.
2. o whom do you have responsibilities! "hom and what do you have to consider in
making a decision!
I have a responsibility to the children, to make sure they are being assessed in an authentic
manner. I also have a responsibility to the families of the children who are concerned that
their children are not developmentally ready for kindergarten, I may need to show them
proof of how their children are developing. And lastly I have a responsibility to my co(
workers, I need to make sure I am including them in the parents concerns, and my co(
workers thoughts on the situation.
$. "hat guidance can you find in this section of the %ode of &thics! "hat specific items in
the code are helpful in guiding your decision!
P-,.-1- $n decisions concerning children and programs, we shall draw upon the education,
training, e%perience, and e%pertise of staff mem!ers.
It is important that I share the parents concerns about their childrens development with my
co(workers, so they can be involved in the decisions.
P-1.+- We shall use appropriate assessment systems, which include multiple sources of
information, to provide information on children&s learning and development.
It is important that the parents understand the ways in which we give their children
assessments, other than the standard tests. ,o I would make sure we share our assessment
tools with the parents.
P-*.*- We shall inform families of program philosophy, policies, curriculum, assessment
system, and personnel .ualifications, and e%plain why we teach as we do- which should
!e accordance with our ethical responsi!ilities to children (see section $)
P-*.4- We shall involve the family in significant decisions affecting their children.
-amilies play the most important role in the childrens lives, so we must involve them in the
decisions that are made in our program
). "hat do you think an early childhood educator should do to best resolve this situation!
"hat action*s+ should you take in resolving this situation!
o resolve the situation I would share with the families the assessment tools we use in the
classroom. I would set up conferences with each family to show them the assessments on
their children and where they are developmentally.