Stand Right there!

In a city where most adults dash around breaking queues (Swaraj, which includes breaking queues, is my birth right, and I will have it) and ignoring traffic signals unless there’s a cop lurking (smirking) around, ethics is bound to be an issue at any school. 

In school, Multiple Choice Questions anticipate honesty. Not symbols and metaphors of dishonesty. One tap on the forehead, tick A. Two taps, tick B. Scratch chin, tick C. Pick nose, tick D. And all the time, a crystal clear conscience drawling, “Aw c’mon, the end justifies the means. Someone important must have said that. Shakespeare, or someone.”

Perhaps that’s why the International Baccalaureate Organisation has put as much stress on Academic Honesty as on academic excellence. A question of the means justifying the end, I guess.

On the other hand are the ethical dilemmas of everyday life: I can see my friend cheating… But the poor dude’s been unwell, what can he do?... It’s the teacher’s job to spot him… If she’s standing around dreaming, why should I do her job for her? Now, let me get on with my own work...    

Ethical dilemmas aren’t restricted to students either. Teachers run into them at every turn in school corridors: This boy lost his temper and smashed a glass pane. But he’s such a good boy, and is so contrite now. Is there a point in getting him into a whole lot of trouble, and making him bitter? Should I look away, so that I can pretend that it was an accident? To do a little right, should I do a little wrong?  Perhaps I should. Perhaps I shouldn’t.

Whenever I’ve broached the topic of ethical dilemmas in class, students have usually made the ‘right’ noises. Whenever I’ve asked them if it is okay for me to give a student a grace mark to pass, they have been pretty uptight about it. They’ve argued that if I can give a grace mark to make a student pass, wouldn’t I also have to give a grace mark for a student to obtain a better grade, and so isn’t it an unending process? In short, they’ve usually told me not to give a grace mark to anyone. “How is it fair for you to give a mark to someone who’s got 39 per cent, to make him pass, but not to someone who’s got 79 per cent, to make him get an A- grade? If passing is important to someone, getting an A-grade is as important to some else,” they argue. Sound logic. Or is it? More important, does ‘logic’ apply to such cases?

I’ve had students pointing out my calculation errors in their exam papers, where I’ve added up incorrectly to give them more marks than they deserved, by mistake. Sometimes these one or two marks have snatched an A-grade away for them. 

However, I’ve also had students asking for a mark ‘for honesty’, after pointing out the error. So, does honesty come for a price? May be I should have another of my ‘ethical dilemmas’ sessions in class, and ask my students.