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SECOND EDITION
ETHICS
AND LAW
FOR TEACHERS
DEREK TRUSCOTT
KENNETH CROOK
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Ethics and Law for Teachers, Second Edition
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This book is dedicated to:
Raymond and Una Truscott—for instilling appreciation of the

value of ethics and the power of the written word
and
Gerald A. Neely—lawyer, writer, educator, and good friend
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Derek Truscott is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty

of Education, at the University of Alberta, and has been on faculty since 1997. He
earned his doctorate in 1989 from the University of Windsor. He has taught, pub-
lished, and presented widely on professional ethics and standards of practice and
has served in numerous professional and collegial regulatory capacities.
Kenneth Crook was a partner in the Vancouver law firm of Alexander, Holburn,
Beaudin and Lang. He earned his law degree from the University of Alberta in
1987. His practice consisted largely of trial work for insurance clients. He lectured
and wrote extensively in the areas of insurance law, civil procedure, and medical
malpractice.
iv NEL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface......................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER 1 The Ethical Context....................................................................... 1

Case Study: Justifications for Cheating.......................................................... 1
Reflective Task: Establishing a Reflective Habit............................................... 4
Ethical Systems............................................................................................. 4
Duties..................................................................................................... 5
Consequences........................................................................................ 5
Intentions............................................................................................... 6
Relationships.......................................................................................... 6
What the Codes Say: Purpose of Ethical Standards........................................ 7
Foundational Expectations............................................................................ 7
Respect Autonomy................................................................................. 7
Provide Care........................................................................................... 8
Maintain Trust........................................................................................ 8
Build Community................................................................................... 8
Reflective Task: An Ethical Value That Is Important to You............................ 9
Ethics Professional and Personal.................................................................... 9
What the Codes Say: Character of Individual Members............................... 11
The Ethical Teacher .................................................................................... 11
Reflecting on the Chapter........................................................................... 12
Summary.................................................................................................... 13
Questions for Discussion............................................................................. 13
Case Study: Upgrading Certification........................................................... 13
CHAPTER 2 The Personal Context.................................................................. 15

Case Study: Discomfort with Curriculum.................................................... 15
Reflective Task: An Ethical Predicament....................................................... 17
Ethical Reasoning........................................................................................ 17
What the Codes Say: Reflect and Adapt...................................................... 19
Reasoning from Experience......................................................................... 19
Listen................................................................................................... 20
Feel...................................................................................................... 21
Think.................................................................................................... 21
Act....................................................................................................... 21
Reflective Task: Autobiographical Sketch of Your Ethical Self....................... 22
NEL v
Responding to an Ethical Predicament........................................................ 22
Listen................................................................................................... 23
Feel...................................................................................................... 23
Think.................................................................................................... 24
Act....................................................................................................... 24
What the Codes Say: Integrity and Diligence.............................................. 25
Being an Ethical Teacher............................................................................. 25
Summary.................................................................................................... 28
Case Study: No Zero Policy......................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 3 The Legal Context....................................................................... 31

Case Study: Affectionate Teaching Style...................................................... 31
Reflective Task: Experience with the Law..................................................... 33
Canada’s Legal System................................................................................ 34
Visible................................................................................................... 34
Remedial.............................................................................................. 34
Predictable........................................................................................... 35
What the Codes Say: Unethical to Behave Criminally.................................. 36
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms.............................................................. 36
Reflective Task: Save a Copy of the Charter................................................... 38
Criminal and Civil Law................................................................................ 38
Criminal............................................................................................... 38
Civil...................................................................................................... 39
What the Codes Say: Respect for Law......................................................... 40
Educational Malpractice.............................................................................. 41
Summary.................................................................................................... 44
Case Study: Teachers’ Association Suspends President................................ 44
CHAPTER 4 The Societal Context................................................................... 47

Case Study: Student Deserves to Be Included............................................. 47
Reflective Task: Knew You Wanted to Be a Teacher..................................... 49
The Constitution Act, 1867.......................................................................... 50
What the Codes Say: Improve Quality of Education.................................... 52
Aboriginal Education................................................................................... 52
Reflective Task: Awareness of Colonialism................................................... 54
Provincial Ministries of Education................................................................ 55
What the Codes Say: Adhere to Agreements............................................... 56
vi Contents NEL
School Boards and Parent Councils............................................................. 56
Summary.................................................................................................... 60
Case Study: Who Sits Next to Daughter?.................................................... 60
CHAPTER 5 The Professional Context............................................................. 63

Case Study: Anyone Can Teach.................................................................. 63
Reflective Task: Experience with Professionals.............................................. 66
Professional Standards................................................................................. 66
Entrance Standards............................................................................... 67
Codes of Ethics and Conduct............................................................... 67
What the Codes Say: Acknowledge Authority of Teachers’ Union............... 68
Professional Accountability.......................................................................... 68
Reflective Task: Reflective Teachers Wanted................................................ 70
Establishing and Maintaining Competence................................................. 71
Knowledge........................................................................................... 71
Skill...................................................................................................... 71
Judgment............................................................................................. 72
Diligence.............................................................................................. 72
What the Codes Say: Maintain Efficiency.................................................... 73
Relationships with Colleagues..................................................................... 73
Confirm the Issue................................................................................. 74
Consult................................................................................................. 75
Speak with the Colleague..................................................................... 75
Involve Others...................................................................................... 75
Summary.................................................................................................... 76
Case Study: Loyalty Questioned.................................................................. 76
CHAPTER 6 Student Rights, Parent Rights...................................................... 79

Case Study: Rate My Teacher...................................................................... 79
Reflective Task: Relationship with Parents.................................................... 81
Rights of Students and Their Parents........................................................... 81
What the Codes Say: Mindful of Students’ Rights....................................... 83
Right to an Education................................................................................. 83
Reflective Task: Experience as a Student...................................................... 85
Privacy and Confidentiality.......................................................................... 86
What the Codes Say: Regard Student Information as Confidential ............. 88
Freedom of Expression................................................................................ 88
NEL Contents vii
Summary.................................................................................................... 91
Case Study: Music Avoidance...................................................................... 91
CHAPTER 7 Authority and Discipline ............................................................. 93

Case Study: Unruly Class............................................................................. 93
Reflective Task: Good and Evil..................................................................... 96
In Loco Parentis............................................................................................ 96
What the Codes Say: Show Justice to Students........................................... 98
Punishment................................................................................................. 98
Reflective Task: Being Punished and Rewarded.......................................... 101
Natural Justice........................................................................................... 101
What the Codes Say: Treat Students with Respect.................................... 103
Classroom Management........................................................................... 103
Reflecting on the Chapter......................................................................... 104
Summary.................................................................................................. 105
Questions for Discussion........................................................................... 105
Case Study: Boys Will Be Boys................................................................... 105
CHAPTER 8 Protecting Students from Harm ............................................... 107

Case Study: Substitute Rugby Teacher...................................................... 107
Reflective Task: Comfort with Responsibility.............................................. 109
Supervision of Students............................................................................. 109
What the Codes Say: Assume Responsibility for Safety of Students........... 111
Bullying..................................................................................................... 112
Reflective Task: Experience with Bullying................................................... 114
Extracurricular and Out-of-Class Activities................................................. 114
What the Codes Say: Physical Welfare Is a Chief Aim of Education ........... 117
Responding to Harms............................................................................... 117
Summary.................................................................................................. 119
Case Study: Facebook Suicide................................................................... 119
CHAPTER 9 Personal Life, Public Role........................................................... 121

Case Study: Gay Pride Teacher.................................................................. 121
Reflective Task: Someone Highly Ethical.................................................... 123
Public Behaviour....................................................................................... 123
What the Codes Say: Do Not Bring Dishonour to the Profession............... 126
viii Contents NEL
Private Behaviour...................................................................................... 126
Reflective Task: Did the Right Thing.......................................................... 128
Criminal Behaviour.................................................................................... 128
What the Codes Say: Unethical to Discredit the Profession....................... 130
Sexual Orientation.................................................................................... 130
Summary.................................................................................................. 134
Case Study: Subversive Blogging.............................................................. 134
CHAPTER 10 Teacher–Student Relationships................................................ 137

Case Study: Common Interest.................................................................. 137
Reflective Task: Exploitive Relationship...................................................... 139
Multiple Role Relationships....................................................................... 139
What the Codes Say: Never Exploit Relationship with Students................. 141
Managing Relationship Boundaries........................................................... 141
Reflective Task: Healthy Relationships........................................................ 143
Sexual Boundaries..................................................................................... 144
What the Codes Say: Avoid Conflict of Interest ........................................ 146
Integrity in Relationships........................................................................... 146
Summary.................................................................................................. 149
Case Study: Enchanting Student............................................................... 149
CHAPTER 11: Diversity and Equity................................................................ 151

Case Study: Limited Attention................................................................... 151
Reflective Task: Personal Identity............................................................... 153
Teaching across Cultures........................................................................... 154
What the Codes Say: Respect Dignity and Rights of All Persons................ 156
Sexual Minority Students.......................................................................... 156
Reflective Task: Equity Audit...................................................................... 158
Aboriginal Students................................................................................... 158
What the Codes Say: Respect the Traditions and Beliefs of Students......... 160
Students with Disabilities.......................................................................... 160
Summary.................................................................................................. 163
Case Study: Hearing Voices....................................................................... 163
NEL Contents ix
CHAPTER 12: Controversy and Teaching...................................................... 165
Case Study: Teaching Evolution................................................................ 165
Reflective Task: Experience with Controversy............................................ 167
What Need for Controversy?..................................................................... 168
What the Codes Say: Teach Controversy Objectively................................ 170
Controversial Methods.............................................................................. 170
Reflective Task: Prepare For or Improve Society?....................................... 172
Academic Freedom................................................................................... 172
What the Codes Say: Model Social and Political Responsibilities................ 175
Teachers’ Freedom of Expression.............................................................. 175
Summary.................................................................................................. 178
Case Study: Young Philosophers Club....................................................... 178
References.................................................................................................. 181
Index.......................................................................................................... 189
x Contents NEL
PREFACE
I had the honour of writing the first edition of Ethics and Law for Teachers with my
dear friend Kenneth Crook, who died in 2008 after having fully lived every one of
his forty-seven years. It was a privilege to have been best friends for most of that
precious time as he taught me to live each day with love and purpose. He would
have been pleased and proud that this second edition is being published. My part
in its production represents but a small token of the tremendous debt of gratitude
that I owe him.
When we wrote the first edition, we were motivated by our shared desire to
write about the ethical and legal expectations of teachers in Canada so that we
might provide guidance to those who perform such a vital function in our society.
We began by surveying all of the teacher education programs in Canada, identi-
fying the courses that dealt with ethics or law for teachers, and reviewing the course
outlines of each. Ethics and Law for Teachers was and continues to be representative
of the content covered by all of these courses, supplemented by other pertinent
topics derived from legal cases, discipline decisions, and professional standards.
In doing this research, we came to learn that there are, broadly speaking,
two divergent pedagogies for teaching ethics and law to teachers-in-training. Of
the teacher training programs that offer courses on ethics, law, or ethics and law,
roughly half provide guidance to professionals by exploring societal expectations of
teachers. The remainder teach ethics and law in the context of courses on profes-
sional issues, promoting self-reflection as a guide to ethical actions.
In the first edition of Ethics and Law for Teachers we focused on the societal
expectations for teaching professionals. However, when the draft manuscript of
that edition was reviewed, some experts in the field felt that it was too prescriptive
and would interfere with reflective learning. This criticism bothered us because it
rang true. We didn’t know how to address this limitation without writing another
entirely different book, so we pressed ahead.
Since the publication of the first edition, I have continued to study the scholarly
literature on law, ethics, and moral development. The issue of professional expecta-
tions versus reflective practice always threatened to disturb my calm. I learned that
professional training across diverse fields such as medicine, law, and education is
associated with an ethical deterioration that tends toward becoming more rule-
bound. This unsettled me. I have taught ethics and consulted on matters of profes-
sional misconduct, and in my experience, unethical and unlawful actions rarely, if
ever, result from ignorance of duties or the likely consequences of actions. Efforts
to prevent or resolve unethical actions are largely ineffective without consideration
of individual motivation and interpersonal circumstances.
These perturbations eventually jolted me out of a tendency to focus solely on
the limited (yet important) role of reason and facts. I resolved to pay more atten-
tion to the powerful (yet irrational) role of intuitive processes and social forces. I
was compelled to supplement my professional expectations approach to ethics
NEL xi
with a more reflective one. I wanted to help teachers be ethical. So I abandoned
my original plan to simply tidy and update the first edition of Ethics and Law for
Teachers, and instead set out to significantly revise the second edition.
The biggest challenge I faced was how to engage readers in an authentic, per-
sonal consideration of the professional expectations placed on teachers in Canada.
The objective, rational standards to which teachers are held accountable are not
really all that difficult to understand (although they can be quite difficult to enact).
What is difficult is to translate conscious knowledge of these standards into belief
and action. The best way we know how to do so—to bring about true, transforma-
tional learning—is by honestly reflecting on the extent to which our actions align
with our personal beliefs and with societal expectations.
This second edition thus includes many case studies and examples of the sorts of
ethical and legal challenges teachers face. To encourage reflection on and engage-
ment in ethical and lawful practice, I have included case studies and examples
collected from teachers in the field, from discipline hearings, and from court cases.
To encourage readers to consider these examples in a more reflective and less rote
manner, ethical and legal expectations are presented in a descriptive rather than
prescriptive manner. I invite readers to consider what they would do in each situ-
ation and then compare their personal predispositions with society’s expectations.
I have also extended the first edition’s ethics of duty and consequences with
the ethics of intentions and relationships. I have incorporated all four of these sys-
tems of ethics into the completely revised chapters on ethical systems (Chapter 1)
and ethical reasoning (Chapter 2) and integrated them into all of the other chap-
ters. This expanded consideration of ethical systems is compatible with reflective
learning and has the added benefit of promoting a more inclusive and flexible
understanding of how ethics are enacted in real life.
Including reflective practice in my teaching has given me great satisfaction
because it benefits students tremendously. Their experiences have provided invalu-
able feedback on how best to incorporate reflecting on societal expectations of
teachers into learning how to be an ethical teacher. The lessons my students have
taught me have informed this second edition of Ethics and Law for Teachers so that
you, dear reader, might also benefit.
I thank the many students for sharing their ethical challenges, questions, and
answers, and Jacqueline Leighton for providing a scholarly environment conducive
to teaching and learning. Ken’s thanks continue to go to the partners at Alexander,
Holburn, Beaudin and Lang, and in particular to the late Michael P. Ragona, Q.C.,
Jo Ann Carmichael, Q.C., and Terry Vos, and to their law librarian Susan Daly.
Lenore Taylor-Atkins and Roberta Osborne of Nelson Education provided much-
needed and much-appreciated encouragement, guidance, and talent.
Thank you also to the following reviewers, who provided helpful suggestions:
Ken Brien, University of New Brunswick
Ginette Clarke, McGill University
Kent Donlevy, University of Calgary
Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Queen’s University
xii Preface NEL
Terry O’Brien, Lakehead University
Lynette Shultz, University of Alberta
I welcome any comments you might want to share about this book and how
it relates to your experience of striving to be ethical. I can be reached at derek
[email protected]. I promise to consider your comments carefully and to incorpo-
rate as much feedback as I can if I am given the opportunity to write a third edition.
—Derek Truscott
NEL Preface xiii
CHAPTER 1
THE ETHICAL CONTEXT
CASE STUDY
JUSTIFICATIONS FOR CHEATING
A student in your class has been struggling in all of his subjects with a C
average, and he is talking about dropping out as soon as he is old enough
to do so. You know he has a very difficult home life and often looks tired
and ill-prepared for his day. The only interest he has expressed about
school is in taking Computer Studies as an elective, and he has shown
some aptitude. You know that if he could experience success in one sub-
ject it could increase his confidence to master other subjects; that could
really make a difference for his future. School policy, however, requires a
B average in core subjects in order to take electives. You speak with him
about the situation and he seems to respond to your encouragement to
improve his grades. Sure enough, by the end of term his average has
improved to the point that he is able to enroll in Computer Studies.
While you are finishing up after class a few days later, some of the
student’s classmates approach you and tell you that his girlfriend has
been doing his homework and assignments for him.
1. What possible courses of action might you consider? Do you

experience any conflict about what to do in this situation? Or
does one course of action seem obviously correct?
2. What are your thoughts about why there could be more than
one possible course of action? Why might some people think
there isn’t one course of action that is obviously correct?
3. What do you think the average person would expect a teacher
to do in this situation? How important are these expectations to
you when deciding what to do? Why?
NEL 1
The vast majority of teachers direct most of their energies toward providing their
students with a high-quality education while relying on their own good intentions
to stay out of trouble. Very few would ever intentionally do the wrong thing when
dealing with a student, parent, or colleague. But good intentions are not always
enough to ensure that we do the right thing. It is possible to do the wrong thing
if we are unaware that an issue of right or wrong needs to be addressed, or are
ignorant of what is expected of us, or don’t know how to deal with the rightness
or wrongness of a complex situation, or simply lack the fortitude to do what we
know is right. And there are even times when we resist doing what we know is right
because we very much want to do something else.
Most people who have read the Case Study at the beginning of this chapter
realize that an issue of right and wrong is at stake, if only because it appears in an
ethics textbook. Not all of us, though, know what we are expected to do in such a situ-
ation or how to deal with its complexities. And if we were actually faced with it in real
life we would probably be reluctant to do anything other than nothing. Ethics is the
study of how people should act toward one another in situations such as this and why
people do and don’t act toward others as they should. Learning about ethics helps us
know how others expect us to behave and can help us do the right thing. That’s why
it is taught in most teacher education programs, and why books like this are written.
None of us come to the study of ethics completely ignorant. We all possess ethical
intuitions—instinctive assumptions of right and wrong—that motivate our actions.
Yet few of us consider then deeply or critically. This is because we rarely have to think
about our personal ethical intuitions. They are the result of all the lessons learned over
the course of our lives about how we ought to treat other people. They are so much
a part of our understanding of the world that we just feel them. These intuitions arise
very quickly and certainly much more quickly than conscious thoughts. When we
hear about someone saving a student from a burning apartment, for example, we
feel good because that person has done a good thing. Similarly, when we hear that
the student’s parents set the fire, we feel bad because they have done a bad thing.
Such feelings serve as very efficient and mostly effective guides to most of our deal-
ings with most of the people we encounter in most situations.
The catch is that ethical intuitions sometimes lead us astray. We have all done
things that felt right at the time but later regret. We organize a picnic to celebrate
the hero of the burning building only to learn that he was trying to kidnap his child
because he had been denied parental visitation privileges. We organize a petition
to imprison the arsonists and then find out that they were trying to keep their child
warm because they had no money to pay the heating bill.
While such mistakes are understandable and even acceptable—albeit
embarrassing—for the average person, teachers are expected to meet a higher
standard. Teachers have expertise in the field of education and serve such an impor-
tant role in society that they are granted an elevated status. With this status comes
a corresponding expectation that they will be held more accountable for the things
they do and say. Refer again to this chapter’s opening case study. A teacher who
looks the other way when a student cheats might reply, “It felt like the right thing
to do.” Most Canadians will not consider that an acceptable response. Teachers
are expected to be able to justify their behaviour by referring to accepted ethical
standards and reasoning.
2 Chapter 1 NEL
Regrettably, there is no equivalent to medicine’s Hippocratic Oath that summarizes
the standards and reasoning teachers are expected to use. Each jurisdiction in Canada
has its own unique ethical standards for teaching, and there is no complete agreement
on specifics. This presents a challenge for teachers who want to do the right thing as
well as for those who simply want to stay out of trouble. Fortunately, the situation is not
entirely bleak. Society’s ethical expectations of teachers are not particularly unique—
rather, they are based on what we expect of everyone in society. Also, we can assemble
some foundational ethical expectations for teachers from various codes of ethics and
from legal decisions involving teaching. So no teacher need be completely uninformed.
But knowledge alone is not enough to make us ethical. For starters, new ethical
expectations arise too quickly and in greater variety for codes, legal decisions, or
textbooks to possibly address them all in a timely manner. So even if we did try
to memorize all the rules and standards of teaching, we would still find ourselves
unsure how to act in many situations. More significantly, while some teachers fail
to meet their ethical obligations because they didn’t know what was expected of
them, most do so because their ethical intuitions are at odds with what society
expects of them. People almost never deliberate carefully about what they should
or shouldn’t do in a situation involving matters of right and wrong. We do what we
feel is right, and usually it is consistent with what others expect of us because our
ethical intuitions have been shaped by a lifetime of learning about right and wrong.
But just as knowledge is not always enough, sometimes what feels right is not the
right thing to do. That’s why teachers who understand the reasoning behind soci-
ety’s expectations of them and who heed their intuitions are better able to respond
to the ethical demands of teaching in a manner that satisfies all concerned.
The purpose of this book, therefore, is to help you develop knowledge of
Canadian ethical and legal expectations of teachers, personal insight into ethical
intuitions, awareness of circumstances in which ethical and legal expectations and
ethical intuitions are likely to become factors, and skills for making decisions based
on accepted ethical standards and reasoning. These aims are addressed by pre-
senting questions that are central to the enterprise of teaching but not always
answerable by referring to facts, rules, and standards. Those questions include:
• What rights are owed students, their parents, and society in the context of
teaching?
• What punishments are justifiable, if any, when a student misbehaves?
• What kinds of relationships are acceptable beyond teacher and student, such
as friendships?
• What actions are considered to be those of a private citizen, and what ones are
subject to the professional expectations placed on a teacher?
• How can students be treated fairly when they have differing advantages and
disadvantages?
When you respond to these questions in real life by relying on personal whim,
the risk of failing to meet society’s expectations increases tremendously, as does
the risk of having a complaint made against you. So in this book we will be inviting
you to examine the degree to which societal expectations around such questions
mesh with your ethical intuitions, and to consider how any conflicts between the
two might be reconciled.
NEL The Ethical Context 3
REFLECTIVE TASK
Establishing a Reflective Habit

Throughout each chapter in this book, you will be presented with reflective
tasks related to the questions presented. These are prompts for thinking
deeply and critically about being ethical. They provide an occasion to
process the thoughts, emotions, questions, ideas, and life lessons that
make up your ethical self. When you conscientiously reflect on your ethical
intuitions in light of society’s ethical expectations of teachers, you are
creating an opportunity to foster a more harmonious ethical self. This will
help you respond to the ethical expectations of teaching with greater
integrity and confidence.
When it comes to reflective practice, the biggest challenge for most
people is finding the time for it. Setting aside a regular time seems to be an
important first step toward establishing a habit. Reflecting on events while
they are still fresh is generally a good idea, but trying to do so every day can
become burdensome. Many people find that once or twice a week is about
right. Try experimenting until you find a routine that fits your schedule. Of
course, if you are reading this book as a course requirement, you may have
to reflect more often than you would otherwise.
Most people find that recording their reflective process is important to
get the most benefit from it; experts usually recommend doing so. There
is no one correct way to do it; what is important is that you record your
thoughts. Don’t worry if you misspell words or they come out in a
jumble—that has no bearing on the effectiveness of your reflective pro-
cess. Our thoughts are usually a mishmash of impressions, ideas, feelings,
and images, so if we record them honestly they will not be particularly
logical. Indeed, just transforming our experience into some semblance of
language is probably an important part of what makes reflection helpful.
You can begin by thinking about how you can incorporate reflection
into your schedule. You might ask yourself:
• What impediments do I foresee?
• What would help make it more achievable?
• Have I successfully undertaken something similar in the past? If so, what
did I do that made it possible, and could I apply it to reflecting?
Take as much time as you need to think about these and other ques-
tions, and to develop a plan.
ETHICAL SYSTEMS
Some of the oldest writings in Western civilization, such as those of Plato and
Aristotle, deal specifically with how we ought to treat one another. Western philoso-
phers have always been deeply concerned about ethics and have proposed a variety
4 Chapter 1 NEL
of systems for determining the rightness and wrongness of actions. After literally
thousands of years, no one system has emerged as clearly superior to the others.
You have probably noticed that your sense of right and wrong is consistent with
that of many people, and at odds with others. So it is with philosophers’ ethical
systems: each has its strengths and weaknesses, its champions and detractors, and
none is universally acknowledged as the best. So it should not surprise you that the
ethical expectations of teachers are not the product of any one system of ethics.
Happily for us, there are only four systems that inform those expectations.
Each is built around an aspect of the human condition that is generally accepted as
crucial to being ethical. Deontological systems of ethics concern themselves with
duties; teleological systems, with consequences; virtue systems, with intentions;
and relational systems, with relationships. The study of philosophy can bore some
people to tears and terrify others, but have faith—a basic understanding of these
systems will help you understand the ethical expectations placed on teachers as
well as how to be more ethical.
Duties
Deontology (from the Greek deont, “duty,” and logia, “reason”—therefore, “rea-
soning from duty”) is a system of ethics that directs us to consider what duties
ought to guide our actions. A deontological system calls upon us to act as if the
rationale that underlies our action were a universal duty. This is why it is often referred
to as duty ethics. It obligates us to treat others as rational beings worthy of respect.
From a deontological point of view, the intention to bring about good results is
irrelevant when assessing ethical rightness or wrongness, and so are the actual con-
sequences of an act. Instead, deontology argues that an action should be judged on
whether or not it was performed in accordance with accepted ethical duties such
as honesty, respect, and care.
For example, the Code of Ethics (2006) of the Nunavut Teachers Association states
that teachers “should at all times respect the individual rights, the ethnic traditions, and
religious beliefs of his or her pupils and their parents.”* Because every reasonable person
would want to be treated similarly—who of us wants to have their rights, traditions,
and beliefs disrespected?—the standard is, from a deontological point of view, ethical.
Consequences
Teleology (from the Greek telos, “end,” logia, “reason”—therefore “reasoning from
ends”) focuses on the consequences of our actions. A teleological system considers
right actions to be those that produce desired outcomes and wrong actions to be
those that produce undesired outcomes. Its basic premise is: An act is right if, all
other things being equal, it produces or is likely to produce the greatest amount of good
for the greatest number of people. A pure teleological approach to teaching would
require us to consider the likely impact on each person for each action in each situ-
ation we face. This would obviously be impractical, because we would be paralyzed
by all the decisions we had to make. A more practical expression of this idea is: We
should behave in accordance with rules that, all other things being equal, produce or
*Nunavut Teachers’ Association
are likely to produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people
in most circumstances. Most professional codes of ethics contain such rules, and
teachers then only have to know which rule to apply in a given situation.
The British Columbia Teacher’s Federation Code of Ethics (2003), for example,
states that teachers are expected to “review with colleagues, students, and their
parents/guardians the quality of service rendered by the teacher and the practices
employed in discharging professional duties.”* This is a rule that is very likely to
result in desired consequences for the colleagues, students, and parents/guard-
ians of teachers who follow it and is therefore, from a teleological point of view,
ethical.
Intentions
Virtue ethics assigns our intentions the central role when we consider the right
thing to do. It focuses on our character rather than our duties, and on the motives
behind our actions rather than on their consequences. Teleology and deontology
address what is ethical; virtue deals with who is ethical. The right thing to do is
therefore unique to the individual and cannot be arrived at solely by logic or predic-
tion. After all, the virtue argument goes, we cannot and should not make the world
conform to our will, so we are better off focusing on changing ourselves and our
desires. Virtue ethics encourages us to ask: How will my actions exemplify the type of
person I want to be? This obligates teachers to be ethical at all times rather than only
when confronted with an ethical challenge, and to develop character traits that will
result in their meeting ethical expectations.
To give an example, the Code of Professional Ethics (2000) of the Saskatchewan
Teachers’ Federation asks teachers to “respond unselfishly to colleagues seeking
professional assistance.” Obviously, being completely unselfish would leave us no
time to satisfy our own needs and would encourage dependence in others. Yet
most of us would certainly be better people if we were even a little more unselfish,
so striving to be less selfish is, from a virtue ethics perspective, ethical.
Relationships
Relational ethics acknowledges that we are all members of social groups such as
neighbourhoods, professions, religions, and nations, and that we have obligations
to uphold our roles within these communities. It recognizes that our social roles
give rise to ethical considerations of whether we are contributing the collective
good. Relational ethics requires us to ask: How will my actions manifest consideration
of and concern for the social group? Relational ethics is concerned with how we treat
one another rather than why we treat one another that way. Motives and logic
are not as important as service to the group. Ethical reasoning and actions are
understood as being embedded in a complex interpersonal context that is never
completely predictable. What is considered ethical is therefore open to reconsidera-
tion in response to changing relationships. Our actions can weaken or strengthen
the ties that bind us together, and this encourages us to consider the welfare of the
group as a whole as we seek to do the right thing.
*British Columbia Teacher’s Federation
6 Chapter 1 NEL
For example, the Code of Professional Conduct (2004) of the Alberta Teachers’
Association requires that teachers “not undermine the confidence of pupils in other
teachers.” Although other teachers sometimes do things that we don’t agree with
and indeed may reflect bad teaching practice, supporting students’ confidence in
other teachers encourages them to respect the important role that teachers play in
our society, and is, from a relational ethics perspective, ethical.
WHAT THE CODES SAY

Purpose of Ethical Standards
The purposes of the ethical standards for the teaching profession are:
• to inspire members to reflect and uphold the honour and dignity of the
teaching profession
• to identify the ethical responsibilities and commitments in the teaching
profession
• to guide ethical decisions and actions in the teaching profession
• to promote public trust and confidence in the teaching profession.
—Ontario College of Teachers’ “Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession”
FOUNDATIONAL EXPECTATIONS
While Canadian society’s ethical expectations arise out of four ethical systems, our
laws and standards are predominantly informed by deontology. Given that no
system of ethics is able to guide us to a satisfactory course of action in every situa-
tion, when we encounter deontology’s limitations, we enlist teleology. This means
that, in essence, teachers are expected to act in accordance with agreed-upon
duties except when doing so would obviously result in abhorrent consequences
such as death or serious physical harm. When such an outcome seems inevitable,
we are expected to do whatever is reasonable to prevent it even if doing so violates
a duty. Such situations are rare, thank goodness, so it is safe to say that behaving in
accordance with the accepted duties of Canadian society is indispensable if we are
to avoid trouble and meet the expectations placed on us. The foundational expec-
tations placed on teachers are these: to respect autonomy, provide care, maintain
trust, and build community.
Respect Autonomy
The ethical duty of respecting autonomy deals with honouring the right of individ-
uals to make their own choices and be free from the dominating control of others.
We respect autonomy when we allow students to form their own judgments and
when we involve parents and the school community in decisions about educational
programs. Respecting autonomy is also reflected in acknowledging that each person
has the right to decide who has access to their private information. Note that there
is an important distinction between freedom of choice and freedom of action. While
we respect people’s freedom to make choices, their freedom of action is limited by
the autonomy of others. So we accept an individual’s right to hold bigoted views,
for example, but not to distribute hate literature, because the latter would interfere
with the autonomy of the people to whom the hatred is directed. The expectations
and challenges of respecting autonomy are discussed in Chapters 6 and 7.
Provide Care
Teachers are expected to protect students from harms and to not inflict intentional
or avoidable unintentional harms. Besides providing physical safety, teachers are
responsible for protecting students from mental harms (such as fear) as well as from
the thwarting of significant personal interests (such as obtaining an education).
Consideration of care also requires teachers to establish and maintain minimum
competence to meet the learning needs of students. Providing care can be viewed as
involving a continuum from not causing harm at one end, to bringing about benefit
at the other. Teachers are expected to balance the potentially harmful consequences
of an action against the potential benefits. All considerations being equal, this bal-
ance is weighted more toward protecting and not harming students. This means,
for example, that because of the harm it would do to their autonomy, we should
not deceive students in order to have them learn an important lesson. Expectations
and challenges around providing care are dealt with in Chapters 7 and 8.
Maintain Trust
Fairness, honesty, and dependability are at the core of the trust relationship between
teachers and their students, parents, and society. Trust is particularly important for
teachers because it is fundamental to the bond of social cooperation that makes
teaching possible. Yet trust is continually threatened by the difference in social
power between teachers and students. Maintaining trust involves considering
the interests of students before our own, even when doing so is inconvenient or
uncomfortable, and it extends to relationships with colleagues and the larger com-
munity. Teachers are expected to be open to reviewing with colleagues, students,
and their guardians the quality of and practices employed in their teaching, for
example. Teachers are also expected to abide by contracts with employers and to
act in accordance with the rules of their professional associations. Expectations and
challenges related to maintaining trust are discussed in Chapters 9 and 10.
Build Community
Allegiance, self-sacrifice, and respect for authority are central to the ethical duty of
building community. Because a core function of teaching is preparing students to
be good citizens, teachers are expected to be sensitive to the traditions and values
of the society in which they live and work. We are expected to treat all students
as valued members of society and to ensure that access to an education is fair
and equitable. This means avoiding bias or discrimination based on social status,
religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, physical appearance, age, ancestry, or
any other attribute unrelated to a student’s learning needs. It also means making
8 Chapter 1 NEL
accommodations so that students are able gain an education regardless of any
disabilities that might make doing so difficult. Teachers are also expected to con-
sider how controversial topics and practices impact the social fabric of which the
school is a part and to balance the individual interests of students with those of the
community. Expectations and challenges of building community are dealt with in
Chapters 11 and 12.
REFLECTIVE TASK
An Ethical Value That Is Important to You

Select one of the following ethical values as the one you consider most
important to you. It doesn’t matter if more than one of them, or even all
of them, are important to you. Just pick one for this task. You may want
to pick the one that played a prominent role in an ethical challenge you
recently faced.
• Logic—using analytical and critical thinking to decide right actions.
• Experience—using intuition and feelings to decide right actions.
• Liberty—allowing individuals to decide right actions for themselves.
• Loyalty—relying on the group to decide right actions.
Now take as much time as you need to reflect on and record why this
value is important to you. Don’t worry about what others might think about
why it is important to them. Just write honestly for yourself.
ETHICS PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL
Personal ethics has a very long history; professional ethics is a much more recent
development, one that involves applying ethical theory to the behaviour of
groups, such as doctors, lawyers … and teachers. In fact, the existence of a code
of ethics has come to separate professionals from those who simply seek to earn
a living. If a group of practitioners want to be acknowledged as a profession and
allowed to practise independently and exclusively, their ethics must be based on
ensuring that those who receive their services benefit from them and are pro-
tected from harm. In the case of teachers, such ethics include consideration for
students and for the community in which they teach. A code of ethics thereby
creates an implied social contract that balances professional privilege with com-
mitment to public welfare.
To protect the public, professional codes of ethics are predominantly
prescriptive—they state what members should and should not do. But ethics codes
must also be at least partly descriptive—that is, they must state what members of
the profession actually do—in order to take into account the compromises that real
life requires. A purely prescriptive code based on the highest ideals of human con-
duct wouldn’t reflect the reality of schools or teachers’ personal ethics. Such a code
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Gallo.—Preguntaselo a Grilo,
noble varon griego, el qual
boluiendo de la guerra de Troya
passando por la ysla de Candia le
conuertio la maga Cyrçes en
puerco, y despues por ruego de
Ulixes le quisiera boluer honbre, y
tanta ventaja halló Grilo en la
naturaleza de puerco, y tanta
mejora y bondad que escogio
quedarse ansi, y menospreçió
boluerse a su natural patria.
Miçilo.—Por cierto cosas me
cuentas que avn a los hombres
de mucha esperiençia cansassen
admiraçion, quanto más a vn
pobre çapatero como yo.
Gallo.—Pues porque no me
tengas por mentiroso, y que
quiero ganar opinion contigo
contandote fabulas, sabras que
esta historia auctorizó Plutarco el
historiador griego de más
auctoridad.
Miçilo.—Pues, valame dios, que
bondad halló ese Grilo en la
naturaleza de puerco, por la qual
a nuestra naturaleza de hombre la
prefirio?
Gallo.—La que yo hallé.
Miçilo.—Eso deseo mucho saber
de ti.
Gallo.—A lo menos vna cosa
trabajaré mostrarte como aquel
que de ambas naturalezas por
esperiençia sabra dezir. Que
comparada la vida y inclinacion
de muchos hombres al comun
viuir de vn puerco, es mas perfeto
con gran ventaja en su natural.
Prinçipalmente quando de viçios
tiene el hombre ocupada la razon.
Y agora pues es venido el dia
abre la tienda y yo me passearé
con mis gallinas por la casa y
corral en el entretanto que nos
aparejas, el manjar que emos de
comer. Y en el canto que se sigue
verás claramente la prueba de mi
intinçion.
Miçilo.—Sea ansi.
Fin del primer canto del gallo.

NOTAS:
[298] En el códice de Gayangos aguadero.
[299] En el códice de La Romana se añade, á modo de apostilla,
pero de la misma letra: «y agora que son lutheranos no diffieren
de la gentilidad».
[300] La indicación del año que parece un paréntesis está en el
códice de Gayangos, pero falta en el de La Romana.
[301] Falta la palabra tálamo en el códice de La Romana.
[302] En el códice de La Romana ataviados.
[303] En el mismo códice agraciaban.
[304] En el códice de Gayangos dice sólo que «colgaban de los
ramos».
[305] En la Romana «y de allí la truxieron los de esta ciudad por
cosa admirable, y la daban agora al que fuese triunfoso en esta
fiesta y desafío».
[306] Así en La Romana. En Gayangos «vive Dios».
ARGUMENTO
DEL SEGUNDO
CANTO DEL
GALLO
En el segundo canto que se

sigue, el auctor imita a
Plutarco en vn dialogo que
hizo entre Ulixes y vn griego
llamado Grilo; el qual auia
Cyrçes conuertido en puerco.
En esto el auctor quiere dar a
entender, que quando los
hombres estan encenagados
en los viçios y prinçipalmente
de la carne son muy peores
que brutos, y avn ay muchas
fieras que sin comparaçion los
exceden en el vso de la virtud.
Gallo.—Ya parece, Miçilo, que

es hora conueniente para
començar a vibir, dando gracias a
dios que ha tenido por bien de
passar la noche sin nuestro
peligro, y traernos al dia para que
con nuestra buena industria nos
podamos todos mantener.
Miçilo.—Bendito sea dios que
ansi lo ha permitido. Pero dime,
gallo, es esta tu primera cancion?
Porque holgaria de dormir vn
poco más hasta que cantes
segunda vez.
Gallo.—No te engañes, Miçilo,
que ya canté a la media noche
como acostumbramos, y como
estauas sepultado en la
profundidad y dulçura del primer
sueño, no te bastaron despertar
mis bozes, puesto caso que
trabajé por cantar lo mas
templado y bien comedido que
pude por no te desordenar en tu
suave dormir. Por la fortaleza
deste primer sueño creo yo que
llamaron los antiguos al dormir
ymagen de la muerte, y por su
dulçura le dixeron los poetas,
apazible holganza de los dioses.
Agora ya será casi el dia, que no
ay dos horas de la noche por
passar, despierta que yo quiero
prosseguir en mi obligaçion.
Miçilo.—Pues dizes ser essa
hora yo me quiero leuantar al
trabajo, porque proueyendo a
nuestro remedio y hambre, oyrte
me sera solaz. Agora di tu.
Gallo.—En el canto passado
quedé de te mostrar la bondad y
sosiego de la vida de las fieras, y
avn la ventaja que en su natural
hazen a los hombres. Esto
mostraré ser verdad en tanta
manera que podria ser, que si
alguna dellas diessen libertad de
quedar en su ser, o venir a ser
hombre como vos, escogeria
quedar fiera, puerco, lobo o leon
antes que venir a ser hombre, por
ser entre todos los animales la
especie mas trabajada y infeliz.
Mostrarte he el órden y conçierto
de su vibir, tanto que te
conuenças afirmar ser en ellas
verdadero vso de razon, por lo
qual las fieras sean dignas de ser
en mas tenidas, elegidas y
estimadas que los hombres.
Miçilo.—Parece, gallo, que con
tu eloquençia y manera de dezir
me quieres encantar, pues te
profieres a me mostrar vna cosa
tan lexos de verdadera y natural
razon. Temo me que en eso te
atreues a mi presumiendo que
facilmente como a pobre çapatero
qualquiera cosa me podras
persuadir. Agora pues
desengañate de oy mas que
confiado de mi naturaleza yo me
profiero a te lo defender. Di, que
me plazerá mucho oyr tus
sophisticos argumentos.
Gallo.—Por çierto yo espero que
no te parezcan sophisticos, sino
muy en demostraçion.
Prinçipalmente que no me podras
negar que yo mejor que quantos
ay en el mundo lo sabré mostrar,
pues de ambas naturalezas de
fiera y hombre tengo hecha
esperiencia. Pues agora
pareceme a mi que el prinçipio de
mi prueba se deue tomar de las
virtudes, justiçia, fortaleza,
prudençia, continençia y castidad,
de las quales vista la perfeçion
con que las vsan y tratan las
fieras conoçeras claramente no
ser manera de dezir lo que he
propuesto, mas que es muy
aueriguada verdad. Y quanto a lo
primero quiero que me digas; si
huviesse dos tierras, la vna de las
quales sin ser arada, cabada ni
sembrada, ni labrada, por sola su
bondad y generosidad de buena
naturaleza lleuasse todas las
frutas, flores y miesses muy en
abundancia? Dime, no loarias
más a esta tal tierra, y la
estimarias y antepornias a otra, la
qual por ser montuosa y para solo
pasto de cabras avn siendo
arada, muy rompida, cabada y
labrada con dificultad diesse fruto
poco y miserable?
Miçilo.—Por çierto avnque toda
tierra que da fruto avnque
trabajadamente es de estimar, de
mucho mas valor es aquella que
sin ser cultivada, o aquella que
con menos trabajo nos comunica
su fruto.
Gallo.—Pues de aqui se puede
sacar y colegir como de sentençia
de prudente y cuerdo, que ay
cosas que se han de loar y
aprobar por ser buenas, y otras
por muy mejores se han de
abraçar, amar y elegir. Pues ansi
de esta manera verdaderamente
y con necesidad me conçederas
que avnque el ánima del hombre
sea de gran valor, el ánima de la
fiera es mucho más; pues sin ser
rompida, labrada, arada ni
cabada; quiero dezir, sin ser
enseñada en otras escuelas ni
maestros que de su mesma
naturaleza es mas abil, presta y
aparejada a produçir en
abundançia el fruto de la virtud.
Miçilo.—Pues dime agora tú,
gallo, de qual virtud se pudo
nunca adornar el alma del bruto,
porque pareze que contradize a la
naturaleza de la misma virtud?
Gallo.—Y eso me preguntas?
Pues yo te probaré que la vsan
mejor que el más sabio varon.
Porque lo veas vengamos primero
a la virtud de fortaleza de la qual
vosotros, y principalmente los
españoles entre todas las
naciones, os gloriais y honrrais.
Quan vfanos y por quan gloriosos
os teneis quando os oys nombrar
atreuidos saqueadores de
çiudades, violadores de templos,
destruidores de hermosos y
sumptuosos edifiçios, disipadores
y abrasadores de fertiles campos
y miesses? Con los quales
exerçiçios de engaños y cautelas
aueis adquirido falso titulo y
renombre entre los de vuestro
tiempo de animosos y esforçados,
y con semejantes obras os aueis
usurpado el nombre de virtud.
Pero no son ansi las contiendas
de las fieras, porque si han de
pelear entre si o con vosotros,
muy sin engaños y cautelas lo
hazen, abierta y claramente las
verás pelear con sola confiança
de su esfuerço. Prinçipalmente
porque sus batallas no estan
subjetas a leyes que obliguen a
pena al que desamparare el
campo en la pelea. Pero como
por sola su naturaleza temen ser
vencidos trabajan quanto pueden
hasta vencer a su enemigo avn
que no obligan el cuerpo ni sus
animos a subjeçion ni vasallaje
siendo vencidas. Y ansi la
vençida siendo herida cayda en el
suelo es tan grande su esfuerço
que recoxe el animo en vna
pequeña parte de su cuerpo y
hasta que es del todo muerta
resiste a su matador. No hay
entre ellas los ruegos que le
otorgue la vida; no suplicaciones
lagrimas ni petiçiones de
misericordia; ni el rendirse al
vençedor confesandole la vitoria,
como vosotros hazeis quando os
tiene el enemigo a sus pies
amenaçandoos degollar. Nunca tú
viste que vn leon vençido sirua a
otro leon vençedor, ni vn cauallo a
otro, ni entre ellos ay temor de
quedar con renombre de
cobardes. Qualesquiera fieras
que por engaños o cautelas
fueron alguna vez presas en lazos
por los caçadores, si de edad
razonable son, antes se dexarán
de hambre y de sed morir que ser
otra vez presas y captiuas si en
algun tiempo pudieran gozar de la
libertad. Aunque algunas vezes
aconteçe que siendo algunas
presas siendo pequeñas se
vienen a amansar con regalos y
apazibles tratamientos, y ansi
aconteçe darseles por largos
tiempos en seruidumbre a los
hombres. Pero si son presas en
su vejez o edad razonable antes
moriran que subjetarseles. De lo
qual todo claramente se muestra
ser las fieras naturalmente
naçidas para ser fuertes y vsar de
fortaleza, y que los hombres vsan
contra verdad de titulo de fuertes
que ellos tienen usurpado
diziendo que les venga de su
naturaleza, y avn esto façilmente
se verá si consideramos vn
prinçipio de philosophia que es
vniuersalmente verdadero; y es,
que lo que conuiene por
naturaleza a vna especie
conuiene a todos los indiuiduos y
particulares igual y
indiferentemente. Como acontece
que conuiene a los hombres por
su naturaleza la risa, por la qual a
qualquiera honbre en particular
conuiene reyrse. Dime agora,
Miçilo, antes que passe adelante,
si ay aqui alguna cosa que me
puedas negar?
Miçilo.—No porque veo por
esperiençia que no ay honbre en
el mundo que no se rya y pueda
reyr; y solo el honbre propiamente
se rye. Pero yo no sé a que
proposito lo dizes.
Gallo.—Digolo porque pues esto
es verdad y vemos que
igualmente en las fieras en
fortaleça y esfuerço no diffieren
machos y hembras, pues
igualmente son fuertes para se
defender de sus enemigos, y para
sufrir los trabajos neçesarios por
defender sus hijos, o por vuscar
su mantenimiento, que
claramente pareçe conuenirles de
su naturaleza. Porque ansi
hallarás de la hembra tigre, que si
a caso fue a vuscar de comer
para sus hijos que los tenia
pequeños y en el entretanto que
se ausentó de la cueua vinieron
los cazadores y se los lleuaron;
diez y doze leguas sigue a su
robador y hallado haze con él tan
cruda guerra que veynte honbres
no se le igualaran en esfuerço. Ni
tampoco para esto aguardan
favorecerse de sus maridos, ni
con lagrimas se les quexan
contándoles su cuyta como hazen
vuestras hembras. Ya creo que
habrás oydo de la puerca de
Calidonia quantos trabajos y
fatigas dio al fuerte Theseo con
sus fuertes peleas. Que dire de
aquel sphinge de Pheniçia y de la
raposa telmesia? Que de aquella
famosa serpiente que con tanto
esfuerço peleó con Apolo?
Tambien creo que tú abrás visto
muchas leonas y osas mucho
mas fuertes que los machos en su
naturaleza. Y no se han como
vuestras mugeres las quales
quando vosotros estais en lo mas
peligroso de la guerra estan ellas
muy descuidadas de vuestro
peligro sentadas al fuego, o en el
regalo de sus camas y deleytes.
Como aquella Reyna Clithenestra,
que mientra su marido Agamenon
estaua en la guerra de troya
gozaua ella de los bessos y
abraços de su adultero Egisto. De
manera que de lo que tengo dicho
pareçeme no ser verdad, no ser
natural la fortaleza a los hombres,
porque si ansi fuesse igualmente
conuernia el esfuerço a las
henbras de vuestra espeçie, y se
hallaria como en los machos
como aconteçe en las fieras. Ansi
que podemos dezir, que los
honbres no de su voluntad, mas
forjados de vuestras leyes y de
vuestros principes y mayores
venis a exercitaros en esfuerço,
porque no osais yr contra su
mandado temiendo grandes
penas. Y estando los honbres en
el peligro más fragoso del mar, el
que primero en la tenpestad se
mueue no es para tomar el mas
pesado remo y trabajar doblado;
pero cada qual procura yr primero
por escoger el mas ligero y dexar
para los de la postre la mayor
carga, y avn del todo la reusarian
sino fuesse por miedo del castigo,
o peligro en que se ven. Y ansi
este tal no se puede dezir
esforzado, ni este se puede
gloriar ser doctado desta virtud,
porque aquel que se defiende de
su enemigo con miedo de reçebir
la muerte este tal no se deue
dezir magnanimo ni esforçado
pero cobarde y temeroso. Desta
manera aconteçe en vosotros
llamar fortaleza lo que bien
mirado con prudencia es
verdadera cobardia. Y si vosotros
os hallais ser mas esforçados que
las fieras, por qué vuestros
poetas y historiadores quando
escriuen y decantan vuestras
hazañas y hechos en la guerra os
comparan con los leones, tigres y
onzas, y por gran cosa dizen que
igualastes en esfuerço con ellos?
Y por el contrario nunca en las
batallas de las fieras fueran en su
ánimo comparadas con algun
hombre. Pero ansi como aconteçe
que comparamos los ligeros con
los vientos, y a los hermosos con
los angeles, queriendo hazer
semejantes los nuestros con las
cosas que exceden sin alguna
medida ni tasa: ansi parece que
desta manera comparais los
honbres en vuestras historias en
fortaleza con las fieras como a
cosas que exceden sin
comparaçion. Y la causa desto es,
porque como la fortaleza sea vna
virtud que consiste en el buen
gouierno de las passiones y
impetus del animo, el qual más
sincero y perfecto se halla en las
peleas que entre si tienen las
fieras. Porque los hombres
turbada la razon con la yra y la
soberuia los ciega y desbarata
tanto la colera que ninguna cosa
hazen con libertad que merezca
nombre de virtud. Avn con todo
esto quiero dezir que no teneis
porqué os quexar de naturaleza
porque no os diese vñas,
colmillos, conchas y otras armas
naturales que dio a las fieras para
su defensa, pues que vn
entendimiento de que os armó
para defenderos de vuestros
enemigos le enbotais y
entorpeçeis por vuestra culpa y
negligençia.
Miçilo.—O gallo, quan admirable
maestro me has sido oy de
Retorica, pues con tanta
abundançia de palabras has
persuadido tu proposito avn en
cosa tan seca y esteril. Forçado
me has a creer que hayas sido en
algun tiempo vno de los famosos
philosophos que obo en las
escuelas de athenas.
Gallo.—Pues mira, Micilo, que
por pensar yo que querias
redarguirme lo que tengo dicho
con algunos argumentos, o con
algun genero de contradiçion no
pasaua adelante en mi dezir. Y ya
que veo que te vas conuenciendo
quiero que pasemos a otra virtud,
y luego quiero que tratemos de la
castidad. En la qual te mostraré
que las fieras exçeden a los
hombres sin alguna comparaçion.
Mucho se preçian vuestras
mugeres tener de su parte por
exemplo de castidad vna
Penelope, vna Lucreçia Porçia,
Doña Maria de Toledo, y doña
Ysabel Reyna de Castilla; porque
dezis que estas menospreçiauan
sus vidas por no violar la virtud de
su castidad. Pues yo te mostraré
muchas fieras castas mil vezes
mas que todas esas vuestras, y
no quiero que comencemos por la
castidad de la corneja, ni Croton,
admirables fieras en este caso,
que despues de sus maridos
muertos guardan la viudez no
qualquiera tiempo, pero nueue
hedades de hombres sin ofender
su castidad. Por lo qual
neçesariamente me deues
conçeder ser estas fieras nueue
vezes mas castas que las
vuestras mugeres que por
exemplo teneis. Pero porque
tienes entendido de mí, Miçilo,
que soy retorico, quiero que
procedamos en el discurso desta
virtud segun las leyes de
Retorica, porque por ellas espero
vençerte con mas façilidad, Y ansi
primero veamos la difiniçion desta
virtud continençia, y despues
deçenderemos a sus inferiores
espeçies. Suelen dezir los
philosophos, que la virtud de
continençia es vna buena y çierta
dispusiçion y regla de los
deleytes, por la qual se desechan
y huyen los malos, vedados y
superfluos y se faboreçen y
allegan los neçesarios y naturales
en sus conuenientes tiempos.
Quanto a lo primero vosotros los
hombres todos los sentidos
corporales corrompeis y
deprabais con vuestros malos
vsos y costumbres y
inclinaciones, endereçandolos
sienpre a vuestro viçioso deleyte
y luxuria. Con los ojos todas las
cosas que veis endereçais para
vuestra laçiuia y cobdiçia. lo qual
nosotras las fieras no hazemos
ansi. Porque quando yo era
hombre me holgaua y regoçijaua
con gran deleyte viendo el oro,
joyas y piedras preçiosas, a tanto
que me andaua bobo y
desbaneçido vn dia tras vn Rey o
principe si anduuiesse vestido y
adornado de jaezes y atauios de
seda, oro, purpura y hermosos
colores. Pero agora, como lo
hacen las otras fieras, no estimo
yo en más todo eso que al lodo y
a otras comunes piedras que ay
por las pedregosas y asperas
syerras y montañas. Y ansi
quando yo era puerco estimaua
mucho más sin comparaçion
hallar algun blando y humido
cieno, o piçina en que me
refrescasse rebolcandome. Pues
si venimos al sentido del oler, si
consideramos aquellos olores
suaues de gomas, espeçias y
pastillas de que andais siempre
oliendo, regalando y afeminando
vuestras personas. En tanta
manera que ningun varon de
vosotros viene a gozar de su
propia muger si primero no se
vnta con vnçiones delicadas y
odoriferas, con las quales
procurais inçitar y despertar en
vosotros a venus. Y esto todo avn
seria sufridero en vuestras
hembras por daros deleyte usar
de aquellos olores laboratorios,
afeytes y vnturas; pero lo que
peor es que lo vsais vosotros los
varones para incitaros a luxuria.
Pero nosotras las fieras no lo
vsamos ansi, sino el lobo con la
loba, y el leon con la leona, y ansi
todos los machos con sus
hembras en su genero y espeçie
gozan de sus abraços y açessos
solamente con los olores
naturales y proprios que a sus
cuerpos dio su naturaleza sin
admistion de otro alguno de fuera.
Quando mas ay, y con que ellas
mas se deleytan es al olor que
produçen de si los olorosos
prados quando en el tiempo de su
brama, que es quando vsan sus
bodas, estan verdes y floridos y
hermosos. Y ansi ninguna hembra
de las nuestras tiene necesidad
para sus ayuntamientos de
afeytes ni vnturas para engañar y
traer al macho de su especie. Ni
los machos tienen neçesidad de
las persuadir con palabras,
requiebros, cautelas ni
ofreçimientos. Pero todos ellos en
su propio tiempo sin engaños ni
intereses hazen sus
ayuntamientos atsaydos por
naturaleza con las dispusiçiones y
concurso del tiempo, como los
quales son inçitados y llamados a
aquello. Y ansi este tiempo siendo
passado, y hechas sus preñezes,
todos se aseguran y mortiguan en
su incentiuo deleyte, y hasta la
buelta de aquel mesmo tiempo
ninguna hembra cobdiçia ni
consiente al macho, ni el macho
la acomete. Ningun otro interese
se pretende en las fieras sino el
engendrar y todo lo guiamos y
ordenamos como nuestra
naturaleza lo dispone. Y añade á
esto que entre las fieras en
ningun tiempo se cobdiçia ni
soliçita ni acomete hembra a
hembra, ni macho con macho en
açesso carnal. Pero vosotros los
hombres no ansi, porque no os
perdonais vnos a otros; pero
muger con muger, y hombre con
hombre contra las leyes de
vuestra naturaleza, os juntais, y
en vuestros carnales açessos os
toman vuestros juezes cada dia.
Ni por esto temeis la pena, quanto
quiera que sea cruel, por
satisfazer y cumplir uuestro
deleyte y luxuria. En tanta manera
es esto aborreçido de las fieras,
que si vn gallo cometiese açesso
con otro gallo, avn que le faltasse
gallina, con los picos y vñas le
hariamos en breue pedaços.
Pareçe, micilo, que te bas
conuençiendo y haciendote de mi
sentencia, pues tanto callas sin
me contradezir.
Miçilo.—Es tan efficaz, gallo, tu
persuasion, que como vna
cadena me llevas tras ti sin poder
resistir.
Gallo.—Dexemos de contar
quantos varones han tenido sus
ayuntamientos con cabras, ouejas
y perras; y las mugeres que han
effectuado su lexuria con gimios,
asnos, cabrones y perros: de los
quales açessos se han
engendrado çentauros, sphinges,
minotauros y otros admimirables
monstruos de prodigioso aguero.
Pero las fieras nunca vsaron ansi,
como lo muestra por exemplo la
continencia de aquel famoso
mendesio, cabron egipcio, que
siendo encerrado por muchas
damas hermosas para que
holgase con ellas, ofreçiéndosele
desnudas delante, las
menospreçio, y quando se pudo
soltar se fué huyendo á la
montaña á tener sus plazeres con
las cabras sus semejantes. Pues
quanto ves que son mas
inferiores en la castidad los
hombres que las fieras, ansi lo

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(Original PDF) Ethics and Law for

Teachers 2nd Canadian Edition

VP, Product and Partnership Senior Production Project Design Director:

Raymond and Una Truscott—for instilling appreciation of the

Gerald A. Neely—lawyer, writer, educator, and good friend

Derek Truscott is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty

CHAPTER 1 The Ethical Context....................................................................... 1

CHAPTER 2 The Personal Context.................................................................. 15

CHAPTER 3 The Legal Context....................................................................... 31

CHAPTER 4 The Societal Context................................................................... 47

CHAPTER 5 The Professional Context............................................................. 63

CHAPTER 6 Student Rights, Parent Rights...................................................... 79

NEL Contents vii

CHAPTER 7 Authority and Discipline ............................................................. 93

CHAPTER 8 Protecting Students from Harm ............................................... 107

CHAPTER 9 Personal Life, Public Role........................................................... 121

CHAPTER 10 Teacher–Student Relationships................................................ 137

CHAPTER 11: Diversity and Equity................................................................ 151

xii Preface NEL

NEL Preface xiii

THE ETHICAL CONTEXT

1. What possible courses of action might you consider? Do you

NEL The Ethical Context 3

Establishing a Reflective Habit

*Nunavut Teachers’ Association

NEL The Ethical Context 5

*British Columbia Teacher’s Federation

WHAT THE CODES SAY

—Ontario College of Teachers’ “Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession”

NEL The Ethical Context 7

An Ethical Value That Is Important to You

ETHICS PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL

NEL The Ethical Context 9

Fin del primer canto del gallo.

En el segundo canto que se

Gallo.—Ya parece, Miçilo, que

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