We must adopt some basic guidelines in leading ethical discussions with our students:

•    In general, it is important to lead the discussion as an impartial participant, without imposing our personal viewpoints on our students. If we express our own opinions, students may infer that their views are “wrong.” This will shut down future input from some of those students.
•   It will be difficult, if not impossible or desirable, to reach any consensus during these discussions.
•   Many teens have views that can be described as “countercultural.” This is a normal stage of reaching maturity, although the views will often be disturbing to hear. It is best not to react negatively to these statements; merely accept input as food for thought.

Many teachers may ask what we hope to achieve by leading such discussions if we are not going to tell our students what is “right.”

 We are teaching our young people how to think and how to make sound decisions. And we are doing it in a setting that is non-judgmental and safe in which to explore difficult issues, with a responsible adult to facilitate the conversation.

 Need more help with this? We have a Professional Development component available on our web portal!