Making Good Decisions  Your behavior can affect your life, both at home and at school.  You should always conduct yourself in an appropriate manner.  First, we should decide what are good decisions and what are bad decisions.

Ethical Defined eth ⋅ i ⋅ cal (adjective) pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct. being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct or practice, esp. the standards of a profession: It was not considered ethical for physicians to advertise.

Personal Responsibility Think about these questions and answer on paper:  How important is it to you to make an ethical decision? Why?  How often do you think about whether something is right or wrong before you make a decision?  If you care about doing the right thing, does that make your decisions easier or harder?

Personal Responsibility You are at lunch in the school cafeteria. The line is 15 minutes long. A friend ahead of you offers to let you cut. Would it be ethical to accept the offer? Explain your answer.

Personal Responsibility When you enter a classroom, what responsibility does the teacher have to you, and what responsibility do you have to the teacher? What is the obligation of one classmate to another classmate?

Group Activity

Scenario #1 Suppose you have some personal problems that are troubling you. Is it okay to attend to these problems while you are at school?  Under what circumstances do you think it is okay to deal with your own personal affairs at school?  Who could help you with these issues at school? How would you go about getting help from these people?  If you don’t seek help appropriately, how might that affect your day at school?

Scenario #2 Suppose you are getting lower grades than you think you deserve. Does that justify cheating or misbehaving in the classroom? Explain your answer.  Why is cheating unethical?  What other options might you have to remedy your dissatisfaction?

Scenario #3 Suppose your classmate offers to let you do something inappropriate, such as copying their homework.  What action would you take in this situation?  Would you handle the situation differently depending on whether the person is a friend or an acquaintance?

Scenario #4 You are new in this school. During your enrollment you were taught school policies. Now your friend wants you to do something that contradicts those school policies.  What would/should you do?  Why do such policies exist?

Scenario #5 Suppose you have a friend who is making poor decisions. You sense that your friend could get into trouble.  What is the appropriate response in this situation?  Is it your duty to protect their privacy or keep them out of trouble? Explain your answer.

Scenario #6 Suppose you find out that your friend has discovered how to hack into the teacher’s gradebook and change their grades.  Would you report it, ignore it, or handle it some other way? Explain your answer.  What impact would this have on the school and its students?

Scenario # 7 Suppose some of your friends want you to skip school with them. Answer the following questions:  If you refused to skip, would that make you a disloyal friend? Explain your answer.  How would you respond if your friends said to you: “Don't let it bother you. Everybody does it.” “The school/your parents will never know.”  If they skip school anyway despite your objections, what would you do?