The words outlined in these areas include should and ought , fair and unfair . Even though these are words that outline the laws that teachers must abide by, there still remains room for personal discretion and individual circumstances. Ethical questions cannot be decided by the facts alone. Simple knowing the consequences of an action foes not necessary make the action chosen correct. Knowing the consequences of a particular action may assist a teacher in making a decision but a teacher must determine the best course of action.
Ethical questions are different from values.
Values are based more upon personal opinion rather than obligations. For instance, a public school teacher may believe that it is fine to read a scripture from the Bible each morning, when in fact, the teacher is required to uphold the law of separation of church and state. There are two basic principles that can be applied to the area of education. One principle is benefit maximization and equal respect of persons. The first principle is the idea that the action taken should benefit the greatest number of people.