Running Head: M4 Ethical Dilemma

M4 Davids Dilemma Assignment

Davids Dilemma deals with a teacher (David) who must choose how to address
the identity expression of on of his students (Lawrence) because that expression
sometimes interferes with engagement academic progress, and because the expression
has reached a point where it has become public knowledge to peers in his 5 th grade
class. Particularly, Lawrence has recently worn a bra to school and told his classmates,
and a classmate has told the teacher about it, which finally calls the teacher to action.
By this point in the school year, hopefully David has a rapport with both the
student and the family. Lawrence has been doing well, which made me hopeful about
Davids classroom management and his classroom demeanor with his students. From
the VoiceThread presentation, we saw that a relationship with students is fundamental
for learning to take place. Its clear that Lawrence can do grade level work when he
doesnt have his identity on his mind, as we experienced this week in the Making Safe
Places Unsafe presentation (Jones, 2011). The dilemma puts David in an interesting
position, himself a gay man worried about the perceptions of the families he serves,
while aiming to protect the student from social, emotional, and academic repercussions.
It tore at me because in an ideal world, with an established rapport, Id like to be able to
have a talk with Lawrence about his decision to wear the bra, ask how hes feeling, see
if his family knows, etc. Again in an ideal world, the family is aware of what Lawrence is
feeling and fully supports him; if David has a rapport with the family, its time to lean in
and see how they perceive the situation and see if they need any additional resources
such as the Trevor Project for support, and to encourage them to talk have a

M4 Ethical Dilemma

conversation with Lawrence to reassure him that hes loved and supported at home,
and that he can talk with his teacher about any bullying so that it can be stopped
(TheTrevorProject.org).
What we know is that we need to be supportive of the student. Point 3 from the
text recommends that we Interrupt homophobia and heterosexism, and to take the
opportunity to educate about it (Banks & Banks, 2013). If possible, have a class
discussion about the LGBTQ people. If that option is forbidden by the school board,
then its time to reinforce PBIS strategies: practice and reinforce expectations for
respectful behavior, and craft and implement a lesson on how to ask friends questions
in a respectful manner (PBIS.org). After watching the Joel Burns clip, and thinking
about the emotions Lawrence may be enduring, my heart melts for this kid (Joel Burns,
2010). Its important to act swiftly to ensure physical, emotional, and academic safety.
Potential repercussions of this include being confronted by parents for talking
about LGBT issues, so its important to talk with administration about the necessity of
whats about to take place. Hopefully the administration is supportive, but if not, its
important that the teacher have as much of a dialogue can take place. If David doesnt
allow students the opportunity to ask questions, bullying may continue, and he could
end up imperiled. At the very least, students will learn that treating people that way is
acceptable because the teacher isnt doing enough about it. Thus, as uncomfortable as
it may be for David, he knows more than anyone how important it is to bite the bullet
and address the issue with the class, and let Lawrence know that he is safe, and has a
teacher who cares about him and wants his success in life.

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References

Jones, J.R., (2011). Making Safe Places Unsafe (A PD for Teachers). Retreived from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgYRundQPhI on November 21, 2016.
Banks, J., & Banks, C. (2013). Multicultural education issues and perspectives (8th ed.).
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
The Trevor Project, (2016). The Trevor Project website, retrieved from
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ on November 21, 2016.
PBIS website (2016). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Retreived from
PBIS.org on November 21, 2016.