I am currently teaching an online medical ethics course, and one of my students in that course has fallen on a bit of bad luck. Through no fault of her own, she finds herself in circumstances which make it exceedingly difficult for her to complete the course, and we now find ourselves discussing various options for dealing with this problem. As I work through these issues, I find myself torn about what set of obligations should take precedent for me. I am pulled in different directions by what I think would be right, and what I think would be good.
On the side of the Right, I find myself worrying about the other students in the course. Many of them may have experienced life circumstances which negatively affected their performance in the course, yet they were still able to get their work done on time. Wouldn’t it be unfair to make special concessions for one student, without at least offering something to the others in the way of compensation? How can I justify giving one student what amounts to extra time to do the same amount of work?
On the side of the Good, this student has just experienced one of the worst months a person could possibly live through. By trying to accommodate her, am I not giving her something to feel better about in the face of so much unrest and difficulty? None of my other students will know that they have been slighted, so it won’t seem to them like they are being treated unfairly. If I can make this person’s life just a bit better, without causing much harm to anyone else, why not do it?
There are, of course, other considerations here, such as the possibility that she is lying about her circumstances, or the question of what sorts of professional obligations might apply. But the point is just that the question of what to do in this case, from an ethical point-of-view, is not obvious. These sorts of situations are why I write about ethics in our everyday lives–often these are the cases that are most interesting, pertinent, and challenging for the broadest spectrum of people. They are also the cases that truly make a difference in the quality of our lives.
If you’ve got any thoughts on this case, feel free to share them in the comments!
About the Author
Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman University. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, and two cats.
5 responses so far ↓
1 A.F. // Jun 21, 2012 at 12:42 pm
I can relate to this from my own experience teaching physical chemistry and mathematical methods. I never found a good solution.
The best I have come up with is:
*have rigid rules for the common problems (sick excuse requires doctor note, etc.)
*for unusual situations, give students an out when they need it, but require more effort in the long run. A missed quiz is replaced with a paper or a more difficult quiz; an exam is replaced with a project, etc. I also usually use the rule that if there is an obvious lack of effort to warn me ahead of time, I will not work with the student.
I think (based on what you wrote) I might let the student take an incomplete, but the requirement for turning an ‘I’ into an ‘A’ would be greater than the original requirement for the class.
2 Elijah Weber // Jun 22, 2012 at 5:54 am
Glad to see I’m not alone in facing this problem. What’s making this situation especially tricky is that it’s an online course that’s only six weeks long, so there just isn’t that much time to demand more rigorous work.
I agree that effort to warn ahead of time makes a big difference, although in this particular case, it’s not the sort of thing that anyone could see coming.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate the feedback.
3 Unknown // Jul 2, 2012 at 10:38 am
Sir, after having an ethics class and being familiar with utilitarianism I would say that you should examine your problem adressing the question of how many students will be happy and how many will be unhappy. According to what you’ve said 1 will be happy and non will be unhappy so . . .
4 Elijah Weber // Jul 3, 2012 at 5:47 am
Yes, if we were applying an act utilitarian analysis, this would be the obvious verdict. However, it could be argued that everyone in the class has a right to equal opportunity to succeed in the course, and that I am violating that right by giving one person more time than everyone else. It’s true that they might never know this has occurred, but some might think that rights violations are morally wrong even when those whose rights are violated are not aware of it.
5 Ronald // Aug 31, 2012 at 7:15 am
As long as you would allow the same time extentions/support for the other students - should they also approach you for help, then I can’t see a issue with this.
If you are able to offer support out of the standard hours then you could see that as simply helping someone outside of the course’s structure. Which, again, you would need to be willing to do for any of the students - not just one. But only if they request it (which seems unlikely)
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