If a student is harmed because the teacher was unable to foresee the threat, then the teacher can be held accountable. Also if a student is harmed because the teacher failed to pay attention to entire class, the teacher can be held accountable. A teacher’s responsibilities influence students’ rights because a students’ rights must be limited to maintain student safety on a field trip. One example may be implementation of a dress code specifically for field trips. A teacher may require all students wear red shirts.
This would help the teacher keep all students together.
A student may feel like the teacher is violating his or her rights to wear what he or she chooses; however, the teacher is simply exercising caution. This is the responsibility of a teacher. As a teacher, I will have many responsibilities. One responsibility is that I should seek to achieve the highest standards in my work. The status of my profession depends directly on teachers.
I will have a responsibility to follow a code of ethics and code of conduct. Students must follow these codes, and as an educator, I will also. Another responsibility I will have as a teacher is to ensure the safety of my students.
I will have many other responsibilities above and beyond those mentioned. Like responsibilities, I will also have rights as a teacher. I will have the right to exercise all civil rights enjoyed by other citizens. As a teacher, I will have the right to be human and make mistakes. I will have the right to expect an appropriate of respect from students. I will have many more rights as a teacher, along with those I mentioned. Some responsibilities I have may influence the rights of some students. For example, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my students in my classroom.
If there is a safety concern with a student, it is my responsibility to remove that student, or have that student removed, from the class and discipline accordingly. This would influence this students’ rights. In a situation such as this, it is extremely fair and acceptable to infringe on this students’ rights. As a teacher, I must put the safety of my students first. If there is a major safety concern with a student, no other students will be capable of learning until the situation is resolved. One personal example of teachers’ responsibilities limiting a student’s rights involved my oldest daughter.
She was attending a field trip to a local library and then to the park for lunch and playtime. I was not allowed to ride the bus, so I followed behind in my personal vehicle. We arrived at the library, completed our walk through and story time and was getting ready to leave. At this time, my daughter, who was five, wanted to ride with me to the park, not on the bus. The teacher had a responsibility to ensure that my daughter was safely returned to the school, therefore prohibiting me from taking her in my vehicle. We then arrived at the park, we ate lunch, played, and it was then time to return to school.
At this time, my daughter again was in tears, wanting to ride with me. Again, the teacher explained her responsibilities, which prohibited my daughter from returning to school in my vehicle. This is an example of teachers’ responsibilities influencing a student’s rights. One example of a students’ rights overriding a teachers’ responsibility would be of a special needs child. Fairly recent changes in special education laws require that more and more students be placed in regular classrooms. These special needs students’ have a right to be graded, in these normal classes, according to their Individual Education Plan (IEP).
This right would override a teachers’ responsibility of being fair and treating all children equal. This teacher may have to give lenience to the special needs child and not to the other students. Many students’ rights and teachers’ responsibilities work directly with each other. However, some work for and some work against each other. As a teacher, I must be able to make the best moral decision based on both my responsibilities as well as my rights, while at the same time, respecting the rights of my students. Respect, from both sides, and open communication is key in fulfilling the rights and responsibilities of both parties.