Why do I teach?

Just finished Module II of my Ethics & Environmental Health course at Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE). It was a good module — these students are bright, inquisitive and not afraid to ask questions (especially those they might feel are a bit stupid — which, of course, they are not). They spent six [6] hours examining the ethical challenges that emerge throughout the story of “The Firm” as presented in Sydney Pollack’s movie starring Gene Hackman, Tom Cruise and a host of other great performances. They grappled with the Texas Tech produced film, “Incident at Morales”, and the ethics of moving a potentially dangerous chemical plant across a national border in order to skirt vigorous environmental and safety regulations. They concluded an extensive analysis of the moral dilemmas presented in the story of “Erin Brockovich”. They are even grappling with attempting to create their own definition of a “moral dilemma”. And they spent some time during the last hour or so of the module, becoming immersed in how to debate ethical cases which will form part of their final exam.

I am enjoying this group. They come from a very diverse background, both geographically and culturally. Yet, they get together in their teams and small groups to produce some very thoughtful responses to deeply questionable ethical choices in the cases that we study. They are working on a book review (another part of their final exam) — a novel about a young teacher. And they see the parallels that this young man faces to the difficult decisions that will confront them in their career. They already have a good grasp of the Sinclair/Kohlberg prism on ethical reasoning; their questions surrounding my interpretation of characters and their various stages of moral reasoning are always respectful but probing. These students give me a sense that they actually want to learn this stuff.

Will they be more ethical than others who have taken this course in the past? (I think this is the 19th version of the course offering that I have delivered!) I won’t make that judgment call at this point in time. I will say that they will recognize ethical dilemmas perhaps more quickly than many. And I feel already that they will be able to handle the moral stresses that come from being an Environmental Health Officer as well as any that have graduated in the past. They are a good group and they constantly remind me why I teach. It is fun to help facilitate learning in the people of my childrens’ childrens’ generation…

And now I must wander down to the gate here in old YYZ to catch another jet to fly further eastward to YUL and then, via car ultimately to Kingston. Life is good, even when one lands at 5:15 in the morning…

g.w.