Ethical decision-making

To become an ethical decision maker, one has to do the right thing even if that is going against what they want. Ethical decision makers have to look at society and see how their decision will affect society as a whole. Also, an ethical decision maker is honest and has the courage to do what is right.
Before I came to Loras I never really talked about what an ethical decision maker was or how to become one. I guess that in my past people just assumed that I knew how to be an ethical decision maker rather than taking the time to teach me.
Throughout my career as a student my ethical decision making has improved greatly. I learned how to think and become an ethical decision maker. Different classes have helped me develop to a better ethical decision maker. The artifacts that I have chosen come from different classes that I have taken over the years at Loras. The classes include: Ethics in Sports, and Foundation of Education.
One of the classes that has helped me become an ethical decision maker is Ethics in Sports class. In this class I learned about the different moral standards and how to apply them to different situations in life. The different moral standards are: justice theory, utilitarianism, care theory, Catholic social teaching, and rights theory. In class we applied the standards to different situations and different case studies. By learning the standards and applying them to different case studies I was able to develop my ethical decision making. Learning these different standards helped me become an ethical decision maker because I know how the standards relate to the world. I also know how to use the different moral standards in the way I think about different topics.
This artifact comes from one of my debates that I did in class. My topic was that it is morally unacceptable to give preferential treatment especially with regard to admission standards and tutoring programs to college students who participate in Division I intercollegiate athletics. For this topic, I wrote a paper on all the different standards that applied. By doing this paper I became an ethical decision maker because I had to argue the point that was best for society. http://myweb.loras.edu/es377975/LIB305/debate.docx
My second class is called Foundation of Education and from this class I have two artifacts. The reason why I picked two artifacts from this class is that because I learned different ways to be an ethical decision maker, and these ways will benefit me in the future the greatest. This class was considered a beginner class for education majors. This class taught me about all the different types of schools, the different types of laws, different roles and responsibilities that teachers have, and gave me the background information I need to become a teacher.
I picked two artifacts from this class because both of these artifacts helped mold me into the ethical decision maker that I am today. The first artifact is a paper that is called “Ethical Consciousness.” This paper talks about when I become I future teacher I need to make the right decisions so my students will get the most out of my teaching. One way my students will get the most of out of my teaching is that if my lesson plans do not work for my students, I will have to be an ethical decision maker and change my lesson plans. I also have to know when it comes to teaching it is not about me, it is about my students and what is best for them. When I wrote this artifact I had to look at myself then and what I need to change to become an ethical decision maker for my future students. That is making sure that I make decisions that will help my students get the most out of the education that I am providing. http://myweb.loras.edu/es377975/LIB305/ethical consciousness.docx
The other artifact that I picked from my Foundations of Education class is titled “Ethical Teachers.” This artifact is a reflection on what makes a good ethical teacher, and how to become an ethical teacher. This artifact talks about how teachers need to make the right decision for the students. An example of this is the teacher needs to make sure the students are experiencing the most out of education and if they are not then the teacher needs to make the ethical decision and change things. It also shows ways to make sure I am an ethical teacher. http://myweb.loras.edu/es377975/LIB305/ethical teachers.docx
Throughout my career as a Loras College student I have developed as an ethical decision maker. I have learned that I have to think about others when making my decisions rather than just thinking of myself. I also have to have the courage to make the right decisions. Being an ethical decision maker is important in my future career as well because as a future teacher I need to make the right decisions for my student so they will benefit the most out of education.