Throughout the duration of a teacher’s career it is inevitable that ethical and moral dilemmas associated with the welfare of students will arise.  In Case Study 3.2: Leigh Scott, a teacher is accused of bias by an African-American student named Aaron and forced to re-evaluate the criteria of her grading system.  The student alleges that a remedial student by the name of Dale, actually did less and received grades no higher than his own, but received a higher letter grade.  The accusation is correct; However, Leigh awarded the grade to Dale because of his efforts despite his status as a remedial student and not because he was white.  Regardless of how she has set up her grading system, it is clear that Leigh Scott has unclear expectations for her students when it comes to the effort they should put forth in the classroom and the role that said effort plays in the grades they receive.

For a classroom to operate equally and fairly it seems necessary for a teacher to have clear expectations for their students.  As in this case, with Leigh Scott, she has assigned grades to students based on the effort they give in relation to her expectations of their abilities.  Because Aaron is not a remedial student, she expects him to complete his assignments without excuse, thus deeming his “D work” a fair earned D.  However, remedial student Dale has a hard time reading the text, and because he is able to still earn a D, she gives him a C.  It hardly seems like a fair system, and yet, if Leigh Scott had taken time to inform her students of the behavior that constitutes “a good effort” in her classroom, and also discussed how their efforts would play a factor into her final grading, then each student would have an equal and fair opportunity to fulfill that portion of their grade requirement.  A benefit of awarding student efforts exerted in the classroom is the opportunity for higher performance because students are aware that if they work to their highest potential and are making a recognizable effort in their studies, a teacher is willing to take that into consideration for their final grade.  This begins to illustrate, however, the idea that a grade based partly on effort is entirely subjective.  Every student has a unique situation and learning style, and if a teacher is left to decide the individual potential of each student and then measure the effort they put forth based upon that, it is hard to say whether or not each student is being judged fairly.  Leigh Scott could be setting low expectations for her students and seemingly be rewarding their efforts, when in reality she is limiting their academic potential and progress, regardless of how unbiased she really may be.  I do feel that this system could be a disadvantage to Dale’s education in particular.  If Dale is receiving grades that do not reflect his abilities in the classroom a grading system that revolves mainly around the effort he is putting forth may be giving him an inaccurate idea of his progress.  Also, this dilemma could be cause for Aaron to accuse Leigh of racism in her grading because there are no clear lines of what ‘good effort’ is, when it is based upon each student’s abilities as an individual.

In conclusion, because Aaron is accusing Leigh Scott of being prejudiced in her grading, I feel it is necessary for Leigh to enlighten Aaron of the importance that effort plays in her classroom and that this is the sole reason for the difference in Aaron and Dale’s grade.  Leigh could make Aaron aware of his own behaviors that are inconsistent with good effort and classroom participation which is reflected, again, in his grade.  It would not be appropriate, however, for Leigh to discuss details of Dale’s specific situation any further with Aaron, as this would be a violation of Dale’s privacy.  As far as Aaron challenging the grade he received, I feel that Leigh Scott should not change his grade for the period which just ended, but should let Aaron know she will gladly take his changes in effort and participation into account for the next report card, should she see a recognizable difference.