The dilemma we present here is real, told to us for your consideration. We change only names and occasionally some of the details to protect privacy of the individuals and/or organizations involved. If you have an ethical dilemma that you would like to share, please contact the editorial staff at Independent School ([email protected]).
When Janet Rogers was just out of college, she signed up as a leader for a service learning organization. She and another colleague, Jeff Dennis, were given the opportunity of taking a group of 15-year-olds on a trip to rural Guatemala. These British school students went to a top-notch independent school in England. The school was interested in helping students widen their horizons, more fully understand other cultures, and more fully embrace a global education.
Rogers and Dennis were both enthusiastic about this adventure and the learning opportunity for these students. But Dennis had much more experience than Rogers, having led numerous student groups to this and other parts of Central America. For this reason, Rogers was instructed to defer to Dennis on all counts, and to view her role as learning from him while lending a hand with the students. The group made their way to a small, remote village where students were tasked with helping to build new and sturdier shelters for the villagers.
Even on the plane ride over to Guatemala, Rogers began to have concerns about the students’ behavior and about Dennis’ apparent lack of concern. Matters that clearly involved a lack of respect, “entitled attitudes,” and a general lack of compassion for others were never dealt with directly. Dennis would laugh off many behaviors that Rogers found difficult to tolerate. Once set up in the village, Rogers was disturbed to see that many of the students began directing such behavior toward the villagers — their hosts. The villagers were very friendly, trusting people with a gentle approach to their visitors. The children in the village were of course especially curious about these newcomers and clearly wanted to make friends. Rogers observed the British students making sarcastic remarks, laughing at the village children, and generally disparaging the villagers — even the adults. The last straw for Rogers was when one of the students “accidentally” dropped a twenty-pound note in a sewage ditch and dared the village children to go after it. In that instance, while Dennis did not respond, Rogers did intervene and insist that no one go near the ditch. The money washed away shortly and the children moved on to other things, but Rogers couldn’t forget the incident.
Within a matter of days, Rogers felt a gripping right-vs.-right dilemma taking hold of her heart. She did not believe in abandoning challenges and yet she did not believe in how this trip was being handled, and what these students and these villagers were learning from the experience. As the junior leader on the trip, was it right to accept the role she’d agreed to, knowing that one day she might lead similar trips but with a very different approach? Or was it right to put her foot down right now, risking her job but taking a stand before this group of villagers and students? Rogers was a long way from home, and the thought of an ugly confrontation and days of acrimony certainly didn’t appeal. Was it really her job to set things straight, or just to wait this out?
Rogers viewed this as a truth-vs.-loyalty dilemma, above all else. While she felt concern about her future with this organization, and the long-term learning of both students and villagers, the real conflict was between honest instincts as to what should be happening on this trip, and loyalty to Dennis and the role she’d signed up for. A few days after working with the villagers on their shelters, the students were given a day to visit a market in the largest nearby town. When the group made their way to the market, Rogers made her way to the airport and abandoned the group and her future plans.
Looking back, she realizes the decision probably left Dennis with more responsibility than was safe. Rogers is now familiar with “teacher-to-student ratios” and normal standards that would apply to such a trip. She also can recognize now, as an older and wiser human being, that her actions certainly didn’t solve the ethical issue for anybody concerned. But at the time, her biggest motivation was getting away from the whole ugly scene. To this day, Rogers is not happy with her own decision-making in this regard, but she was very young at the time and felt unprepared to figure things out. Her truthfulness in reflecting back is poignant. "I think it is hard to know when it’s right to sit out or fight a situation. I think I lacked moral courage in challenging the situation with Jeff, and the young people… I also think that I let down the villagers who had grown to trust me."