Ethical Dilemas for students

Read the following stories with your class.  Ask the class to write down the decision they would make and explain why in a paragraph.  Have them share their responses.

The Assignment

       At lunch time you realize that you forgot to do your math homework. The assignment is 3 pages long with 45 computation problems to complete. Instead of eating, you start to do the assignment. A friend offers you his completed assignment to copy before class. What will you do?

Free CD's

          A close friend gets a job as assistant manager of a record store. You visit her and she gives you three CDs saying, "The owner is really a jerk and the inventory system is so bad here they never know what they have in stock, Even my manager takes stuff home. You can have the CDs if you want." What would you do?

       The Game

The mood at Baileyville High School is tense with anticipation. For the first time in many, many years, the varsity basketball team has made it to the state semifinals. The community is excited too, and everyone is making plans to attend the big event next Saturday night.Jeff, the varsity coach, has been waiting for years to field such a team. Speed, teamwork, balance: they've got it all. Only one more week to practice, he tells his team, and not a rule can be broken. Everyone must be at practice each night at the regularly scheduled time: No Exceptions.Brad and Mike are two of the team's starters.  From their perspective, they're indispensable to the team, the guys who will bring victory to Baileyville. They decide—why, no one will ever know—to show up an hour late to the next day's practice.

Jeff is furious. They have deliberately disobeyed his orders. The rule says they should be suspended for one full week. If he follows the rule, Brad and Mike will not play in the semifinals. But the whole team is depending on them.  What should he do?

       Grounded

        You are grounded. Your parents are away for the evening. Friends drop by and want you to join them for a  hamburger. You know that it will be at least 2 hours before your parents come home. In sharing the dilemma with your friends, they remind you that the punishment given by your parents was not fair. What choice to you make?