Slip-Sliding Away, Down the Ethical Slope by Robert Stenberg - Article Example

According to the author, ethical behavior is an eight-step process that includes recognition of a situation that deserves attention; knowing that situation has an ethical component; the ethical component needs personal attention; the ethical component has a personal relevance; discovering the ethical rules that are applied to the situation; finding the ways to apply the ethical rule; getting ready for any backlash while acting ethically, and finally to act on it. Executing all of these steps requires courage not only from students but from parents too.

The author believes that ethical behavior in one's life often requires a lot of courage. Students should be made aware of the necessary steps required to instill ethical behavior. Further, students must know that it is not simply a mechanical exercise but it involves conscious learning through real-life case studies. Educators and society need to think about the current system of education where an emphasis is on test scores to progress further belying any need for ethical behavior. The nation needs ethical leaders and that is difficult to groom when students, in their early years of life, begin with plagiarism and cheating in schools and subsequently, on passing out, hold big positions in public and private places.