Introduction:
Few of us are ever faced with making the sort of life or death decisions we routinely hear about in the news. And yet there are decisions we face everyday that—whether we realize it or not—have very real moral implications.
Part trivia game and part reality show, Busted Halo’s® Moral Dilemmas feature is intended not only to raise moral issues for our readers but also to ask you to participate in resolving them. After reading the story below about Barbara and Courtney, please tell us what the “right thing to do” is via the quiz at the bottom.
Already taken the quiz for part 1? Move on to the next step: “The Wrinkle” to our Moral Dilemma.
Read our Expert’s Analysis of the dilemma and your responses.
Barbara had worked for the local public elementary school in her town for close to ten years. As the receptionist in the principal’s office she had contact with nearly every student, parent, faculty and staff member. She was the gatekeeper for the new principal, Courtney Warner, who had just arrived at the beginning of the academic year.
next week.”
At just 35 years old, Courtney was relatively young for the job, but she had been excited to get her first opportunity to take on a leadership role and tried to hit the ground running by getting to know all of the school’s 650 students by their first name in the first month. She also went out of her way to hold meetings with parents groups as well as all of her faculty members within the first few weeks of the semester.
Barbara had worked under the previous principal, Bill Henry, for years. Principal Henry had been extremely well loved by and admired by the community; over 1500 people had attended his retirement party to wish him well the previous June. She had hoped that The vice-principal, Tom Williamson-who had also worked there for years-would be named the new principal. She knew Tom really wanted the job and she thought he would be perfect. At age 56, Barbara was more than 20 years older than Courtney and was uncomfortable working with someone so much younger. She did her best not to let her feelings show.
Look!
Several times during the first few months of school, Barbara was frustrated by Courtney’s different approach to long-held ways of doing things in the school. The first few times this happened Barbara commented to Courtney that they had done things differently in the past. Courtney became gradually more frustrated at the constant reminders regarding how her methods were different from Principal Henry’s and finally snapped at Barbara. “Look Barbara,” she said, “I don’t really care about the way Bill did this job. He’s no longer the principal, I am! I’d appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself.”
What’s The Right Thing To Do?
- It’s not appropriate for Tom to ask Barbara that question; she should tell him so and walk out of the office.
- Barbara needs to tell Tom what she knows about Courtney’s alcohol issues, it could really impact the school in the long run.
- Barbara should not mention the personal information and just restrict her comments to her impression of the job Courtney is doing.
- Courtney has a child to support, Barbara should show some compassion and not say anything that might jeopardize Courtney’s job.
- Barbara should mention that Courtney’s husband left her and that she’s been under enormous pressure lately. They should lay off the subject for the moment.
- Barbara should refer to some “personal issues” she believes Courtney is going through and recommend that they contact the school board for guidance.
None of these sound right to you? Want to qualify one of the above answers? What do you think Barbara should do? Read Results
Barbara began to keep her distance from Courtney. When faculty members made comments about the “new regime” Barbara would roll her eyes and say “no comment” with a coy smile.
A month after they returned from Christmas break, Courtney started to seem distracted at work. She would forget appointments and take long lunches. Late one afternoon, Barbara was sitting at her desk when she overheard Courtney crying on the phone. She was speaking with a friend and mentioned that her husband had just left her and their 2 year-old child and moved to another city because he had fallen in love with someone else. She was being forced to go it alone with a small child. As the weeks wore on Barbara noticed that Courtney was often late to work and even called in sick several times.
Leave
Just before Spring break in March, Barbara mistakenly opened an email sent to Courtney’s school account. The email was from a well-known alcohol rehabilitation center and it was intended to confirm that Courtney would be admitted at the beginning of the next week. Later that day Courtney called her into her office to tell her that she was taking a leave of absence for a month to deal with “some family issues.” The assistant principal would be in charge during her absence. Barbara expressed concern for Courtney’s situation and wished her well.
After the break, Barbara returned to work to find the vice principal, Tom, in a meeting with a few faculty members. They called Barbara into their meeting and asked her to sit down. “Barbara, were concerned about how things are at the school” Tom said. “We’re discussing whether or not we should report Courtney to the school board and ask that they replace her. Is there any insight you can give me to the situation?”
Barbara hesitated for a moment. She clearly didn’t like some of the changes Courtney instituted, but she wasn’t sure if she should say anything about Courtney’s issues at home or her alcohol problem. “Don’t worry, Barbara,” he said, “anything you tell us will be held in the strictest confidence.”
Time for you to decide. What should Barbara do now?
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