Moral-Professional Dilemma
Greetings,
I find myself in a most unusual circumstance. Peacebloom School, where I am currently observing, was where my TE teacher, Brairthorn, taught for the past 4 years. Miss Silverleaf and Brairthorn both know of each other, know that I am in relatively close contact with both of them, and their teaching styles could not be more different.
This, to me, poses a very unique opportunity and a distinct problem. First, with two teachers of very different teaching philosophies, I can very directly compare the two, see which one I agree with more, and then adopt some sort of doctored version of their philosophy as my own. I would be able to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each and use that to my own professional development.
However, these two people know each other, and worked together for several years. I cannot help but be concerned about my own developing professionalism. Is it acceptable to talk directly with one of them about the other’s teaching style? For example, knowing that Miss Silverleaf worked with Brairthorn but wanting to talk about Brairthorn’s teaching style, I always attempted to refer to him as “My TE grad student,” hoping that this term would be useful in delaying this decision until later. Unfortunately for me, I was relatively unconvincing in my tactic, and Miss Silverleaf soon asked me, “Is it Brairthorn?” To this, I answered yes, and then we continued the conversation based on his real name.
I guess my big question is, “Can I, or should I, be direct about talking about another teacher’s teaching style, when they know one another? What about when these teachers become my colleagues instead of elders?”
