Individual Freedom and the Public Interest
This case presents the issue of the dilemma that may arise when individual freedom and the public interest conflict. While personal liberty is an important consideration in this or any case, so is the ethical responsibility inherent in being a teacher. The teacher must be responsible to not bring harm to students which means upholding moral principles. As pointed out in the chapter, people cannot be denied freedom to perform actions affecting only their own welfare, but they are accountable for actions that do harm others.
Thus in this case there are ethical and moral issues. The teacher is ethically responsibly to conduct herself in a manner that does not harm students. She is also responsible for the moral determination of what would bring harm and what would not. To resolve a situation such as this, individual case features must be considered. For example, while the teacher must not harm the student, each situation may bring different stipulations as to what would be considered morally wrong or harmful. There may be a town where the teacher's activities would be considered acceptable; they may even be prized. However, in most instances it can be concluded that performing as a stripper would not set an optimal example for students. In this case the teacher performs in another town and it appears that her actions have not harmed her students in any way. Thus, personal liberty may be the most important consideration.
The key here lies in determining the hierarchy of considerations. As a teacher, ethical responsibilities may take precedence over moral and personal issues. The job may demand that certain activities be curtailed regardless of whether or not they infringe on personal liberties. The next consideration is whether the activity actually harms the student, which brings to focus the issue of morality, which may vary by the individual. In a town whe
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