Professional Ethics: Ethical Dilemmas for Lawyers, Journalists, and Engineers – Thursday – Fall 2023 – 5 Weeks – Grades 9 – 11

In this five-part class, we will explore ethical dilemmas faced by lawyers, journalists, and engineers.  This class is perfect for anyone interested in ethics, and/or anyone thinking of pursuing one of these careers.  

Lawyers, journalists, and engineers all have codes of professional conduct that govern their work.  We will look at these codes, as well as newspaper articles and quotes from textbooks on professional ethics.  We will wrestle with very real and concrete issues, such as:  is it ethical for a lawyer to represent someone that they know is guilty?  Should journalists ever publish stories based solely on anonymous sources?  What are the ethical issues involved in reporting mass shootings?  And how does the idea of “factors of safety” relate to an engineer’s ethical responsibilities?    

This is a discussion class–there will not be any lectures.  Students should come to class prepared to actively participate.

Students should expect approximately one hour of homework per week.  Assignments will include short writing assignments in response to our discussions.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a 5-week class!

NOTE: This class must reach the minimum of five students by August 20th to run. If we do not reach this minimum, parents will be notified via email.