“Doing no harm†in and through education
Apr 06, 2020
I have long advocated an educational equivalent of 'do no harm'. I've thought of this principle specifically in terms of inflicting harm. For example, "A lack of alternatives is no reason to delay removing classroom material that incites hatred against a minority." But 'do no harm' can be an absolutist principle (or, in the jargon of ethicists, 'monist'). "Do no harm means this decision should not be made by balancing probabilities; it must err on the side of not making the situation worse by accident, not by gambling on promises coming true." OK, fair enough. But what about this: "The Philadelphia School District... has decided that it will not offer remote instruction during the coronavirus shutdown citing equity concerns. 'If that's not available to all children, we cannot make it available to some.'" I'm not as comfortable as this. I don't think you lessen the harm to some by inflicting equal harm on everybody. On the other hand...
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