SAMPLE Prior Learning Proposal for USM Core: Ethical Inquiry requirement NOTE: this student completed one of the required texts for USM s Ethical Inquiry requirement and applied that reading throughout the narrative. Documentation of learning was also provided, as listed at the end of the narrative. I am writing this proposal in the hopes of gaining credit for prior learning in the general education category of Ethical inquiry, Social Responsibility, and Citizenship. I feel that I have accomplished the learning objectives for this educational category through many things, with those outlined being Girl Scouts and my work as a television account executive. 1) Analyze a topic relating to diverse human cultures and the natural world that has a significant ethical dimension and that is shaped by conflicting goals, values, traditions, institutions or structures. My work as a Girl Scout Troop leader the past 10 years has given me the opportunity to research and develop presentations which enrich troop members on the points outlined. Demonstrating ethical behaviors is a top priority for Girl Scouts. Over the years, the importance of ethics has constantly been woven through our leadership teachings and study cells. We have accomplished this through videos, presentations, lectures, volunteering, and ethical scenario workshops. It is all in keeping with the Girl Scout Law, which we repeat together at the beginning of each meeting. The Girl Scout Law I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, responsible for what I say and do, respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, and make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout. With ethics being the base for all of the work, we have done extensive training cells on understanding other cultures, situations, or structures. As Girl Scouts they are responsible for sharing this knowledge to create a greater understanding and compassion for others. Part of this in-depth work has included conflict resolution and creating spaces where resolution can be achieved when parties have different perspectives, beliefs, or backgrounds. In addition to Girl Scouts, I was previously a Rotary Member, ABWA (American Business Women s Association member, awarded Woman of the Year through ABWA, and currently on the Cheverus Families Association committee. These 1
organizations are regarded as having high ethics in their respective communities. In volunteering for these, ethics outcomes are constantly being weighed and the larger community and immediate communities are being considered through varied ethical lenses. 2) Describe their deliberative process for informed decision-making (e.g. weighing evidence, generating multiple alternatives and articulating the rationale for a final decision). In a selling capacity, there are many temptations and opportunities to financially take advantage of someone s money without it being defined as stealing. The rule I lived by was unless I believed in my heart that I would buy it myself, or sell it to a beloved family member, then it isn t a deal I should be offering to someone else. In other words, when I made decision in the field I usually based it on the care based thinking approach of do unto others. An example of this is when I first began selling television. I was one of four salespeople, the only woman, being paid a small base with my income primarily coming from commission. Working for FOX television, which was then a start up, was a difficult selling task and a highly competitive environment. We had no ratings and were working hard to obtain advertisers. This meant that every sale counted for my own livelihood and to meet station quotas to stay employed - a great deal of pressure. On one occasion I received a lead from a company in Windham. When I arrived for the appointment, the man I spoke with was in his 50 s and explained he had a small recycling company. It wasn t doing well so he wanted to get the word out by advertising on TV. However, he was seriously stretched for cash and had decided to put the only extra money he had, $1,000, towards advertising. He liked the idea of FOX because it was a startup like him and the rates were very low (because of low audience numbers). He asked me to return the following week with a proposal on how many commercials his $1000 would get him on our station. I walked out of there knowing his money would be wasted on our station and it would be like stealing. I consulted with sales management when I returned. They were hungry for any sale and suggested I close the sale. In an effort to do the best thing, I discussed with management the potential for being honest with him and letting him know it would be better to save up and run a schedule with us in tandem with another company for ensured success - I was weighing the ethical consequences of making this sale. The counsel I received was to take the deal because he was going to throw this money of his away somewhere since he didn t have enough to run a good schedule anywhere. 2
Hence, if he was going to throw it away anyhow, it might as well be with us, and so there was no ethical dilemma to consider. The pressure from management was huge and I desperately needed a sale. They saw it strictly as a truth vs. loyalty issue, which should be resolved with my loyalty to the company. In considering the outcome, my thinking involved these scenarios: 1. We take the money, knowing it s ineffective, and rationalize that he s going to throw it away somewhere. This would put me in good standing with management and help my income which was desperately needed. In this case I was engaging in ends-based thinking, considering who would be hurt and who would be helped, considering all of the consequences. 2. Go to the client and explain that he wasn t ready to advertise anywhere and that my strong advice was to wait until he could do so effectively. Explain I would love to work with him, but needed to be honest about what I saw he needed. This would put me in poor standing with management but would be the correct thing to do. 3. Simply advise him to use another station. In # 2 & #3 I was engaging in rule based thinking, considering if my approach was one I would hope others would model in my company, and what the results would be if everyone did this in our business. (The answer- it would be a much more ethical community). These both also involved care-based thinking which to me is very closely related to rule based thinking. After searching for the best right for the circumstances, I defaulted to my care-based thinking which is my guiding ethics principle. I considered how I would feel if the roles were reversed, and if I would want someone taking my money in this case. When I didn t take the money, as predicted, he spent his money on another television station, which really put me under the microscope with management. It also rippled through the sales departments at other stations that I had betrayed my product and loyalty. All of this supported management s idea that I had made the wrong decision in a clear case of truth vs. loyalty. The happy ending is thus: I felt ethically sound in my decision after a thorough consideration of the principles. 3
3) Articulate their personal viewpoints as informed by specialized perspectives (including those encountered in previous coursework) and distinguish their viewpoints from those of others. The Girl Scout Law I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, responsible for what I say and do, respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, and make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout. This is currently my 11 th year as a Girl Scout Troop Leader. I have received great personal reward from working with troop members on processing ethical dilemmas. The summarized message of our guiding principles, this law, is to always do your best to make decisions that are honest and good, and hold yourself to a higher standard. As an adult we know this can be complicated, yet the goal of our work with the troop is to bring them along in a way they can make these quality choices and always weigh decisions with the highest good in mind. In extrapolating from the Girl Scout Law being responsible for what I say and do, respecting myself and others, and making the world a better place teachings, when working with the girls at the younger levels (ages 5-10), the lessons primarily focused on ethical challenges of right vs. wrong since this is what they were developmentally able to process. Examples of this would be asking what choice they might make if presented with scenarios such as keeping or giving back a lost dog they thought was cute to the real owner, someone accidentally giving them the wrong amount of money for cookie sales, cheating on exams, lying to their parents. Basically, following teaching that supported the care based thinking ethics model of do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As the troop members matured (11-currently 16/17), we now work with them almost exclusively on exploring right vs. right choices. An ongoing topic of conversation revolves around their individual short term vs. long term dilemmas in being Girl Scouts. They are all high school juniors, and being a Girl Scout is looked upon as nerdy and babyish, as it doesn t have the clout now as when they were younger. It also takes up considerable time from already busy academic, sports, work, and other schedules. When they were younger, we had 12 troop members and are now down to three for these very reasons. The three remaining members are devoted to seeing this through to graduation as they love the community service work and the learning Girl Scouts offers, and appreciate the advantage it gives them on college applications. Assuming they see 4
this through another 1.5 years, they will have been Girl Scouts 11 years, which is most of their lives. Their ethical dilemma lies in the fact they don t want anyone to know they are Girl Scouts in the short run (now), yet want to be Girl Scouts for the long term benefits and the long run. If they stop doing Girl Scouts they will also stop doing the community service work which benefits others, along with their own growth surrounding the work we do on strategies of how to make the world a better place. They all feel strongly that openly admitting to being a Girl Scout would be social suicide, resulting in pressures that would cause them to quit. Their dilemma lies with the Girl Scout law and the promise to be honest and fair and is primarily a short-term vs. long-term dilemma, although it is intertwined with the truth vs. loyalty. They don t want anyone to know they are Girl Scouts now (shortterm benefits of not damaging social status) yet they want to be Girl Scouts for the overall benefits (long-term) received. The loyalty issue is contrasted with their pledge to the greater Girl Scouts community to be honest and fair against their community service work and the greater good they can do in the world because of Girl Scouts. This has been an issue for them since beginning High School. At present, they are operating under the ends based thinking philosophy which means they can do the highest good for the most people by remaining in the troop and trying to keep it secret. They each have decided not to lie about being Girl Scouts, so if someone asks they will admit to it, yet they will not be forthcoming stating they belong to the organization. These conversations have been a great example of working through the many faces of an ethical dilemma and processing the different thinking models involved in arriving at a conclusion that is best at the current time. 4) Employ their own ethical framework as a basis for and assessment of an action that resonates with the themes of the course. Another demonstration of this is through my work with Girl Scouts. The troop works with money (cookie sales and fundraisers) and encounters many scenarios where there are teaching moments in regards to ethics. As one of the troop leaders, we use these scenarios as an opportunity to bring them back to the founding ethical principles of the Girl Scout Law, asking them if their decisions are in keeping with our promises. Many times this requires analysis of the law, the scenario, and involves large ethical discussions. A few years ago, we had a sales table inside Lowe s on a busy Saturday morning, with plenty of cookies to sell and a tip jar for those who wanted to contribute but didn t want to purchase cookies. 5
One teaching moment came when a gentleman accidentally put a $50 bill in the tip jar. A typical donation is usually $1-$5. After he left our selling area, the girls were all abuzz and whispering about the donation. They thanked him yet didn t say anything to him about the possibility of him making a mistake the sin or omission, even though they all knew it was most likely the case. On the surface they didn t realize an ethical dilemma had been presented them, although we understood they knew it in their hearts. They also knew, as we did, they were not following the constructs of the Girl Scout law of being honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, and making the world a better place.. We talked through the scenario with the girls to identify if this was a right vs. wrong scenario, or a right vs. right one, or if there was in fact, any ethical dilemma at all. There was the potential that he wanted to make the donation of that amount, or the fact that people make mistakes sometimes and it was his responsibility to be aware of his actions, not ours. Some of the conversation points were: Did he mean to make the $50 donation, or did he accidentally pull the wrong bill from his wallet? If he pulled the wrong bill from his wallet, what would he have intended to give instead? What if he intended to give us $5 and the other $45 was going to be used for a gift for someone, groceries, or his lunch that day? What if the remaining $45 was all he had for spending money that week? When we considered ends based thinking they arrived at the fact the money would go towards the troop causes, which were community service based and would benefit a lot of people, for the greatest good. We explored rule-based thinking with conversation about whether or not their lack of inquiry on mistakes is a behavior they d like to see more of in their own lives. Finally, we explored care-based thinking and considered if this follows the do unto others reasoning, which is a large construct of the Girl Scout law. They resolved the dilemma by individual vs. community thinking, realizing that it was more important to honor his rights as an individual than the financial benefits to the greater community. The girls searched the store found the gentleman. They asked him if he intended the large donation which he didn t. He had indeed intended to pull a $5 bill from his wallet. He was so grateful for their honesty that he donated $20. 6
5) Demonstrate effective oral and written communication that draws on the higher level cognitive skills: analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Evidence of this are the skills needed to effectively communicate as a Girl Scout Troop leader. I have been in this volunteer capacity for 11 years, beginning with 6 year olds and now working with 16 year olds. At each age group and associated level of Girl Scouts, it has required research, development, and age appropriate presentation of learning cells to the troop members. Over the years, members join or leave, which creates a constantly changing group dynamic, combined with their ongoing developmental changes. Working with the troop through the years has provided me with the exceptional experience of learning to constantly evaluate and redefine ways to present materials which will be relative and impactful to our troop. These presentations require effective oral and written delivery in order to secure their attention. As a troop leader, I am constantly evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing our presentations. Often these requires doing so and making adjustments during a presentation, volunteer field trip, or other learning opportunities. Additional documentation: Letter from Maureen Cott, Girl Scout co-troop leader Letter from Ann Gagne, Business Manager, FOX TV Letter from Jeanne Muse, former employee, Festival Resource Group Resume 7