The Discovery of Borrowed Speeches

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Type: Article

Topics: Ethics, School Administrator Magazine

April 01, 2025

Appears in April 2025: School Administrator

Ethical Educator

Illustration of a trash bucket filled with a ribbon, champagne and a book Scenario: Upon retirement of their much-loved superintendent of the past 12 years, the district鈥檚 communications director decides to gather his inspiring speeches over that time into a bound volume as a gift to him, along with a digital version for the district website. During the proofing process, she discovers the superintendent borrowed considerable text from other articles and presented them as his own. Instances of plagiarism were spotted in many presentations, a discovery shared with president of the school board. The communications director, not wanting to shame the retired superintendent publicly, is unwilling to let the plagiarism slide. How ought she proceed?

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The Ethical Educator panel consists of

Sheldon H. Berman, author of Implementing Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from School Districts鈥� Successes and Setbacks.
Susan Enfield, superintendent-in-residence, ILO Group, Normandy Park, Wash.
Baron Davis, CEO and founder, The Neogenesis Group, Columbia, S.C.; and
Maria G. Ott, Irving R. and Virginia A. Melbo chair in education administration, University of Southern California.

Each month, School Administrator draws on actual circumstances to raise an ethical decision-making dilemma in K-12 education. Our distinguished panelists provide their own resolutions to each dilemma.

Do you have a suggestion for a dilemma to be considered?
Send it to: magazine@aasa.org

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