Business Ethics

I am teaching Business Ethics this fall, and it's always quite a ride. The ride is an especially interesting one this particular term, in view of everything going on in the news. The election and dirty politics could keep me busy all term, but Wall Street is running a close second.

What is most difficult, however, is the inability of some students to leave their own personal values and morals at the door (to some degree) in order to understand that Business Ethics is it's own "rulebook".

One colleague jokingly called Business Ethics an oxymoron. Maybe it wasn't such a joke. In looking for businesses codes of ethics online yesterday, I found many links for Halliburton's Code of Ethics, but each page had been removed.

I'll check in occasionally with the progression of this very intriguing class, and please send along any tidbits that you feel would be interesting fodder for the class.

Math is a Battlefield

As both a homeschool mom and adult education instructor, I find that one of the most dirty words a teacher can utter to a student is "math", or any variation thereof. My kids at home know that math is our first subject of the day, so they drag their feet throughout breakfast in the hopes of delaying the inevitable.

My adult students also, for the most part, detest math. I always incorporate math lessons within both Excel and Access, and there is never a shortage of heavy sighs and eye-rolling.

What's a teacher to do?

I've discovered that there are a lot of resources online. Google "fun with fractions", for example, and check out some sites. I try to keep cool links available for those who visit this blog, such as Kathy Schrock and Jim Moulton. Brainpop is another awesome site to check out.

Other ideas offline? Go find math in your backyard (gardening); kitchen (cooking); driveway (oil change); grocery store (coupon shopping); baseball games (stats).... you get the picture.

Any ideas to share?