While reading The Ethics of Teaching, I have been pulled back and forth between the opposing views presented in this book and their weaknesses debated through out the cases and discussions. The reading ignites thinking on how we make judgments. Towards the end of Chapter 5, the authors describe an innate characteristic of all humans to seek justice.

When faced with the word justice, many images come to mind. First of all, the blind scale of the judicial system. Then, I think of officers and handcuffs. Maybe it’s just me, but all of my images of justice have to do with punishment. Justice being served seems to always be followed by the locking of cell doors. The book states, "justice demands that evil be punished" (28), but retribution complicates this by making the punishment fit the crime.

Earlier this week I left a comment on a post disputing another comment about ethics and fairness. I felt that in order for things to be ethical, things usually had to be fair, but is this really the issue and if so, does justice follow the same guidelines?