Four Ethical Frameworks

There are four ethical frameworks that pertain to what is wrong or right. Philosophers argue there is no specific way to determine whether a decision is ethically right or wrong. As such, the use of reason and moral judgment comes before the action. This essay seeks to examine a decision-making scenario whereby as a high school English teacher, I have noticed some students are in the school illegally. While it would be right to report the students to the school administration, it goes beyond moral reasoning to conduct such an action given that some students have challenges in their home country. This essay seeks to examine the four ethical frameworks and to apply them in making the decision of whether to report suspicious students or to fail to offer information to the school administration and protect the immigrant students.
Rights and Duties
Rights and duties are the first ethical framework. Rights define what persons and individuals should expect as part of their due, while duties are associated with the rights. The above ethical framework, therefore, contends that if people neglect their duties, the rights of others will be neglected. In the case study, it is clear that my duty as a high school teacher is the provision of instructions and guidance to students. An extended duty is to abide by the laws and policies of my employer [the institution]. Therefore by failing to report foreign students who might be in the institution illegally, above decision would be a breach of the institution policies and internal controls.

Failure to report immigrant students might potentially affect the rights of native students.
Maximizing Good in the World
The second ethical framework pertains to maximizing the amount of good in the world. The philosophy strives to balance the advantages or benefits of an action against the costs and the risks associated. The aim of the second ethical consideration is to promote the greatest happiness to a majority of people in the world. Based on the above moral philosophy, it would be instrumental to weigh the benefits, the costs, and the threats emanating from reporting the immigrant students to the school administration.
Making Decisions Freely
The third ethical framework pertains to making autonomous and independent decisions. People are likely to make informed and well-reasoned decisions when given the power and freedom to do that. Therefore the third moral philosophy is that everyone should be free to make own decisions as pertains to their lives. Based on the case study, I have the right to determine whether or not to report immigrant students based on personal reasoning and the freedom to make autonomous decisions and choices.
Moral and Virtuous Life
The final ethical consideration pertains to leading a moral and virtuous life. An action can be judged as right or wrong without examining the nature of the outcomes, results or consequences. More plainly, it is not the outcomes that substantiate an action as right or wrong, rather, it is the motivation and the principle through which the actions were done. Therefore based on the case study, it is imperative to weigh the motivation of reporting foreign students who are illegally in the country, to classify the action as right or wrong.
Conclusion
Personally, I believe the best course of action would be to report the students to the school administration. The above decision is based on the second ethical framework of maximizing the amount of good in the world. By reporting illegal immigrants, I will save my job, reputation and stand with my employer or the institution. Further, above decision will make it possible to protect the rights of other native students whose rights might potentially be affected by the immigrants. As such, it is a moral obligation to act in the best interest of the school administration, to protect the rights of native students, and to champion the nation’s constitution in general that condemns illegal immigration.