Please Help Ethical Dilemma?

Mr. Snow, an 8th grade teacher, has skilled for your school for 20 years. You are the principal of the school, and just found out that Mr. Snow does not own a teaching degree or teaching credentials. Instead of have the master's degree that his records reflect, you hold learned that this teacher actually dropped out of college after one year as an undergraduate. However, Mr. Snow is, by every weigh up, one of the very best, most respected, and most reliable teachers in your university. Last year, Mr. Snow was voted "Most Valuable Faculty Member" by the other faculty members.

No one (to your knowledge) knows give or take a few Mr. Snow's background except for you and Mr. Snow. Mr. Snow doesn't know that you know. You stumbled across this information while cleaning out very old chronicles from your office. It seems that when Mr. Snow was hired, his father be the president of the school board.


Should you expose Mr. Snow or allow the deception to continue? Would your pronouncement change if Mr. Snow were not outstanding but merely average? Would your decision vary if you knew Mr. Snow was to retire with a full allowance in only 1 and a half more years?
The absolute truth is I would fail in this ethical dilemma -- distinctly he's a good guy and a good teacher.....I don't one-sidedly think it's necessary to have a Masters to train -- you just need to love it and KNOW HOW TO GET TO THE KIDS' HEADS so they'll pay attention. That alone make a good teacher. I would take that surreptitious to the grave with me. I do realize that he maybe shouldn't get as much pay packet because of the lack of degree but I worked as a paralegal for many years (you usually have to go to school for it) -- I be considered one because of my years of experience and know-how.....regardless. Considering that tax payers are paying for his salary, and he shouldn't be making adjectives he is making, I'd write an anonymous letter and let someone know.
It is not unethical it is dishonest. So maybe you were meant to find these documents and set him straight. He shouldn't be allowed to do what no one else is allowed to do.
does someone really need degree to teach?? Summarily fire him the second I found out. I am not going to be an partner to fraud.
This is a really sticky situation. The first question would be was there a rule at the time of his hire that he have to have a degree. If not you should be good. If so afterwards you could be risking your own position if not career. In this situation I would likely hold to take action, not out of malice but as self preservation. I would not in recent times sell him up the river of course. I would first try to find a position that would allow him to keep working but within a place that did not require the degree but allowed him to keep his pension if I could. If not I would bring him surrounded by and privately advise him of the situation and give him the chance to walk off with his dignity and without the stain of scandal. Part of the problem as I see it is whether his not having a point for all those years would have a negative affect on the diplomas of the hundreds of students he qualified. Tough one.
I am sure the board has a policy for this situation. Contact them anonymously for advice - disappear all identifying info out of it. There is way to much within your story above that the board can use to identify.

Just ask simply - "what is the policy when a teacher does not have the required credentials?". That might be enough to see off an investigation.

But really, also consider that you found "very old information", more later 20 years old. Maybe the status of Mr/ snow wrt credentials has changed since then!

And btw, I don't believe you are the principal, otherwise you would know full all right what the policy is, how to handle such a situation, and so on, which would NOT be what I mentioned above, but to have a private and discreet meeting next to Mr. Snow to clarify matters.

So maybe you should consider your own ethics and motivation here....whats up really? What is your agenda?