Ethics in education is a neglected area, yet everything that is good in education springs from ethics while everything that is bad reflects the lack of them. When confronted with ethical questions concerning their administrators, colleagues, or students, educators often adopt the stance that "it is never too wise to be too honest." Honesty, however, is the beginning of ethics. Educators who see a conflict between ethical behavior and practical considerations might be guided by the philosophers Thoreau, Kant, and Nietzsche, among others, whose writings contain a clear call for honesty and courage. Thoughtful action is needed in all times; and whether or not educators engage in such action they cannot escape the state of their ethics being mirrored in their daily words. On a scale ranking the amount of freedom for integrity found in various occupations, Stuart Chase places that of professors at the midway point. Yet tenure provides educators with the academic freedom to ask ethical questions about such practices as neglecting students and teaching in order to do empty research; overtesting students; avoiding the real causes of illiteracy; ignoring the real needs of students, teachers, and administrators; questioning false methods and misleading claims; and handling censorship. If educators, even with tenure, find it too difficult to ask disturbing ethical questions and confront the answers, perhaps every school throughout the world should establish a loyal opposition, a person or group whose responsibility it is to ask trenchant ethical questions. (FL)