The consideration of questions of morality and ethics, of right and wrong is not confined to churches and mosques and synagogues; it also exists outside religious frameworks, notably in the schools and in teaching. In this article, the author extends the exploration of ethics into the classroom where virtually all acts of writing, language, and literature involve choices of right and wrong. She examines the centrality of ethics to the act of teaching, reflecting on examples of teachers breaking and bending school rules for what they believe to be ethical reasons. She contends that English teachers are expected not only to live an ethical life but also to extend their work in the classroom and with their students.