Ethical Conduct

Exploring Ethics and Teacher Conduct in a Suburban School District

Three Things I Learned From This Article

1. Reasons

• Tying teacher competency to test results is putting immense pressure on teachers
• Professional development is needed to ensure that professionalism is at the core of a teachers ethics

2. It is not always intentional

• Many policies are not clearly defined
• Teachers want equality
• Policies are sometimes biased

3. Professionalism

• The ethics of professionalism provides a direct connection between teachers who violate policies and those who do not
• Teachers who do not value professionalism are much more likely to violate policy, both local and high stakes

Two Ways the Article is Related to my School District's Policy

1. Equality

• The article stresses that most teachers are striving for equality
• It is in my districts policy that all students are to be treated equally and given equal opportunities for success

2. Professionalism

• It is stated in our district policy that all teachers and administrators are to conduct themselves professionally at all times
• Professionalism is to be carried out when dealing with colleagues and students alike

One Thing I Would Like to Implement as a Result of Critiquing the Article

Professional Development

• Professional development is key to school success
• Teachers should be required to attend ethical professional development on an annual basis

Standard 8

• Professionalism and ethics are vital to a successful school
• There are legal consequences to not following the code of conduct
• All students and teachers should be treated equally regardless of diversity