“Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession.”
Teachers serve as a public face of education, therefore we are expected to behave in ways that maintain the public’s faith in the system. Nothing we do, either on duty or off, can be perceived as shady or questionable. Even if nothing that actually violates this standard has occurred, even being seen as such can lead to a lot of problems for us and the education system as a whole.
Now luckily nothing during my practicum happened that even comes close to this; however, I do have a bit of a funny anecdote showing how choice of words alone can lead to misunderstanding.
In my class, just like any other, motivational and classwork output levels varied drastically. As that class’s teacher at the time, it was my job to try to improve class engagement and assignment completion. Unfortunately, some students are highly resistant to proper utilization of class time despite my many efforts.
One day, while discussing my struggles with my coaching teacher, I expressed my thoughts that sometimes students just need a “poke in the ribs” sometimes. Now, of course I meant this in a figurative sense, but my coaching teacher checked with me to make extra certain that this was the case. After we both finished laughing following my confirmation, I also provided assurance that I would not be reaching for a lighter and kindling when I was attempting to “light fires under people.”
Pictured above: excellent tool for educational purposes in the lab, not for motivation. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Other things I was warned about during that time was posting pictures or statuses on social media that may appear suspect. Thankfully, I only use a couple platforms so see posts of others, very seldom doing so myself. I’m also not much of a fan of having my photo taken so there are very few on the Internet.
In fact, it was kind of amusing when we all attempted to Google ourselves during our social media workshop. Because of my name and Google’s tendency to swap words around, the bulk of what I found in the search were a bunch of men named Donald Lacey that I had never met. Adding in WordPress guided to the link for this very blog and I found my Facebook page (set to private already), therefore I feel confident in believing in my adherence to this standard.