Standard 1 - Modeling Ethical and Moral Behavior

Teacher leaders model ethical and moral behavior.

As a teacher, we are tasked with helping to model responsible and ethical adult behavior. This is not something that some teachers enter the profession thinking about. That we are role models, at least to some extent, can be a daunting realization and something for which not all teachers are prepared. We have seen time and again the importance of being leaders rather than followers in education. This leadership also requires that we be examples for other teachers, not just our students.

There are many difficulties inherent in being a teacher. The environment of public schools has changed so much over the past several decades that the classroom is a place where there are many possible dangers and pitfalls that teachers must manage. As Pace (2015) stated, “the complex dynamics of teaching are shaped both by longstanding tensions inherent in classroom teaching process and the current political, social, and policy environment” (emphasis in original, p. 114). Through several of our classes, we saw examples of teachers and administrators being examples of ethical and moral behavior. We further saw this through our professors and peers as we navigated through this program.

One of the culminating projects regarding our personal ethic as teachers comes from our Moral Issues in Education class. The moral education framework we created in this class required me to really reflect on what drew me to teaching and why I remain in the classroom. This inward look resulted in my own personal realization. I know that many see teaching as a calling of sorts and believe that they have some higher purpose in being a teacher. Some would claim they have a mission to be a light to the world and that their place is in education, working with children and young adults during their most impressionable years. While I would agree that being a teacher means that we are responsible for playing a large part in a young one’s life, but I do not really believe that education is a calling, at least for me.

For me, teaching is a job, plain and simple. As I stated in my moral education framework, there are many different professions I can see myself pursuing, but there is one thing that keeps me returning to teaching. I want to affect change is my students’ lives. This change may be connected to mathematics, but also may have no relation to my content area at all. I realize this is probably not too different than what people mean when they say they have a calling to teaching, but I feel like it is different in some way. A quote from Wirzba (2016) that really struck me is, “I think it is possible to show up in a human life and not really live it at all. I mean, you can have a good life ‘on paper’, but then discover that what looks good on the page has hardly been lived from the heart and with a sense of significance of what is going on” (p. 18). For some reason, this stuck with me as something to keep in mind as a teacher. Being a teacher ‘on paper’ is something that is considered admirable by many, but if it is not something that you feel passionate about, it is going to be all for naught. You will not have the impact that most, if not all, teachers want to have.

One of the greatest ways in which I believe I can influence my students is through building relationships. I truly believe that building a strong relationship with my students will allow me to have an impact that goes far beyond the classroom. Cummins (2001, p. 1) is quoted as saying, “Human relationships are the heart of schooling. The interactions that take place between students and teachers and among students are more central to student success than any method of teaching literacy, or science, or math. When powerful relationships are established between teachers and students, these relationships frequently can transcend the economic and social disadvantages that afflict communities and schools alike in inner city and rural areas” (as cited in Shepard et al., 2012, p. 49).

Creating an environment where my students feel empowered to share their work, ask questions, to take risks, and to discuss with me the difficulties they are having is my ultimate goal. Being a trusted adult that students can turn to when they are having tough times is where I believe I can create the greatest effect and change on my students lives. In the paper I linked above, I have detailed my belief that the greatest impact teachers can have on their students is through relationships. This belief is where my moral and ethical system is rooted as an educator. There are many ways that we teachers can impact our students. Some are positive and some are negative. Some are solely content-based and some are more relationally-based. I hope that I can be, and will continually work toward being, a positive and trusted adult to whom students may turn when they are having difficulty with content or with their lives. I hope that my impact on students will be felt long after they have left my charge. And, I hope that I can live and teach as a person who does not just look good ‘on paper’, but as one who has made an impact on the lives of both my students and peers and that when I look back on my career it is one that will not have been practiced in vain.

Pace, J.L., (2015). The charged classroom: Predicaments and possibilities for democratic teaching. New York: Rutledge.

Shepard, J., Salina, C., Girtz, S., Cox, J., Davenport, N., & Hillard, T. L. (2012). Student success: Stories that inform high school change. Reclaiming Children And Youth, 21(2), 48-53.

Wirzba, N. (2016). Way of love. New York: HarperCollins.

Standard 5 - Culturally Inclusive Classroom

Standard 5 - Teacher leaders will establish a culturally inclusive learning climate that facilitates academic engagement and success for all students.

"...the complex dynamics of teaching are shaped both by longstanding tensions inherent in classroom teaching process and the current political, social, and policy environment" (Pace, 2015, p. 114). Teaching in the White Center community of Seattle has offered me the opportunity to work with and instruct a highly diverse group of students. Still, my experience with creating a culturally inclusive classroom was minimal. Throughout the Teacher Leadership program, I have had several chances to work on my ability to create an inclusive, engaging classroom for all students. 

There have been several classes that required us to work on creating an inclusive classroom for all students. Culturally Responsive Teaching is on of several classes that challenged us with finding ways to broaden our practice so that all students can experience success. In this class we researched the many racial, gender, and socioeconomic issues that have plagued the American education system from the beginning. We had to reflect on where we are as individuals within America and within the education system. Further, we looked at where we stand, as teachers, in our practice, what we do well, and what we can do better. Additionally, we looked at where American education has come from and where it is headed as we move forward. The final product for this class is an example of the ways in which we had to analyze where today's schools are at and how to move forward.

In addition to Culturally Responsive Teaching, I had the opportunity to take American Education: Past and Present. This class provided further insight as to where our education system has been and where it is headed. We researched many of the movements that have taken place in education systems and philosophies throughout the world. We looked at the Ancient Greeks, Russian, Chinese, and European influences that have shaped education throughout time. The American school system is sort of an amalgamation of many of the worlds' traditions that, at one time or another, were considered the way to educate. In this class, I found that some of the ideas concerning teaching have been around for a long time. Blaisdell (2000) argues that Tolstoy knew, “what was successful in the class one day did not necessarily succeed the next” (p. 1). The idea that teaching is a constantly shifting enterprise that requires our constant reflection and adjusting in order to reach our students. To do this and to create an inclusive environment, I have come to the realization that we teachers need to continually work to build relationships with our students, their parents, and the community in which they live. My final product for this class focused on this idea that relationships are key to help students achieve success.

Going back to Culturally Responsive Teaching, we researched and determined some of the steps that are necessary in order to create a truly inclusive classroom and education system. Some of the ideas have been shared above, primarily that relationships with our students, their parents, and the community. Another idea was shared by Gary Howard (1996), "The first step is to approach the past and present with a new sense of honesty" (p. 329). The call to recognize and acknowledge that there are many populations who have been marginalized in the American education system is another important step when creating an inclusive system. James A. Banks (1996) shared another important aspect of creating this system, "Transformative teaching enables students to take actions that will help to reform U.S. society so that its unum will be authentic and have moral authority among the nation's diverse groups. A reformed U.S. society will help to liberate and empower all of the nation's citizens" (p. 344). Using the tools I have learned and researched in this program will help me to become the transformative teacher Banks is talking about to help bring about change. To start, I believe I have to continually get to better know and understand my students and their culture, and to show them that I care about them and their situations. 

References:

Banks, J.A., (1996). Transformative knowledge, curriculum reform, and action. In Banks, J.A. (Ed.), Multicultural education, transformative knowledge, and action: Historical and contemporary perspectives (pp. 323-334). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Howard, G., (1996). Whites in multicultural education: Rethinking our role. In Banks, J.A. (Ed.), Multicultural education, transformative knowledge, and action: Historical and contemporary perspectives (pp. 323-334). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Pace, J.L., (2015). The charged classroom: Predicaments and possibilities for democratic teaching. New York, NY: Routledge.

Tolstoy, L.N. (2000). Tolstoy as teacher: Leo Tolstoy’s writings on education. B. Blaisdell (Ed.). (C. Edgar, Trans.). New York, NY: Philmark Lithographics.