Week+6

**Discussion of Week 6 Issue- Teachers Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct**

A formal introduction to ethical practice in teaching provided a clear insight into what we should expect and also what is expected of us with regards to our conduct when entering the workforce as graduate teachers. Although this lecture and workshop shed light onto this significant issue, it was certainly an eye-opener as to just how much the system has changed from what was accepted in schools previously and to what extent parents can, for want of a better word, be paranoid about teachers and their relationships with students. Recently it was brought to my attention whilst having a conversation about the above issue, that no matter how you conduct yourself there will always be someone there to disagree with it. I was informed by an employer of mine that she was upset about how at her daughter's school, the class teacher never comforted/hugged her daughter when she was upset, even though she acknowledged that the teacher wasn't able to provide this interaction because of the law, she still wished that when she wasn't there that her daughter would be given the same attention/comfort that was provided at home. On the other hand my employer said that her own sister would be outraged if her children were ever touched/physically interacted with by their teachers, so it seems from even this small example that there will often be conflicting opinions when the issue of ethics is involved, particularly in relation to physical interaction between teacher and student.

The discussion paper presented by Forster, K. 1998, was an interesting view on promoting professional ethics in schools. It was interesting to note that there was a clear divide between the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics, the former being a prescriptive text with specific but minimal guidelines on conduct and the latter being an aspirational text that ensures a long-term commitment to important values because it demands more than just compliance. The Code of Ethics requires people to use their better judgment and take responsibility for their actions and their decisions. This paper also used the words collective, community and ethical school fairly frequently, inferring that an ethical school is a collective integration of the school community by where every member of the school community including, teachers, other school staff, students and parents have relationships that are characterised by respect, trust and consideration.

During today's workshop I noticed that the phrase "commonsense" was used very often when referring to ethical judgment and I wonder who actually defines a person's commonsense when there are so many different interpretations of personal conduct in everyday life. I understand the term commonsense but was just curious about it's use in this context. Author: Angela Partridge  This weeks topic was as Angela said an 'eye opener' as to how schools have changed over the years. When I was in primary school there was much more student teacher physical contact; I remember diving behind my desk to avoid the kisses of one female teacher, wrestling matches with a man who to a child’s eyes could only be described as a giant and teachers picking you up and dusting you off. I am not qualified to say if this level of contact was inappropriate however, I do know that it was totally innocent and came from genuine affection for the students under their care. It is a sad fact of life that there are people who commit horrible crimes against defenseless children and it is every parents right to expect that no harm will come to their child when in the care of a school, and being a father myself I am very protective of my child but at the same time I need to know that if she falls over someone will be there to comfort and tend to her. I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman however, as the statistics show a child is more likely to be abused by a male than a female and parents and the wider community have very different views on the subject as Angela has pointed out where one person would like her child comforted another would be horrified to learn that her child had been hugged or touched by a teacher.

In today’s overly litigious society there is a definite need for teachers to have a code of conduct that protects the teacher and the school from harmful publicity and legal action. I do believe all of us no matter what our social standing or profession must act morally and ethically in our dealings with others. I would say most of us do behave appropriately it's the small percentage who don’t that has forced us to take these measures and the fact is, I must be mindful of every move made around children even though I would never even entertain the thought of harming a child. As Angela has mentioned Forster's paper prompted some serious debate as to the effectiveness of a code of conduct and a code of ethics which is entirely aspirational. I was one of the people talking about "commonsense" and now after reading Angela's response I have to admit I was wrong, Angela is correct, who does define commonsense. Commonsense to me, an almost normal human and to a pedophile would be nothing alike, the same could be said for ethics and morals. It is perhaps an indictment on society that we must have these codes in the first place and that because of the actions of some very sick and twisted people, schools are perhaps a little more like a learning factory than a place where children can hang on to their innocence for just that little bit longer and teachers could do their jobs without fear of being accused of a crime. Author: Nick Power

On reading through Angela and Nick's comments, it is interesting how I too am driven to think very personally about the issues this week has addressed. I find the flood of biased emotions and personal experiences that are coming out of the woodwork somewhat ironic given the week's topic. In the tutorial we all seemed to discuss time and again in each group during the jigsaw exercise the gulf we felt between the somewhat niggling official code of conduct and ethics legislation and our own personal feelings on the same matters. We all understand the reasons behind such legislation of course - to protect both our students and ourselves. However it is still hard to separate our own personal feelings out when considering, for example, 'what one ought to do' when a little child falls and scrapes his knee in the playground. The official stance is that teachers are not to make physical contact with the distressed child in order to comfort them. In our discussions, however, we all struggled to accept this rationality, no doubt stemming from the natural empathy which prompted us to embark on this career as teachers. But presumably one would say that is a good thing - who wouldn't want to think, as Angela and Nick said, that their own child was receiving the same care and attention they would receive at home?

This brings to mind other items that had official prohibitions that Greg mentioned in the lecture. Greg put an amusing slant on the zealous new ladder laws as just one example of the current legislations governing in our schools, but it certainly highlighted for all of us listening just how much schools have changed since our own times there. There were certainly no prohibitions about climbing onto roofs to get balls in my day, but that is just a small example. In fact, throughout the lecture little alarms kept going off in my head as Greg listed the official no-nos rigorously in force today, that were absolutely disregarded when I was at primary school. I remember having staff around for tea and even having sleep-overs with my sister at our teacher's house. Such conduct would never be allowed today. At the time no-one thought anything of it and I still have fond memories of my teacher and primary school. However, now that I'm thinking about my own experience in the near future, hopefully in a country town also, I don't think I would feel comfortable blurring the personal and professional boundaries as much as that even if it were permitted. As Greg said, small country towns have their own way of absorbing people into the community. But Greg's comment that teachers almost never have a personal life, that they're always a public figure that must uphold their position of trust and responsibility in the community, hit home in a startling way - I would certainly be living in the next small town down the road if I had the choice.

As Angela and Nick said, in our own personal discussions this week, it seemed to come down to commonsense again and again. We agreed that some of the legislation seemed over-zealous, even to the point that it was sad that the chance for strong relationships with students could be jeopardized because of a minority that might abuse that trust with children. However, I guess it's a matter of if we make some allowances here and there, when does it stop? Sure we'd like to think that using our own commonsense and personal morality and ethics in a situation would be acceptable and 'the right thing to do'. But the sad reality is that there seems to be a need for official legislation in order to protect our children, and also ourselves, as Greg empathized in his stories about court cases and the need to always act professionally. Hopefully we can all live up to the high standard the community has set for us, even down to maintaining our 'professional smile', as Greg urged, no matter how hard it seems at the time. Author: Bianca Alvarez Harris

This week’s topic is particularly close to my heart having been involved extensively in both the Australian and Victorian Public Service Codes of Conduct. My professional experience has seen me train staff and reinforce often unpopular components of the Codes of Conduct. The most common complaint I heard during this time was that such a prescriptive document was not needed as people could apply a commonsense approach. I hate to disillusion anyone here but not everyone is capable of acting in a “commonsense” way or even to understand what that means. To support Angela’s earlier comment who decides what is commonsense, do we look for the lowest common denominator or do we set the bar at an aspirationally high level? Having also been involved in disciplinary action for people who have breached a Code of conduct I see the necessity in being prescriptive. Ignorance is not a defense and the perception of wrong doing is almost as important as the actions themselves. This applies even more in an industry or position that the general public has a right to certain expectations regarding behaviour.

Having said that, my immediate reaction to many of the so called no-no’s was that it was an overreaction. Upon further consideration I could see the logic in many of the rules but I am currently having trouble understanding how they apply in a school setting and I will be interested to see how we view this topic after our first practicum. Author: Beth McMullin