Skip to main content

Remembering Professional Ethics

I just finished Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny, a quick read that I picked up from Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor on my birthday. Written by Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale, the book is terrifying in its parallels between World War II and 2017.

As a teacher, the chapter on professional ethics stood out to me the most. Snyder writes that

Professions can create forms of ethical conversation that are impossible between a lonely individual and a distant government. If members of professions think of themselves as groups with common interests, with norms and rules that oblige them at all times, then they can gain confidence and indeed a certain kind of power. (41)
He argues that its members within professions--doctors, lawyers, and businessmen--that abandoned their norms and ethics and allowed such atrocities to occur under Hitler. Had they united and refused to comply, he argues that the Nazis would have had a much more difficult time carrying out their plans.

As teachers, we are obliged to follow the Michigan Professional Educator's Code of Ethics, which can be found here. The common good, mutual respect, equity, diversity, and truth and honesty -- lofty, but good reminders of the importance of the work we undertake and our obligations to our students and society.

During these tumultuous times, we must cling to our professional standards and organizations. Renew your memberships, revisit your teaching philosophy, and continue fighting the good fight.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Handwritten Cue Cards in the 21st Century

I just stumbled upon this behind-the-scenes clip of Saturday Night Live's cue card process. This is intense writing. This is writing that is dependent upon trust and checks and balances. Over a short period of time, skits are written, drafted on cards, revised, and the cards revised over and over again. I also really love that SNL continues to use cue cards and not a teleprompter. Like Wally points out, technology can fail. Handwritten cue cards ensure the show goes on. Comedy is hard work. Writing is hard work. Changes are made up until the last minute to get things just right. This is a form of real-world writing.

Don't Be Misled by $778 At-Risk Payments

Governor Snyder recently proposed a $778 increase per economically disadvantaged pupil in Michigan. At first glance, this looks good. Who can argue with an announcement like this: An increase of $150 million, to a total of $529 million, to ensure that children in difficult financial situations are getting the help they need. All districts and public school academies will now be eligible to receive an additional $778 per pupil to assist at-risk students. After all, it's money for at-risk students . We instantly assume that the governor is proposing helping our neediest students, which should make us all jump for joy. And we know from the adequacy study done last year that our poorest students require greater funding (30% more!) to educate if we ever hope to close the achievement gap, not to mention their general recommendation of $8,667 per pupil as a foundation allowance (note that many districts in Michigan still receive far less than this). But the real problem of inequ

MCTE Musings

I always look forward to the last Friday in October. Since my junior year in college, I don't think I've missed a fall conference of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English--and I certainly don't plan on it any time soon. Just as I could feel the stress building this past week, I knew that MCTE, just like other quality days of professional development like summer institutes of the National Writing Project, would be a panacea for so many job-related frustrations and would provide answers for questions I've been wrestling with for months. Like always, I left with my head spinning--and that's a sign of quality professional development. You leave knowing that there's so much more to be accomplished. Your work, despite all the long hours and years of practice, is really only beginning to unfold in front of you. Yesterday, Penny Kittle spoke about how every student is on a personal learning journey, and I'm thinking about how my classroom reflects that. I&