Integrity is a consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. Integrity is the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one’s actions.
On September 2, 2011, Rochester’s children will begin another school year. The environment they enter will be the sole responsibility of the adults that have chosen to educate them. Regardless of their home life, the teachers to whom they are assigned will be one of their major role models. It is necessary that teachers provide a model of integrity for the student to imitate and emulate in order to insure the best possible outcomes of personal success for that child.
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity. Respect has great importance in everyday life.
We have been taught that in order to get respect we must give respect. The breakdown in this theory is the assumption that everyone has respect to give. Before you can give respect to others you must have respect for yourself.
Too many children come to school not having respect for themselves. As teachers it is imperative that students are given every opportunity to experience respect for themselves so that they can begin to give respect to others. We must point out and model the necessity to respect oneself first so that they may understand that everyone deserves respect.
It may seem that integrity and respect are inherent in humans but they are not. Both must be taught and modeled by adults if we have the expectation of these behaviors for children.
As teachers ready themselves for the coming school year it is important to remember that students are not responsible for the conditions under which they must learn. They did not create the policy that placed them in overcrowded classrooms or insufficient learning conditions. They did not draft the legislation that required persistent test prep or teacher evaluation.
Teach, role model integrity and respect. Rise above the mandated failure of education and teach to the child.
It is what children desire and deserve!
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