Lesson 7

Teacher’s Ethical and Professional Behavior

Objectives:
At the end of the lessons, you expected to:
1. Identify the provisions of Article III governing the ethical and professional
behavior of professional teachers;
2. Describe teacher’s ethical and professional behavior yin the community through
concrete examples; and
3. Elaborate on community’s expectations from teachers and on teacher’s
expectation from communities.
Content of the Lesson/Short Readings/Explanation
Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers
Teachers are expected to be part of the community which definitely means
participation in the life of that community. What is that community being referred to? The 8
Sections of Article III of the Code of Ethics refers to the community within the school and
the community outside the school. The various Sections of Article III provide details on how
can teachers be a part of the community.

Teacher as Facilitator of Learning

Facilitator comes from the world ‘facilitate’
which means to make something easy or easier. The
professional teacher facilitates learning or make learning
easier. Learning is a difficult tasks and is made easier when a
professional teacher makes learning easier when he/she simplifies the complex and
concretize the abstract and make a dry lesson interesting, exciting and enjoyable, this is
what is ethical for every professional teacher ought to do. This is expected of you after years
of academic preparation.
To facilitate learning, a conducive environment is necessary. It has been proven that
learners learn best in a pleasant environment. A conducive learning environment id where
the learners can be themselves because teachers and classmates truly care and all forms of
bullying has no place. A conducive learning environment makes learners believe they can
do the work and the feel accepted for who they are. A favorable learning climate is not
competitive where everyone is tense.
 The teacher who believes that “every child deserves a champion, an adult who will
never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become
the best the best they can possibly be,’ is a facilitator of learning.

Teacher Leadership and Initiative for Community Participation

Section 2 of Article III refers to the ‘Leadership and initiative of the professional
teacher to participate in community movements for moral, social, economic and
civic bettrment of the community.’

Schools are at the heart of communities and professional teachers are expected to be
be-in-the-world with others and for others. Professional teachers do not live in an ivory
tower, meaning they are not supposed to be removed nor aloof from community life.
The words in Section 2 state to “provide leadership and initiative”. This implies that as
a professional teacher, he/she does have to wait for community to ask for help. As Section 6
explicitates on professional leadership, “every teacher is an intellectual leader in the
community, especially in the barangay, and shall welcome the opportunity to provide
leadership when needed, to extend counseling services, as appropriate, and to be actively
invoved in matters affecting the welfare of people”.
Section 2 states that the professional teacher ought totake the initiative to offer help
for the improvement of the community. Professional teachers can be a guidance counselor, a
prayer leader, commentator or reader in eligious celebrations, fiesta coordinator, judge or
coach for a contest, financial adviser, a nurse or doctor rolled into one.
Providing leadership and initiative also means working with the community. This
means getting the parents and other members of the community participate in school
activities.
Teachers, as they participate in community affairs prove that the are “the most
responsible and most important members of society because their professional efforts affect
the fate of the earth.”

Professional Teacher with Honor and Dignity

Section 3 states: “Every teacher shall merit reasonable social recogmition for
which purpose he shall behave with honor and dignity at all times and refrain
from such activities as gambling, smoking, drunkenness, and other excesses
much less illicit relations.”

Obviously, the moral authority and integrity is lost or diminished when a

professional teacher is an inveterate gaambler, chain smoker, alcoholic or is engaged in an
illicit affair.
Society expects so much of teachers that when they fail to live up to the challenge to
behave or model good behavior, they are ‘condemned without trial.’ It is no wonder why
many are apprehensive to answer the call to teach. Society seems to expect much more from
professional teachers and look at them with scrutinizing eyes compared from other
professionals. To be credible as community leader, professional teachers shall behave with
honor and dignity twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

As a qoutation states “The influence of a good teacher can never be erased but the
influence of a dishonorable teacher is as lasting.”

Teacher’s Attitude Toward Local Customs and Traditions

Section 4 expects “every teacher to live for and with the community and shall,
therefore study and understand local customs and traditions in order to have a
sympathetic attitude, therefore refrain from disparaging the community.”

The professional teacher is neither ethnocentric nor xenocentric. He/She is not

ethnocentric and so does not look down on community’s culture because of the thought
that his/her culture is superior to the culture of the community. Neither is he/she
xenocentric and looks at his/her culture as inferior in to other community’s culture.
A community is fortunate to have teachers who live with them and exert effort to
understand their local customs and traditions and consequently appraciate the same.
Every culture has its positive and negative aspects. What we need to pass on are the
positive aspects of the culture and purify the negative aspects with teacher pointing them
out tactfully and sincerely.

The Professional Teacher and Information Update

Section 5 states that “the teacher shall help the school inform the community about
the school’s work, accomplishments, needs and problems.”

Community here refers to internal as well as external stakeholders. Internal

stakeholders include the students, the parents of the students, the teachers and the
alumni. The external stakeholders are the other parents in the community without
children enrolled in school, barangay and other government offcials, government and
non-government organizations, alumni, and residents of the community. These
stakeholders need to be informed because the school is there for the community and so
the community has the right to be informed about its activities, accomplishments, needs
and problems. Infroming them about the school’s projects, needs and problems give them
a sense of ownership. Having a sense of ownership, the stakeholders will participate more
actively in the resolution of the school’s problems and needs.
The Parents-Teachers Association

There is a Parents’ and Teachers’ Association (PTA) in place in every school. Some
private schools call it Home School Association or Family Advisory Council. A PTA is an
internal association of teachers and parents with children enrolled in the school. It is a
forum for discussions on school problems and how they can be solved.

The School Governing Council

The School Governing Council (SGC) has different membership and functions. The
SGC as a policy-making body has the school head as Chief Executive Officer, Manager and
Chief Operations Officer. The council determines generalpolicies on student welfare,
discipline, well-being. It is concerned with the development and implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and reporting of the SIP
implementation to the Schools Division Superintendent and the community.
This SGC shares in the management of the school with the School Head as Chair. The
formation of SGC in every school is a proof of school head sharing his/her leadership with
members of the community. This council is another opportunity for communities to
participate in school activites.

The Professional Teacher and Government Officials and Other Professionals

Section 7 states that “Every teacher shall maintain harmonious and pleasant
personal and official relations with other professionals, with government
officials and with the people individually or collectively.”

A professional teacher cannot afford not to be in pleasant relations with others

especially those with whom you work with like other professional teachers. It is always
best to be in good terms with everyone else in the community.
In Desiderata, it gives this advice: “As far as possible, without surrender, be in good
terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; listen to others, even the dull
and the ignorant, they too have their story.”

The Professional Teacher Does not Use Position to Proselyte

Section 8 states that “A teacher possesses freedom to attend church and worship as
appropriate, but shall not use his/her position and influence to proselyte
others.”

To be in a position means to have power or influence for a purpose, i.e. for one to
use that position to perform the job as a professional teacher. It is highly unprofessional
 for a teacher to use one’s position of influence to proselyte. Besides freedom of religion is
guaranteed by the 1987 Philippine Constitution. “No law sshall be made resspecting an
establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free exercise therof. The free exercise and
enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without descrimination or preference, shall
forever be allowed.”(Article II, Section 6)

Guide Questions:

Answer the following

1. What provisions in Article III of the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers
govern the following ethical and professional behaviour?
● Teacher as facilitator of learning
● Teacher as a professional
● Teacher initiative in community participation
● Teacher’s attitude toward local customs and tradition
● Teacher’s role as school’s informant
● Teacher’s relationship with officials and professionals

2. How do professional teachers manifest their ethical and professional behaviour in

the community? Describe these through concrete examples.
3. What are the community’s expectations from teachers/schools? Teacher’s
expectations from communities? Cite at least 3 expectations.
4. What does the term ‘community’ refer to in the context of Article III of the Code
of Ethics for Professional Teachers?
5. Are the PTA and SGC necessary in the school’s operation? Why or why not?

Let’s Write a Journal

Journal Entry # 7
Ethical and professional behavior. Integrate in your writing what you
learned in this lesson and write your reflection.
If given the opportunity, would you welcome teaching in the far filling
schools? Why or why not?
Self-Learning Activities

Answer the following

1. A professional teacher creates a conducive learning environment to facilitate learning.

Based on experiences, illustrate in a drawing or comic strip your concept of a conducive
learning environment.

2. The mother of Dr. Nelia Prieto was once a public school teacher. When Dr. Prieto was
in her preschool age, her mother taught in the remote barrios of the town and so where
her mother was assigned the family went along. Dr. Prieto can vividly recall how her
mother was dearly loved by the community. She was a teacher, counselor and consultant
to everyone, indeed a missionary. Her mother’s transfer to another school was always an
emotional one. To top it all, the most touching etched in Dr. Prieto’s memory was one
community leader had a big rooster. Many wanted to buy that rooster but he refused to
sell it. On the eve of their departure, he butchered it for the last evening meal with them.
Dr. Prieto will never forget such act of generosity. In their poverty, these people can give
all.
a. What is reflected in the community leader’s actuation towards Dr. Prieto’s
mother-teacher?
b. Would you welcome teaching in the far flung schools? Why or Why not?
c. If you take the call to teach in a far flung school, what should be doing more in
your pre-service education?

3. In what other ways can parents and community leaders be involved in the school to
improve school performance?
4. How should a professional teacher regard indigenous people’s culture?