Module 2: Reinventing Miss Tapia EDUC.

212
You, The Teacher, as a Person in Society

Notes to the Learners

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The lessons in the Modules are designed to help the

learners attain the necessary knowledge and skills for them
to grow and live as holistic individuals able to thrive despite
COVID 19.

This learning module will focus on the teacher as a

person and as a professional within the context of national
and global teachers' standards and educational philosophies.
It will include professional ethics, core values, awareness of
professional rights, privileges and responsibilities as well as
the teachers' roles in the society as a transformative agent
of change.

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Module 2: Reinventing
Miss Tapia

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this Module and after actively participating in the live online class, I should
be able to:

 Define, discuss, and internalize the foundational principles of morality;

 Accept continuing values formation as an integral part of personal and professional
life;
 Explain and embrace teaching as a vocation, mission and profession; and
 Reflect on personal qualities I possess and those that can become a good foundation
in becoming a teacher.

Submitted by:

Date Submitted:

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The Foundational Principles of Morality and You

“When you carry out acts of kindness, you get a
wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something
inside your body and says, yes, this is how I ought to
feel.” -- Unknown

Society expects much from you, the teacher. For you to be

able to cope with these expectations, you should be anchored on a solid foundation of
moral and ethical principles. Now, read the succeeding short article.

“Do good; avoid evil.” This is contained in the natural law

which is engraved in the heart of every man and woman. WE have
in us the sense to do good that we ought to do and avoid evil that
we ought to avoid. This foundational moral principle of doing good
and avoiding evil is expressed in other many ways by different
people. Kung Fu Tzu, the Chinese philosopher taught the same
principle when he said: “Do not do unto others what you do not
want other do unto to you.” Immanuel Kant taught the same: Act in
such a way that your rule can be the principle of all.” The Buddhists
abide by the same moral principle in their Eightfold Path. The
Muslims have this foundational principle laid down in their Koran
and the Five Pillars. For Christians, the Bible shows the way to good
life – the Ten Commandments and the Eight Beatitudes.
Our act is moral when it is in accordance with our human
nature. Our act is immoral when it is contrary to our human nature.
Our intellect and free will make us different from and above the
beast.

What does the article tell you?

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Get hold of the main text for this course or perhaps a dictionary then try to answer the
questions that follow.

 What is morality? Provide an example.

Morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good
and bad behavior. For example , Always tell ,the truth , Do not destroy property , Have
courage , Keep your promises , Do not cheat , Treat others as you want to be treated ,
Do not judge , Be dependable , Be forgiving and Have integrity.

 What is the fundamental or foundational moral principle?

A foundational moral principle is, therefore, the universal norm upon which all other
principles on the rightness or wrongness of an action are based. It is the source of
morality. All men and women, regardless of race and belief, have a sense of this
foundational moral principle. It is ingrained in man's nature.

 Read Chapter 5 of the main text. It includes The Code of Ethics for Professional
Teachers, pp. 185-189. Based on this, describe how the professional teacher
ought to conduct himself/herself in the practice of the profession?

A. Test Your Understanding

Directions: Answer the following with a YES or NO. If your answer is NO, be sure you can
explain your answer.

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___NO____1. Is morality for persons or animals?

It is only for persons because only persons have intellect and will.
___NO____2. Is natural law known only by the learned?
Even the unschooled have a sense to do good and to avoid evil.
___YES___3. Did the primitive people have a sense of the natural law?
___NO___4. Is an animalistic act of man moral?
To be moral is to be human . Any acts that bring down man to the level of the brute
like any animalistic act is , therefore , not moral .
___NO____5. Is it right to judge a dog to be immoral if it defecates right there in your
garden?
Morality applies only to persons and not to animals because animals have no choice .
They are bound by their instincts.
___NO____6. Is the foundational moral principle sensed only by believers?
Even unbelievers have a sense to do good and avoid evil because this natural law is
written in every man’s heart.
___NO____7. Is the foundational moral principle very specific?
It is a general statement , “Do good and avoid evil . “
___YES____8. Is the foundational moral principle the basis of more specific moral
principles?
___YES____9. Is the foundational moral principle so called because it is the basis of all
moral principles?

___YES___10. Are the Ten Commandments for Christians more specific moral principles
of
the foundational moral principle?
___NO___11. Is the natural law literary engraved in every human heart?
No , not literally . But it is written or engraved in every human heart in the sense that
every man has a sense of the principle “ “Do good and avoid evil”
___YES___12. Are the Five Pillars of Islam reflective of the natural law?
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___YES___13. Is the Buddhist’s Eightfold Path in accordance with the natural law?
___YES___14. Is the golden rule for Christians basically the same with Kung-fu-tse’s
reciprocity rule?

What is your score? Refer to the last page of

this Module for the answer key. If your score
is below 12, I suggest you read the main text
again and take the re-test.

Embracing the Seminal Value of the Moral of the Story

I have provided questions for you to answer. Hopefully, these will guide you to a
grasp better of key points that leads to the fact that as a teacher, you are expected to be
a person of good moral character.

Directions: Answer the following in a sentence or two.

1. To be moral is to be human. What does this mean?

Humans are much more than biological animals. Humans live in social communities and
communicate abstract ideas by means of language. One of those abstract ideas are the
notions of right and wrong that every child learns by growing up in its natal family.

2. How does conscience relate to morality?

Conscience is your morality, your beliefs about right and wrong, which you must use to
realize meaning and purpose. Through our individual conscience, we become aware of
our deeply held moral principles, we are motivated to act upon them, and we assess our
character, our behavior and ultimately our self against those principles.

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3. Are man-made laws like the Teachers Professional Code of Ethics part of
natural law? Support your answer.

Man-made laws are sometimes formed from natural laws or physical laws. Codes of
ethics for professional teachers are not the same in every way, but they follow it because
they need to, and sometimes it's just the proper thing to do. Laws may limit what we do
but it also makes us stand on what is proper.

4. Do laws limit your freedom? Support your answer.

If we are to adhere to laws, I would say that our freedom will be a smooth sailing one
not being limited. Freedom and laws, for me, will be working altogether because laws
will give mankind the true freedom in a sense of giving them the assurance, providing
the good way of life or conduct which is beneficial to all. Without law, or rules to govern
our society, a "natural law" would develop wherein individuals would be left to their
own means to settle disputes. Depending on how you see human
nature, an "eye for an eye" could prevail in society. Our freedom
should not violate and harm other’s freedom too. And for this, we
have laws.

Journal Entry

“Do good; avoid evil” is the foundational moral principle.

Directions: List at least five good things that you have to do as a teacher and five evil
things you have to avoid doing.

 GOOD THINGS NEED TO DO

-Believe in my student`s potential
-Learn everything I can about my chosen field
-Be creative and think outside the box
-Be consistent and decisive
-Communicate
-Listen and show empathy to my students
-Set goals with my students
-Provide efficient learning guide

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-Don`t be afraid of taking risk

-Always be up-to-date

 BAD THINGS NEED TO AVOID

-slap or do something violent to your student.
- giving them stress and more pressure that can cause a mental break-down.
- lowering the confidence of your student by calling them names.
- comparing your advisory class to other classes.
- favoritism

Values Formation and You

Values formation is anchored on the belief in

transcendent values. It is also premised on the principle that
values are both caught and taught. Values have cognitive,
affective, and behavioral dimensions and so does the process
of value formation. For values to formation to be effective,
you need to have a rational understanding of the value(s), the
reason why you have to act on such and how you act on and live these values (cognitive
dimension). However, it is not enough that you understand the value(s), you must have
a “feeling for” the value(s) and acceptance of the value(s) (affective dimension). Your
acceptance of the value(s) is evident when your behavior or your life shows the value(s).
You value formation in essence is a training of the intellect and the will. This
includes training the intellect in its power to form ideas, judge and reason out and
training the will to be strong to desire and act on that which is good. A life of virtue
strengthens the will to desire and act on what is virtuous but a life of vice weakens the
will to cling and act on that which is good.
We may not be able to hear our father’s advice: “Do not smoke because what he
does, speaks louder than what he says. Values have a cognitive dimension. We must
understand the value that we want to acquire. We need to know why we have to value
such. This is the heart of conversion and values formation.

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A virtuous life strengthens you to live by the right values and live a life of
abundance and joy while a vicious life leads you to perdition and misery.
A test if you want to know if what you claim to be your value is something you
really consider to be a value is to ask yourself the seven (7) questions on valuing, as
follows:
1. Did you choose it freely?
2. Did you choose it among alternatives?
3. Did you choose it after thoughtful consideration of the consequences
of your choice?
4. Do you cherish it?
5. Do you affirm it publicly?
6. Do you act on it?
7. Do you act on it repeatedly/habitually?

B. Test your Understanding

Directions: Write your ideas based on the questions given.

1. Do we have such a thing as unchanging values in these changing

times? What do you mean when we say transcendent values are
independent of time, space, and people?
I think that we probably all have some core values that stay pretty much the same
throughout our lives, but experiences throughout our lives make us think about new
things and in different ways. So yes, I think our values do change over time as we realize
what’s really important to us.________________________________________________

2. Should values be taught? Why?

It is important to know that moral values are important to be taught to the students
because moral values have an impact on the students' achievement and behavior. And I
believe if the students have good morals, characters and principles in their life, their
future will be brighter._____________________________________________________
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3. What are the three dimensions of value and value formation? Explain each.
There are three dimensions of value: universally human, cultural that vary with societies
and times; and personal that vary with individuals. Each dimension has a standard for
judging the adequacy of the relevant values. Human values are adequate if they satisfy
basic needs; cultural values are adequate if they provide a system of values that sustains
the allegiance of the inhabitants of a society; and personal values are adequate if the
conceptions of well‐being formed out of them enable individuals to live satisfying lives

4. Value formation is training of the intellect and the will. What does this training
consist of?
Value formation is the training of one's mind by growing in knowledge and wisdom. This
is taught first when a person is a child by parents and other influences. Value formation
then becomes personal training through choice of values desired to be achieved. The
intellect is the wisdom to know the difference between positive and negative values.
Will is personal encouragement to act on positive values instead of negative values
guided by intellect.________________________________________________________

5. What is the effect of good habit (virtue) and bad habit (vice) on the will?
If a person has control over the behavior, then it is a habit. Good intentions can override
the negative effect of bad habits, but their effect seems to be independent and additive
—the bad habits remain, but are subdued rather than cancelled._____________

6. According to the advocates of value clarification, how can you test if a value is
really your value?

Contextualizing Teaching as My Vocation, Mission and Profession

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“Keep interested in your own career however humble;

it is the real possession in the changing fortunes of time.”
– Desiderata

Teaching is a vocation. For theists, it is a calling from God worthy of a response.

For atheists, it is a calling without a vertical dimension. Teaching is also a mission, an
assigned task. We are expected to write our “accomplishment report” at the end of our
mission. Teaching is also a profession. It is our way of rendering service to humanity.
The quality of our professional service is determined to a very great extent on our long
and arduous period of preparation, continuing professional education, and our
commitment to ethical and moral values. If we give professional quality service, then
mediocrity has no place. If we live up to our name as a professional teacher, a
meaningful and fulfilled life will not be far behind. No doubt this can readily happen
when teaching has become your passion.

Directions: Answer the following questions. What is the etymology of the lexical items:
vocation and mission?

 Vocation: _________________________________________________________
Discuss teaching as a vocation.
Teaching is a Vocation. Every person is destined to be somebody in his own field. I can
say that teaching is easy, but teaching with morals and molding humans for the future is
not that simple as 1, 2 and 3. Like everyone can be a teacher but being an effective
teacher needs someone with passion and devotion for teaching. Teachers became
teachers not because of luck or misfortune, but because she/he is destined to be one.
Being a teacher requires a lot of things to gain and even to sacrifice. Therefore, God will
not put someone in this profession if he is not capable to do it or if his fate is not on
teaching. God has always reasons for everything that happened to us and that is for the
person to discover and realize someday._______________________________________

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 Mission : __________________________________________________________
Discuss teaching as a mission.
Teaching is a Mission. Every human being has a purpose or mission in this world and the
main purpose of every human is to produce and protect life. Teachers, always have goals
in everything they teach and to students. Why? It is simply because they are teachers
who have mission and that is to make each of the students competitive, equipped with
the fundamental skills and knowledge and also to be a total human person for his
society . Teachers are not only teaching to have students with brilliant minds but also
destined to produce human beings with heart and soul for everyone. A human that is
capable to love and care for the other people. Teachers are like disciples of Jesus. They
are expected to teach and cater the knowledge of students. What kind of knowledge?
Knowledge for subjects, for himself, for life, for morality, and for God and that is through
teaching them the knowledge and the truth come with it and God is the truth and that is
the great assigned task of Him to us – to perform with excellence when doing their
service.

 What are the elements of a profession?

1. Body of knowledge
2. Institution that transmit professional knowledge
3. Creation of professional authority as a result of public approval
4. Code of ethics
5. Commitment to profession ideals
6. Professional associations

 Discuss teaching as your profession

Teaching as a profession. As what a popular saying goes like “You cannot give what you
don’t have” just like for teachers, they cannot fully transform students to be somebody
in this world if in the first place they do not have the mastery of their field or simply the
knowledge, and care and love for them. Teachers are their models and considered as
their second mother. They do affect them easily that much since they are spending most
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of their time in school and as being with them every day teachers have the great
responsibility on taking care of their actions in or outside of the classroom. Therefore,
teachers should always have a guidance and that is through thinking that in everything
they say and do must be done for the greater glory of GOD._______________________

Journal Entry

Perform the following tasks. (You may use extra sheets to do this
task.)
A Moment to Reflect
A. If you are willing to share, what values do you believe you
possess that can help you become a great teacher? What
are those that you need to acquire?
I am a person with so much hope in everything. I always believe that in every
hard situation that we may encounter there is always hope at the end and will
lead us to the betterment. Teachers should always possess a sense of hope that
their students can do better. Some students could be weak and might not be able
to catch up along with the pace. It's a major responsibility for a teacher to always
stick with the possibility of those students progressing in their academics and in
their life as well. All students don't have the same capacity of learning. They have
different learning styles so; teachers should exercise different ways of explaining
core concepts and have confidence in their students instead of giving up on
them. I need to acquire the sense of urgency. If something's to be done, just go
for it with feeling and sense of urgency. Don't just wait or linger as time is
valuable and students invest a lot of time expecting to learn something
meaningful and important and you can't just procrastinate. Moreover,
Continuous Self-Learning. Teachers aren't just to teach but they are in continuous
process of learning too. Should they stop learning themselves, their teaching
turns dull. The world advances with technology, knowledge steadily and it is

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responsibility of a teacher to stay updated in order to prepare student for all the
upcoming changes in the society and world.___________________________

B. Read the following and in the context of value formation, write down your
response or action plan to each as a proof that you accept continuing personal
value formation.
“What the teacher is, is more than what he teaches.”
Teachers are there to educate you, but sometimes they really go above
and beyond; you learn things from them that you’ll remember your
whole life, not just while you do your homework. You might not always
see eye to eye, but they’re doing what they think is best for you.

“Your life is a sermon, be careful what you preach.”

We all have different experiences in life, but we must be aware and
be conscious on what we share to others. For they may follow it, if they
find that interesting, and might judge you as a person if you don’t take
precautions in sharing or preaching stuff.______

“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but

loses his soul?”
This statement says that if you try to please everyone, you’ll
eventually lose yourself, for the reason that you’ll focus your attention

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to everyone and not minding yourself. If you are a teacher, you must
give enough attention to yourself. In simple words, how can you help
your students if you cannot help yourself?

C. It is observed that beginning teachers somewhat lack emotional stability. What

are some of its causes? What should you do to counteract it?

Beginning teachers likely to have poor emotional stability for they are often assigned to
some of the most difficult classes to test their skills and capabilities. In order to
counteract it, you must change your perspective, and do not stick with whatever that is
causing you struggle. Never expect too much and do not expect everything to go
smoothly, life is a rough ride, just got to enjoy every bump as you go through. And finally
you must make up an action plan or some sort of alternatives to reach your goal, and to
overcome it all.

D. Make an exhibit (show evidence) on the lives of men and women whose lives
were oriented towards the value of the spirit and/or the values of the holy. The
objective of your task is to prove to every viewer or reader that those who live
beyond the pleasure values and vital values are those who are great in the eyes
of their fellow men and of God.

Learning from a Spiritual Perspective

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-349-63550-4_8

In the last few years there has been an increasing interest in the whole area of
spirituality in education (Kessler, 2000; Miller, 1999; Palmer, 1998). Part of this interest
stems from the perception that spirituality is an inherent part of human existence and
cannot be ignored in educational settings. Some would suggest too that the

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overemphasis on a materialist conception of life has led to a host of problems in our

society. Consider the words of a Columbine student after the murder of fellow students
in April 1998:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers;
wider freeways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more
but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences but
less time; we have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment;
more experts but more problems; more medicine but less wellness. We have multiplied
our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate
too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life; we’ve added years to life,
not life to years. We’ve been all way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the
street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space but not inner space;
we’ve cleaned up the air but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom but not our
prejudice. We have higher incomes but lower morals; we’ve become long on quantity
but short on quality. These are times of world peace but domestic warfare; more leisure
but less fun; more kinds of food but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes but
more divorce; of fancier houses but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the
show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this
letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference … or just hit
delete. (Miller, 2001: 2)

Let’s reinvent “Miss

Tapia”

Directions: Describe the

professional teacher
that you believe should
handle learners in basic

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education and discuss your personal preparation and development vis-à-vis the image
you have illustrated.

Reinventing “Miss Tapia”

Answer Key

A. Test Your Understanding

Directions: Answer the following with a YES or NO. If your answer is NO, be sure you can
explain your answer.
1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. No
5. No
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6. No
7. No
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. No
12. Yes
13. Yes
14. Yes

You have reached the last part of Module 2:

Reinventing Miss Tapia. Congratulations again!

I hope that at this point you have already acquired a

keen understanding of what is expected of a teacher.

Are you ready to embrace the demands? Are you

willing to respond to the call? Once you have realized
that you are cut out for it…you will be at peace…and
eventually be happy.

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