The Code of Ethics for Professional

Teachers: The Preamble and Article I

Learning Outcome:
1. Discuss the Preamble and Article I of the Code of Ethics
for Teachers in the Philippines.
Introduction
Preamble:
Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess
dignity and reputation with high moral values as well as
technical and professional competence. In the practice of
their noble profession, they strictly adhere to, observe and
practice this set of ethical and moral principles, standard, and
values.
Article I
Scope and Limitations
Section 1. The Philippine Constitution
provides that all educational institutions
shall offer quality education for all Filipino
citizens, a vision that requires professionally
competent teachers committed to its full
realization. The provisions of this Code shall
apply, therefore, to all teachers in all schools
in the Philippines.
Section 2. This Code covers all public and private
school teachers in all educational institutions at
the preschool, primary, elementary, and
secondary levels whether academic, vocational,
special, technical or non-formal. The term
“TEACHER” shall include industrial art or
vocational teachers and all other persons
performing supervisory and/or administrative
functions in all schools at the aforesaid levels,
whether on full-time or part-time basis.
Analysis; Let’s Analyze
1. Are teachers who have no license
considered professional?
2. Are private school teachers required of a
license? What about pre-school teachers,
vocational teachers, ALS teachers, school
heads, Education Supervisors and School
Division Superintendent?
Abstraction: Let’s Add To What You
Know
A review of the Preamble and Article 1 tells
us that teachers who have no license are not
included in the group of professional teachers.
All teachers both public and private in all
levels from preschool to secondary whether
they are academic, vocational, special, technical
or non-formal – are included in the definition
of professional teachers and therefore are
required of a professional license and are
subject to the Code of Ethics for Professional
Teachers.
The Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers: Relationship
with the Secondary and Tertiary Stakeholders

Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain how professional teachers should
relate to the state, community, parents
and all education stakeholders.

The Teacher and the State

 The education of a child is NOT the sole
responsibility of the school heads and
teachers.
 The Code of ethics cites different groups of
external stakeholders with whom schools and
teachers have to relate and work for the
education of the child.
 These are the State (Article II), the Community
(Article III), and parents (Article IX).
 Secondary stakeholders indirectly receive the
service.
 Tertiary stakeholders are indirect but crucial
participants in the process of children’s education
Activity: Let’s Read These
Article II
THE TEACHER AND THE STATE
Section 1. The schools are the nurseries of the
citizens of the state. Each teacher is a trustee
of the cultural and educational heritage of the
national and is under obligation to transmit to
learners such heritage as well as to elevate
national morality, promote national pride,
cultivate love of country, instill allegiance to the
constitution and respect for all duly
constituted authorities, and promote
obedience to the laws of the state.
Section 2. Every teacher or school official shall
actively help carry out the declared policies of
the state, and shall take an oath to this effect.
Section 3. In the interest of the State of the
Filipino people as much as of his own, every
teacher shall be physically, mentally and morally
fit.
Section 4. Every teacher shall possess and
actualize full commitment and devotion to duty.
Section 5. A teacher shall not engage in the
promotion of any political, religious, or other
partisan interest, and shall not, directly, or
indirectly, solicit, require, collect, or receive any
money, service, other valuable material from any
person or entity for such purposes.
Section 6. Every teacher shall vote and shall
exercise all other constitutional rights and
responsibilities.
Section 7. A teacher shall not use his position or
official authority of influence to coerce any
other person to follow any political course of
action.
Section 8. Every teacher shall enjoy academic
freedom and shall have the privilege of sharing
the product of his researches and investigations,
provided that, if the results are inimical to the
declared policies of the State, they shall be
drawn to the proper authorities for appropriate
remedial action.
Analysis; Let’s Analyze
Article II
1. The Schools are the “nurseries of the
citizens of the state”. What are nurseries
for? Why are schools called the
“nurseries of the citizens of the state?”
2. “Each teacher is a trustee of the cultural
and educational heritage of the nation
and is under obligation to transmit to
learn such heritage.” In what ways can
teachers do this?
3. In what ways can the professional teacher help
elevate national morality, promote national pride
and cultivate love of country?
4. What steps do employers take to ensure that a
teacher is physically, mentally and morally fit?
5. Cite actions of a professional teacher that violate
Section 5, Article II?
6. How can a professional teacher violate Sec. 6 and
Sec. 7 of Article II?
Every teacher shall enjoy academic freedom. What
does academic freedom mean? Is this academic
freedom absolute?
Abstraction
1. The Cambridge English Dictionary
defines a “Nursery” as a “place where
babies and young children are cared for
while their parents are somewhere else.”
In “HORTICULTURE”, a nursery is a
“place where young plants and trees are
cultivated and grown.”
 “Schools are the nurseries of the citizens of
the state.” Like nurseries where young plants are
cultivated and grown, schools through teachers
are entrusted with the noble task of instilling
pride in learners one’s cultural and educational
heritage, love of country and in sowing the seeds
of national morality.
 There are many things in our Filipino culture
that we can be proud of and are therefore
worth preserving and passing on to maintain
Filipino identity, promote national pride and
cultivate love of country.
2. Every teacher is expected to be fit or
else cannot perform his/her function.
Pursuant to Sec. 22 (Medical Examination
and Treatment) of RA 4670 otherwise
known as the Magna Carta to Public
School Teachers, teachers shall undergo
annual physical examination free of charge
not less than once a year during the
teacher’s professional life.
3. As a professional, the teacher is expected
NOT to take advantage of his/her position
or power to promote his/her own interest
whether political nor religious, nor to
solicit, require or collect any money,
service or material from any person.
4. A professional teacher violates Section 6 of
Article II if he/she fails to vote for no justifiable
reason.Voting is teacher’s participation in the
affairs of the state.
5. He/she violates Section 7 of Article II if
he/she engages in partisan politics. Teachers
have to preserve the dignity of the
education sector by NOT engaging directly
or indirectly in electioneering except to
vote. Engaging in partisan politics is
teacher’s abuse of authority.
6. The professional teacher shall enjoy academic
freedom so he/she can share the product of
his/her researches and investigations in support
of the endless search for truth. However, this
academic freedom is not absolute. It has limits. If
the research findings are damaging to the state,
the research results shall be submitted to the
proper authorities for appropriate action.
Application: Let’s Apply What You
Learned
What is the professional thing to do?
1. Teacher B has a brother candidate for the
mayoralty race in their hometown. The
brother’s opponent has very good chance
of winning and so teacher B starts secretly
campaigning for his brother. Is this
professional?
2. By means of a PowerPoint presentation
show how a professional teacher should
relate to the state.
Synapse Strengtheners
1. Here are survey results from the American
Federation of Teachers: 78% of teachers
express overwhelming levels of stress but
only 17% leave the profession within the
first 5 years. Read researches on mental
health of Filipino teachers and share your
findings in class.
2. Read the definition of teachers in the
Education Act of 1982. Is this definition of
teachers the same with that of the Code of
Ethics for Professional Teachers. If not, any
difference?
B. The Teacher and the Community
 The teacher works in, for and with the
community.
 He rubs elbow with the leaders and
members of the community who, like him
aspire for the development of the young.
 He works in a community with its own
established customs and traditions which
are sometimes different from the
practices of the community where he
belongs.
Article III
The Teacher And The Community
Section 1. A teacher is a facilitator of learning
and of the development of the youth; he shall,
therefore, render the best services by
providing an environment conducive to such
learning.
Section 2. Every teacher shall provide
leadership and initiative to actively participate
in community movements for moral, social,
educational, economic and civic betterment.
Section 3. Every teacher shall merit reasonable
social recognition 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.
Section 4. Every teacher shall help the school
keep the people in 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.
Section 5. Every teacher shall help the school
keep the people in the community informed
about the school’s work and accomplishments as
well as its needs and problems.
Section 6. Every teacher is an intellectual leader
in the community, especially in the barangay, and
shall welcome the opportunity to provide such
leadership when needed, to extend counseling
services, as appropriate, and to actively be
involved in matters affecting the welfare of the
people.
Section 7. Every teacher shall maintain
harmonious and pleasant personal and official
relations with other professionals, with
government officials, and with the people,
individually or collectively.
Section 8. A teacher possesses freedom to
attend church and worship, as appropriate, but
shall not use his position and influence to
proselyte others.
Abstraction
 As a professional teacher, he is a
facilitator of learning by ensuring that he
provides a favorable environment for
learning.
 He acts as a leader by initiating and
participating in community activities for
the benefit of community members and
the community as a whole.
 As a community leader, he deals with other
professionals and community officials harmoniously and
professionally.
 Because he wants to work with the community, he
keeps people informed of developments in school.
 He does not take advantage of his position as a
professional teacher to proselyte.
 He does not criticize community customs and
traditions, instead he exerts effort to understand them
with a sympathetic attitude.
 To be a credible community leader, he earns the
respect of the community by behaving with dignity at
all times and so will not engage in vices as gambling,
smoking, drunkenness, and illicit relations.
Application
1. Form groups of 7. Each group must come
up with a skit to illustrate how a
professional teacher should relate with the
community. In your skit you may want to
present the contrast of teachers’ expected
professional behavior.
2. Every school has a School Governing
Council. What is this Council about? How
different is this from the Parents and
Teachers Association? Share your answer in
class.
The Teacher And The Parents
 Parents are secondary stakeholders while
their children are primary stakeholders.

Article IX
The Teacher and Parents
Section 1. A teacher shall establish and
maintain cordial relations with parents, and
shall conduct himself to merit their
confidence and respect.
Section 2. A teacher shall inform parents,
through proper authorities, of the progress of
deficiencies of learners under him, exercising
utmost candor and tact in pointing out learners’
deficiencies and in seeking parent’s cooperation
for the proper guidance and improvement of
learners.
Section 3. A teacher shall hear parent’s
complaints with sympathy and understanding,
and shall discourage unfair criticism.
Abstraction
 Teacher needs to connect with parents,
his partner in the education of the
learner.
 For the partnership to flourish, teacher
shall maintain cordial relations with
parents.
 This relationship remains cordial if a
teacher is sincere and tactful in reporting
child’s progress.
Application
1. State 5 DO’s and 5 Don’Ts on how you
should relate to parents for the sake of
the learners. Make sure your DO’s and
DON’Ts are concrete. E.g. Make sure
you have a box of facial tissue with you
for parents who become emotional.
2. Research on “helicopter” parents. What
is meant by helicopter parents? How
should you relate to them?