Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession.
I always show up to class ready. I make sure that I have all my resources prepared ahead of time and I make sure I know the topic/topics that I will be teaching that day. If I happen to make a mistake, I own it and show the students that it’s okay to make mistakes, you just need to correct them.
I like to establish clear boundaries with students. During my practicum, one student said to me “you’re my only friend here today”, and while I do see that as a compliment, I firmly responded “I am not your friend”. At first the student took offence, mostly jokingly, however I did explain to them that it is weird for a teacher to be friends with their students for multiple reasons. Here are a couple we talked about;
- The age difference. What do I, a 26 year old, have in common with a 12 year old? Sure there are some commonalities, however overall we do not see things the same way.
- Power Dynamic. As a teacher, I have the authority to make decisions on things that would affect students. I asked the student, “if I was your friend and we got into a fight, how would you feel about me marking your assignments knowing I was mad at you?” They responded with “not good”.
After this brief conversation the student understood that while they thought I was cool and they liked me, we were not friends.
I intend as a teacher to keep the integrity and credibility that is expected of teachers.