Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession.
Standard 2 of the Standards for B.C. Educators resonates with me in a profound way, and personally I believe it to be one of the most important standards one can aspire to uphold. In part, because I think if a professional achieves true mastery of Standard 2, they will by proxy intentionally fulfil the requirements as put forth by the remaining 8 Standards. Achieving mastery of course is easier said than done, however I believe that by utilising a scaffolding approach and perpetually synthesising experience for learning, this is an achievable task.
My three week practicum in English 8 was my very first formal experience as a professional educator, and was absolutely packed with both engaging and observable experiences that began to form the base of my scaffold. One instance or experience which really stood out to me which exemplified this standard was in the planning and responding to a student who had very unpredictable behaviour. For anonymity, this student will be known as S with the neutral pronoun “they” in place of gender specific.
S would consistently arrive late, get settled for 15-30 minutes, disappear from class as discreetly as possible, spend upwards of an hour and a half in the hallways, sometimes even leaving school property, and was known to occasionally have extremely violent outbursts when confronted or asked to remain in class. When I began my practicum my CT had already been with the students for several weeks, and was able to inform me of what to expect and keep an eye on. With an average of 26 students in the class, one EA to provide full time help to four students with special needs, and myself, it was clearly a challenge trying to keep both eyes on S to make sure they didn’t disappear.
For the duration of my practicum, I took it upon myself to do as much as I could to alleviate the stress on my CT in keeping an eye on, and following up with S. I made sure to keep track of what direction they had left, dialogued with them several times successfully, and ensured that administration were keeping up with their side of his plan. This was after my CT and I were told that S would have ten minutes per day to leave class, and that anything beyond that was to be reported to the Vice Principal who would take responsibility for the situation. After several more disappearances extending to the 40-60 minute range, I followed up with the VP to indicate the necessity for intervention. This resulted in a relatively successful plan being made with the student to accommodate a late arrival and early dismissal.
For me, especially when learning a new skill or starting a new job, clear and consistent rules are so key. To this extent, I saw myself as exemplifying Standard 2: “Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession,” in my pursuits to ensure the safety of S, but also the credibility and reputation of the rules set forth by the school I was participating as a professional in. Consistency, routine, and transparent honesty I believe create a powerful base for future scaffolding to occur.
Thank you
