Troy Hutchings, Ed.D.
Senior Policy Advisor,
NASDTEC
Ethos and Ethics: Giving Voice During Turbulent Times
This past year I had the opportunity to listen to a most astonishing speaker – Ruby Bridges.
You may remember her – or at the very least you’ve seen the iconic Normal Rockwell painting that depicts the six-year-old girl being escorted to school by four federal marshals in 1960, when she became the first African American student to integrate a school in Louisiana.
In the conference keynote address, Ruby discussed not only her personal experiences, but also the courage of her first-grade teacher who endured death threats, property damage and even professional intimidation during the turbulent era of school integration.
And when asked about her greatest concern for educators today, her reply centered on a concept that should be at the very core of our profession – teaching truth. “We shouldn’t change history. When we leave out part of history, we leave out the truth. We are lying. Teach the truth. The truth will set us free.”
Her words resonated within the context of a very stark reality.
This past year, initiatives that have been central to the mission of public schooling for decades – equity, equality, diversity, anti-bias, anti-discrimination and the deconstruction of barriers to thinking critically – became politicized and came under attack in numerous communities throughout the country.
As a result, school board members, administrators and teachers face escalating hostility for supporting district equity statements and promoting well-established diversity initiatives.
How bad is it? According to an article published last week in EducationWeek[1], lawmakers in 28 states have introduced or have passed legislation limiting, or even prohibiting, how teachers approach topics dealing with racism, equality, or sexism. And the proposed penalties are often extreme. A quick Google search reveals that writings which have long been part of the curriculum – including those by Martin Luther King, Tony Morrison, Frederick Douglas, Harper Lee, Maya Angelou and yes, even Ruby Bridges – have been targeted for removal from many school libraries and classrooms.
And what does any of this have to do with educator ethics?
Everything.
Codes of ethics articulate the very ethos of a profession – those deeply held beliefs that define a profession’s character and identity. They clearly and publicly state a profession’s non-negotiable values when acting in the public’s best interest.
And there are times when a code’s utility goes well beyond informing the decisions of individual educators. During turbulent times such as these, it can and should serve as a collective voice for the profession as a whole.
The Model Code of Ethics for Educators is no different. It has multiple standards referencing the very professional educator norms which are now being questioned – commitment to equity, equality, diversity and anti-discrimination – leaving little doubt as to their importance in the profession’s lexicon.
In addition, educational organizations have crafted position statements affirming the centrality of those values to our profession’s ethos. Consider the following statements from organizations whose members are currently facing some of the greatest scrutiny:
School Superintendents Association
AASA remains committed to … preparing and supporting school system leaders who value equity, and to dismantling system racism and discrimination.[2]
National School Boards Association
Educational equity is the intentional allocation of resources, instruction, and opportunities according to need, requiring that discriminatory practices, prejudices, and beliefs be identified and eradicated.[3]
National Council for the Social Studies
We resoundingly reject any effort … to silence social studies curriculum that explicitly addresses the centrality of slavery in the historical narrative of the United States. We extend that rejection to any effort that similarly silences such social studies curriculum and interferes with the professional and moral obligations of all educators to prepare all students for college, career, and civic life.[4]
Professional ethos and professional ethics are inextricably intertwined for moments like these – strengthening a professional resolve to stand firm.
And there are courageous voices doing just that.
Tulsa Public Schools issued a written statement after its state’s education board adopted rules and penalties related to teaching race and gender:
We are teaching our children an accurate – and at times painful, difficult, uncomfortable – history about our shared human experience. We cannot and will not teach those histories and experiences that reflect only the dominant white culture, just as we cannot and will not provide an education that deprives children of a true and accurate understanding of the world in which they live. As a public school district, we owe it to the communities that we serve to teach the truth – our children and families need and deserve nothing else.[5]
And when the Central York School Board in Pennsylvania banned an extensive list of books and educational resources written about or by people of color – it was the district’s students and educators who worked tirelessly to successfully reverse the ban.[6]
Public schooling has always been a backdrop to society’s cultural and political skirmishes. And that’s why abandoning our professional ethos – regardless of the circumstances – is not an option.
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Posted Tuesday, January 11, 2022