Do Teachers Have Integrity?
Our educational system is a great one and we are fortunate to have many great teachers within schools systems across the United States. This is evidenced by the fact that there are programs to recognize those teachers who are dedicated to teaching and have a passion to make a difference in the lives of our future leaders. The need for integrity in any profession but especially in the teaching profession cannot be underscored enough. Integrity in the way teachers teach and the opportunities now available to enhance teaching methods are great.
The question of whether teachers have integrity rest upon the evaluation of each teacher. While there are great teachers there are also others who either do not have the capability to communicate to their students in the way they should. The teaching profession is no different than any other occupation. There are those that do a great job, those that do an average job and those that do a poor job. While this article is primarily focused on our school system there are teachers in private industry who also must have integrity in the way they teach.
The level of integrity in the way teachers teach has an impact on the quality of education being provided. The future leaders of our country deserve to have a quality education. Part of recognizing whether teachers have integrity comes from the qualifications and/or experience a teacher may have for the subjects being taught. Having the qualifications and/or experience related to a specific subject for which, they are assigned is only one part of the criteria to measure the integrity of a teacher. Teachers must be able to communicate their knowledge of their subjects or the integrity and quality of the results
Teachers sometimes are assigned subjects for which, they have no degree or experience in which to teach it utilizing integrity principles and quality. Sometimes this occurs as a result of not enough teachers with the right credentials to teach specific subjects. If a teacher does not possess the knowledge or experience for a subject they are assigned to teach, they should respectfully refuse to teach it. Those teachers that make this kind of decision in my opinion have integrity. I have a high regard for teachers and they should not be forced to teach subjects that their degrees or experiences do not provide adequate resources.
Teachers must also provide a connection from the classroom to the application of the subject to society. This adds another element of integrity within the classroom for any subject. It is important to show any student how the subject connects with the needs of private industry. This will not only enhance the quality of the learning process for the subject but will increase active participation of the students in the class.
To summarize the integrity of teachers is measured not only how they teach but their qualifications and experience to teach specific subjects. Teachers should never be assigned to teach subjects for which they are not qualified or comfortable in teaching a subject. If qualified teachers for specific subjects are not available, then it is the responsibility of those in school administration to make sure the training and resources are provided. This applies to private industry in addition to our public and private schools systems across the country. Teachers in private industry typically have the knowledge and/or experience for subjects they teach but if they lack any training or experience it needs to be provided.
