Sexual misconduct of the teachers and its impact on the kids
While taking an oath in the name of “The Code of Professional Responsibility” the first sentence that comes into our mind says “I will maintain public trust and confidence in the teaching profession by”. Right After the pronouncement of “by” a list of commitments and social conducts unfolds itself in front of the individual seeking to embrace the status of being a professional teacher. Check it out in the literature of the Christianity, the profession of teaching is a noble profession (Dockery, 2012). Society looks up to the teacher for setting a code of conduct in the minds of a student. Teachers as a community hogged the limelight in New Zealand because of a mammoth strike organized by them. If we consider the entire population of New Zealand as a population sample then the number of the people affected by this strike can be considered on the higher side.
The teaching fraternity at Aotearoa New Zealand can be termed as a sample representing the issues of this big community. They indeed have an impact on the society because they are dealing with the future generation of our country. They are also facing the same problems and the questions that the rest of the stakeholders in the field of the education are facing these days. If NZ is presented a macro picture then the sample of the Aotearoa presents a micro picture of the same pie and allow us to explore a few things in great detailing.
In the current research essay, we are exploring the impacts of in-ordinated sexual conducts, like having a relationship with a co-teacher or the public display of sexual desire in the school etc. We are giving them this term of being in-ordinated for a specific reason; most of these types of behaviors are accepted in the society barring some rare cases. However, the same conduct may acquire different status when it is done inside the campus or a professional teacher is involved in it.
The range of this behavior also covers certain acts like hugging or kissing in public domain. This research also covers certain acts based on the connotation of the act as well. The basic idea behind the selection of the acts is clear, we want to remove everything from the conduct of a professional teacher that has the capacity to pollute the young minds and disturb them from the righteous path as it is described in the holy books of the Christianity (Rathore, 2017).
The Code of Professional Responsibility and its ability to keep teachers in check
How the recommendations and responsibilities mentioned in the “Code of Professional responsibility have the power to amend this behavior and keep a check on this behavior. Does the current code of the ethics have enough meat in it or we need to be dependent on an unwritten code, while we are dealing with such problems in the area of Aotearoa in New Zealand?
A married teacher having an adulterous liaison with another teacher is not something that can attract the headlines in the local newspapers. It is a matter between four consented adults; it is a family matter and has no social bearings, it is a matter between two couples, if they have consent for it then nobody is liable for anybody. Traditional value systems and rulebooks of the Christianity considers adultery as a sin, however, the legal systems of present-day considers it fine unless one of the partners are not complaining. The concept of workplace romances is nothing new; in fact terms like “office wife” are rampant in internet searches. Office romances at the places where adult workers are working are acceptable up to some extent. Big corporates decline this culture; however, they are fine with it unless it is not affecting the professional integrity of the individuals (Rhode, 2016).
However, the status of being a teacher can change it completely. Places like Aotearoa follow the structure of a responsible and close knitted society. This is a society where people know each other. The professional competency of a teacher living in a place like Aotearoa demands certain other attributes in the behavior of a teacher. The public display of the affection or having a relationship with a teacher is a big no; it can send wrong messages to the kids. As an adult, we are free to live with our choices, with the process of aging a sense of understanding right and wrong develops in a human being. However, in the case of the kids, the things are different. They are in a learning phase of their life. The psychology says that the sense of detecting the wrong and right develops very rapidly during the first ten years of the life (III Zarra, 2013). It is also the time when the formation of a value system takes place in the life of a kid. While making this statement, as a rebuttal to the argument we can have a mention of the standards of the adultery. Many military organizations and other organizations are redefining the definition of the adultery all over again. It is an issue of debate in the modern societies. If other professionals can debate for their right to live a better and free life outside the professional capacities then how we can deprive teachers of living such type of life (Strong, 2017).
The NZEI Code of Ethics and limitations regarding interpersonal behavior
Under the light of current professional code of conduct prescribed for the teacher, section two allows us to interpret few “day to day” conditions when it comes to the interactions and liaisons between two individuals working in a setup where academic pursuits are the main job. The section two can come into action if practices, like getting undue favors or getting undue advantages, can be proved. It has no direct implications for the actions done by the teaching staff unless they are crossing the limits of the decency (Neill, 2010).
Children are vulnerable to their immediate environment; they look up to the teachers for learning the ways of social living. This factor forced the authorities behind the educational practices implemented a code of conduct for the teachers in the year 2003 (Gudsell, 2017). It was an elaborated document. Issues like effective teaching, collaborative relationships with the colleagues, Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership with the stakeholders and the construction of a professional environment were few issues were prominent in this draft (NZEI Code of Ethics, 2017). When we read this draft for further details we find that most of the duties and responsibilities are connected under the professional domains. They are intended to ensure a proper division of the work and responsibilities among the stakeholders in the process of education. Most of the recommendations follow the fundamentals taught by the Christianity connected to the duty and ethics. Certain parts of this code of ethics are dedicated to the discriminations based on the race and financial status etc (The code of professional responsibility, examples in practice, 2017).
The part 2 of this report talks about the behavior of the teachers on a professional level. Here once again the focus is more on work-related ethics and other issues that can ensure a smooth functioning of a workplace. None of the recommendations talk about the interpersonal behaviors of the professionals. In the views of many educationalists, this absence of the mention of the interpersonal behaviors along with many other issues makes it a redundant document for present times. There are two major reasons behind it, first, the education level and the information level of the kids is increasing very fast. They are more reactive now because they are exposed to certain things at an early age. Things are changing the code and conducts of the society are changing (Carmen Dalli, 2010).
In order to measure the scope of our research and its impact, we can quantify our target audience by measuring the strength of the direct stakeholders. In the current case, teachers whose open sexual conduct is in question are the first stakeholders (Reddy, 2018). Apart from them the students or the vulnerable onlookers or the students are the other segments of the stakeholders. In order to quantify the target audience of this research essay, we can pick up some data from a strike called upon by the teachers union.
Quantifying target audience through recent teacher strike
In a recent development we find that more than 29,000 teachers went on a strike, this strike effected 1400, schooling outlets across the country (On the primary teachers’ strike, 2018). The outcome of this strike affected 29,000 students directly this quantification is important because it gives us an idea about the impact of a teacher over the society. Any policy, any ethical lapse or any misbehavior of a teacher can directly set a wrong notion in the mind of students. Students and kids are vulnerable (Dennis McInerney, 2016). This data is important for the hypothesis that we are going to present in the next part of the essay. Prior to that, we would like to add another field of information in the equation, according to the media sources the current strike called upon by the teacher’s union in New Zealand is the third strike in the 135-year long history of this union (Gudsell, 2017).
135 years of existence is a big number, it also means that our society considers teachers as responsible professionals from the last 135 years. This information also gives us a reason to connect the profession of teaching with the teachings of the Christianity where they told us about the social code of conduct prescribed for a human being in the society. The culture of the convents and Montessori’s promotes the members of the church to play an active role in imparting or monitoring the educations (Clauss-Ehlers, 2016). Since the time immemorial Christianity has this firm belief that only noble and pious souls should undertake the job of teaching. Let’s check the history of the teaching profession in New Zealand, the teacher’s union exist here from more than 100 years and we never heard any major problem in the professional or social conducts in last so many years. It also signifies that the society and the teachers both are abiding by the Christian code of conduct set for the teachers in the society.
Since our focus area is Aotearoa in New Zealand, we can always use it as a simple. With the help of a research program we can come up with some findings that can support the issues of this area and that can be implemented in other areas of New Zealand as well. While looking at this arrangement from the point of view of a social engineer we can see a different picture altogether. A child is the most vulnerable yet important part of any society (Dennis McInerney, 2016). After the parents and the extended family teachers are the closest influence that helps them in exploring the world. The fundamentals of the teaching techniques and other manuals clearly define the teacher as a role model for the kids. When we study this phenomenon from a psychological point of view then we find that the teacher becomes the hero in the life of a kid under a systematic framework. Outside the comfortable zone of his house, a kid faces the problems of the curriculum as his or her first encounter with the realities of the world (Clauss-Ehlers, 2016). A teacher solves these problems for them and they start idolizing the teacher. After a point, the teachers become a role model for them in every possible regard. They start imitating the acts of.
The glorious history of the teacher’s union lasting for 135 years also gives us an opportunity to explore the status of the teachers in the society. Almost a hundred years ago, when education was simpler and less demanding, the social conduct and nobleness of an individual were more important for pursuing the job of a teacher (Neill, 2010). It was the time when people associated with social organizations, organizations run by Roman Catholic churches with a fair bit of educational background were the apt candidates. There was no point in checking their ethics profile because that was the first requisite. Fifty years down the line the things changed, it was the era of STEM subjects. During this period the focus of the educationalists changed. The focus was more on the technical expertise of the teacher was more. At the turn of this century, teachers became professionals (Dennis McInerney, 2016).
It was the time when authorities started to come up with a professional code for the teachers. The implementation of the code that we have discussed above was a part of this process of the reform. In the year 2003, the implementation of this code was in full swing (III Zarra, 2013). In the year 2017, another draft of his code came into existence. The unions of the teacher raised a few valid questions on this draft. This draft raises a few questions related to the presence of teachers on the social media sites. It says that teachers should have a graceful presence on social media. They should maintain the status of being a role model for the students. It says that teachers have to play the role of a trainer, counselor and share the responsibility of the parenting in some special cases. This is why the projection of a correct political image is a must for them.
The public display of the affection or love, having a relationship with a co-worker at the working place (School) is also something that can project a wrong image for an individual. Although the current draft of the professional code directly does not mention the adultery and open behavior in the schools. However, many parts of it imply that a teacher should conduct his or her behavior in a certain way. The section 2 of the previous draft was more personal in that nature. The sanctions of not having a relationship with your co-worker were unwritten laws for the teacher. It was more about the professional conduct of the teachers rather than the personal conduct (NZEI Code of Ethics, 2017).
In the current draft, they have mentioned the interpersonal conduct of a teacher but the focus is more on the student-teacher relationship. For instance, this draft creates a line of decency between the interaction of the teachers and the senior students.
Conclusion
Our research of the secondary sources connected to the roots of education theories and the impact of the values prescribed by the Christianity, recent news articles connected to the issue of the professionalism among the teachers in Aotearoa & New Zealand, recent draft of the code of the ethics and the role of the teachers in the life of a student. This draft gives us the conclusion that the current draft of the professional ethics does not have a direct mention of any activity or censorship on the behavior of the teachers. However, the rule 2 of the draft indicates towards certain fruits that can be the outcome of adultery and sexual liaison among the teachers. An unwritten code that has a history of almost hundred years differentiates teaching as a profession from the rest of the professions. For instance, the moment a person joins military services, he loses some of his fundamental rights. In the similar fashion, a teacher is also responsible for the society and a grace in the personality is needed. Our research shows us that the current drafts of the Professional responsibility codes emphasizing a lot on the public image projection of the teachers on social media platforms. In the case of Aotearoa & other places in New Zealand, we can say that they are close knitted and teachers should have a guideline connected to their media projections. They are more or less as public figures and society look up to them, this is a professional duty for them and they should abide by it. On the least count, the projection of adultery and behaviors carrying sexual connotations should not be projected by them. In the current draft, we can read this message between the lines and form a subset of the rules for the schools of Aotearoa & New Zealand based on the local mindset of the people.
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