Personal Code of Ethics

The purpose of a code of ethics is to provide ethical principles or guidelines that an

individual must follow based on an organizations values and beliefs. After looking at the Code
of Ethics for Career and Technical Education, the Code of Ethics for Arkansas Educators, and the
National Education Association Code of Ethics, I have listed five personal codes of ethics that
addresses both my commitment to students and the profession.
Principle I- Commitment to the Student
1. Shall not unreasonably deny the student access to varying points of view.
During educational instruction, it is not uncommon for the teacher and students to have a
difference in opinions or views about a specific topic. If this is the case, the teacher should not be
forcing their point of view onto the students or expressing that the students cannot have a
difference in opinion. If the students point of view is different, the teacher should not deny the
student the right to express this. It is okay to have a variety of points of views in the classroom.
With that being said, these different points of view should be expressed in an appropriate and
structured manner. All students who would like to voice their point of view should be allowed to
do so, not just a limited selection.
2. Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement.
A teacher should never intentionally embarrass a student or belittle them during
instruction. In order to avoid this, the teacher should try to not single out a student or call
attention to them in a negative way. This can simply cause embarrassment because of the
attention or possibly lead to bullying from other students. If the teacher needs to tell the student
something that could potentially lead to embarrassment, the teacher should pull them aside just
to be safe.

3. Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or
religious beliefs, family, social or cultural backgrounds, or sexual orientation unfairly:
a. Exclude any student from participation in any program;
b. Deny benefits to any student;
c. Grant any advantage to any student.
No student should ever feel that a teacher is discriminating against him or her during any
part of his or her education. All students should have an equal opportunity in the school as a
whole and in the classroom. One way the teacher can avoid this is by making sure that all
instruction and assessment absent of any bias. If there is bias present, it will affect the students
ability to perform in the classroom or on the assessment.
Principle II- Commitment to the Profession
1. Shall not knowingly make a false or malicious statement about a colleague.
A teacher should not make false or negative statements about colleagues for any reason.
It should be teachers jobs to work together in a positive manner to promote learning for all
students in the school, not talking negatively about each other. He or she should be respectful of
the reputation of their colleagues. This can also be associated with the teacher speaking about
confidential information regarding colleagues, which is not allowed under any circumstances.
2. Represents personal and professional qualifications in a true and accurate manner.
When trying to get a job as a teacher, he or she should always be honest about their
personal and professional qualifications. In no circumstance is it acceptable to exaggerate upon
or lie about the personal or professional qualifications that one obtains. If he or she is not honest
about qualifications, they are misrepresenting themselves. Depending on the degree of the
exaggeration or lie, it can also be against the law to do so.