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Code of Ethics Standards
Standard 1: Professional Conduct
Standard 2: Trustworthiness
Standard 3: Unlawful Acts
Standard 4: Teacher/Student Relationship
Standard 5: Alcohol, Drug and Tobacco Use or Possession
Standard 6: Public Funds and Property
Standard 7: Remunerative Conduct
An educator should maintain integrity with students, colleagues, parents, patrons, or businesses when accepting gifts, gratuities, favors, and additional compensation.
Ethical conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Insuring that institutional privileges are not used for personal gain.
• Insuring that school policies or procedures are not impacted by gifts or gratuities from any person or organization.
Unethical conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Soliciting students or parents of students to purchase equipment, supplies, or services from the educator or to participate in activities that financially benefit the educator unless approved by the local governing body.
• Accepting gifts from vendors or potential vendors for personal use or gain where there appears to be a conflict of interest.
• Tutoring students assigned to the educator for remuneration unless approved by the local board of education.
The Leader in Me—Chapter 7
Stephen R. Covey
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”—Gandhi
Questions to consider for Chapter 7
1. How have middle and high schools integrated the 7 Habits into their schedules?
2. What impact have these efforts had on students?
3. How can you apply one thing from this chapter that could improve your school culture?
I think that one of the key ideas to take away from Chapter 7 is that if we truly want to help our students develop into leaders and have increased chances of success then we must find more ways to make these opportunities available to them. Reading the variety of approaches presented in this chapter offers some hope for working leadership training into already bulging schedules.
ReplyDeleteI think schools can improve their school culture by implementing the Gradual Release of Responsibility in leadership opportunities. Once we model effective leadership, students should be given the opportunity to “take the bull by the horns.” That release comes with believing that you have trained your students in becoming effective leaders who can make things happen. It’s having the confidence to take a step back so students can take a step forward. We must believe that students can accomplish great things (go many places) if we only provide them with the necessary vehicle to get there.
ReplyDeleteI agree. We lead by example and then give students an opportunity to lead. We may be surprised at how well our students can lead.
ReplyDeleteI loved how "personal journey books" were used to reinforce concepts of Seven Habits in a freshman literature class. I am very excited about us using Seven Habits in our school next year to promote leadership of our students. I have been sharing the Emotional Bank Account with my 3rd Grade Sunday School class, and it is so fun to hear them use the language as we interact each week.
ReplyDelete"Be the change you wish to see in the world" I love this quote. I think we should all have that in our hallways like Noble Street. I love the way their students bought into the idea that they were the answer. I know that there are alot of Stephanies in our schools. The student that feels she is not there that she has no place to belong. By using the ideas in the 7 habits we could give these children a voice and a way to find their place in the school. I think if we could find a way to use these principals and give the students in our schools the confidence to make the right choices we would see a great improvement in every area of education in Blount County.
ReplyDeleteOne way that the 7 Habits have been incorporated into my classroom is that I think that students are beginning to really "listen" to each other. In every lesson I try to incorporate a talking and listening time. I have tried to be a better listener and model to the students that I am more interested in what they have to say and about how they are thinking than just giving them my answer or my opinion. I find that they build on the ideas of their classmates by repeating what has been said; therfore, proving that they are listening. This builds a real sense of community and an environment of "mutual respect". I think Covey has really found the key to most situations: Listen to what the other person is really tyring to say to you!
ReplyDeleteFrom chapter seven I think we can see that in order to pass leadership on to our students we have to first build leadership skills in our teachers and staff. In most evey case study from chapter 7 we see that the first step was to get the faculties on board. In order to have the students take on the ideas of the 7 habits the teachers and administrators had to first model the techniques.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree that "action speaks louder that words". I led a Leadership Workshop for our Ambassadors last week. I was amazed at how well the students, who never stepped out as a leader, gained enough confidence to lead. Sometimes all we need to do is step aside and give them a chance.
ReplyDeleteI like the statement by Marilyn from Roosevelt Middle School: "Hardworking people want to work with hardworking people, and that's on of the reasons I like working here."
ReplyDeleteI believe that a Leadership Component taught in our classrooms would benefit students greatly. It is essential that administrators and teachers model leadership qualities or skills to students. If the staff buys in to this concept the students will jump on board and want to get involved.
ReplyDelete"Be careful little eyes are watching you." This quote continually comes to mind when leadership is involved. This can be passed down from the top of the leadership food chain to the bottom. Leadership can be shared and obtained through out our professional learning communities. It is what we do, not what we say that really counts. If a model of leadership is built with hay and stubble without good works to represent what we expect from subordinates then it will be just that "hay and stubble". I agree with gradually releasing leadership as our students get more mature and our teachers become more experienced. We treat our eighth grade students different than we treat our seniors and we treat our novice teachers different that we treat our veteran teachers. Somewhere in between we are weaned into our natural leadership roles.
ReplyDeleteI like the quotation at the beginning of Chapter 7 and especially like the idea of painting it in the auditorium as was done at Joliet Township High. I decided to refresh myself on exactly who Laertius was and when he lived. I learned that it is probable that he flourished in the first half of the third century, during the reign of Alexander Severus (222–235BC) . The work by which he is known, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, was written in Greek and professes to give an account of the lives and sayings of the Greek philosophers. (Maybe he actually swiped that quote from another philosopher!). As usual one website led to another and I also came across this quote,
ReplyDelete"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. " Anatole France (1844-1924).
From the reading, I learned how a principal established friendly relations with students who came from extremely difficult backgrounds. In exchange, the students gave her tremendous amounts of respect that previously did not exist. If we were able to establish this in our school, we would have a culture that could provide endless opportunities for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteJust prior to school beginning each year, we have a Leadership Conference with our SGA and class officers. I took the opportunity this year to build the 7 habits training into the conference, and the students loved it. It allowed me to share the 7 habits and how they're applied in my professional and personal life. I planned several activities to demonstrate each habit and then led a discussion. The students really enjoyed the conference this year!
ReplyDeleteAs school administrators we must model leadership to teachers, students, and community by example, not just by what we say. We must make leadership opportunities available to teachers and students. The passage on p. 140 spoke volumes to me. A basketball team was behind and the players began to loose their composure. Students began to encourage them to settle down, be proactive, and take control. Administrators should persuade teachers and students to be risk takers, and then we should be there to encourage them when failure comes.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to note several quotes in chapter 7 of "The Leader in Me" made it appear that these schools were our local neighbors, or perhpas our very own school. For example, a quote from page 143 about Rosevelt Middle School revealed that, "Its halls were filled with young students whose academic lives were drowning in social issues they were not equipped to handle". Another quote which sounded familiar was found on page 152, "... needed most were basic life skills, such as interpersonal skills, time management skills, and conflict management skills."
ReplyDeleteTo assist Blount County students in successfully overcoming edcuational obstacles, I believe we must employ the strategy utilized by Marilyn Vrooman of Rosevelt Middle School. She begins with the end in mind, and then empowers people to pursue that end as they best see fit. "Teachers know what my 'big rocks' are in making classroom decisions, but beyond that they are fully empowered to use their own judgement" (p. 144).
There is no 'silver bullet' or 'secret potion' which is a cure all for "whatever ails you". To provide the best education for our students, we must 'begin with the end in mind' with "Hardworkding people who want to work with hardworking people" (p. 146).
I agree with all of the comments. It should be our job to lead and teach students to become great leaders. We must keep in mind that we are training the leaders today that will one day lead us when were no longer able to lead.
ReplyDeleteOf all the various ways the 7 Habits was incorporated into the curriculum, I liked Noble Street Charlter School's the best. The 7 Habits are used on a regular basis in their advisory classes. The advisory classes are set up so that the same teacher stays with the same group of students all four years of high school. I love that idea so that there is a chance for a meaningful relationship to develop between teacher and student. I think that is so often lacking in our schools.
ReplyDeleteI loved the many ways that school culture is kept in the forefront of the schools all throughout THE LEADER IN ME book. I think it takes every administrator, every teacher, every student, every staff member, and every parent to work collaboratively to establish and maintain a school culture. "Be the change you want to see in others" by Ghandi is a great quote. I often get caught up in other people's negativity. I desire to be a better leader for my co-workers and our students and a more powerful tool for our school's culture. I LOVE Blount County School system because our system administrators work hard to be supportive and set the tone for the school culture on their end.
ReplyDeleteJust as we should use differentiated instruction to reach students, we must keep in mind that no one way works to express the Seven Habits. I found it interesting to discover how many ways schools present the Seven Habits. Some use music, others use signs or murals, and others use television to convey their message. Just as one method of instruction does not work for all students, creative ways of expressing the Seven Habits must be discovered.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see our schedule incorporate the 7 Habits into our Study Skills classes. I feel that this would definately benefit our student body when dealing with social issues within our school. Much of my year has been spent dealing with students difference of opinions on all aspects of their social life. I hope that we can incorpoate the 7 habits into our schedule for the 2010-2011 academic year.
ReplyDeleteGood leadership is vital to the success of any organization. Leading means inspiring, not commanding. It means communicating a vision to others of where you want and need to go to reach the goals that are desired. Educators must be leaders that can correctly identify similarities and differences within the school to help reach and teach students.
ReplyDeleteSeven habits teaches what many of our young people need. In the above, one said it was going to be incorporated into a Study Skills class. This is a great idea and I have seen it work. So many times we do not give students opportunities to lead. They do not understand being proactive instead of reactive. It pays to incorporate/discuss these habit prior to the school year. I have seen some make better choices or help others make better choices. These habits can make a school year go alot smoother. These habits are also catching, it seems like when one gets on board, others will follow. The opposite is also true for both students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteThere are many areas of our school programs that we possibly could incorporate the seven habits to our students. We could use them in the classroom as Tim Clevenger suggested or into our SGA like Craig Sosebee did at Pennington, how about into our extra curricular activites and our clubs? We know that coaches and directors are pressed for time but a five minute per day session to students in these activites on leadership and other areas would be beneficial to our students as well.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with many of the comments that have been made about leadership. One comment was to lead by example for the students and then step aside and let them lead. That is a great idea. I also really liked what LindaW said about listening skills. Some of the best leaders I know and have worked with are really good listeners. This is a skill that we don't teach enough in our classrooms, how to be effective listeners. We all need to work toward becoming better listeners in our interaction with our students, faculty and administrators. If we do that, we will be more effective leaders.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the 7 Habits was more appropriately introduced for students when Sean Covey authored the teen version. A prime example of the impact these efforts had on students could be exemplified by the student who's brother was fatally stabbed during a fight at school. Although he was very bitter about his brother's death, a passage from the 7 Habits for Teens inspired him to a lifetime of doing good in honor of his brother.
ReplyDeleteAlso, students feel free to talk about issues that were on their mind. And, as the nun stated (p. 136), "kids want to know the path. They like direction and firm standards far more than most adults think." Usually, if students are allowed imput into rules/regulations/consequences, they are more strict on themselves than adults would be.
One of the most impressive examples of the way 7 Habits impact students was the teacher's contribution to the student's Emotional Bank Account. The teacher simply used quite politeness toward inappropriate language used by a group of boys, the boys recognized it and responded in a positive manner. Students or adults respond more quickly to positive rather than negative feedback.
Leadership is very important in any organization. I believe that everyone has the potential to be a leader some better than others. In education, good leadership starts at the top and then trickels down to the faculty then to the students. In Chapter 7 the schools try to develope leadership skills thru many different programs and classes. In our system we have a leadership team that helps the administration in developing rules and regulations to help our school to be the best it can be in all areas.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading these examples in Chapter 7, I can tell that the 7 Habits leadership principles can apply at a variety of educational levels and across various cultures. I like the idea presented by the principal at Roosevelt Middle School. She empowered the students to be leaders through active involvement, especially in the area of technology—“which she sees as the native tongue of many students.” Technology is certainly an area where often teachers need assistance and students could easily take on a leadership role in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that we should provide our students with every opportunity possible to build upon their leaderships skills. There have been many excellent ideas posted to help attain this goal.
ReplyDeleteWe implemented 7 Habits into our schedule in our semi-weekly "Tool Time" sessions. Our seventh grade students have been working through 7 Habits for Teens. One thing that we have discovered is that teacher training in this area is critical for success. Some (most) of our teachers have not been trained in this area, and there have been some challenges that resulted from this lack of training. This will need to be addressed before we attempt this with our students again. The thing is, we should have seen it coming. Just one more example of rolling something out without proper training of the critical personnel. Learning experience for sure for us!
ReplyDeleteI have tried to implement the win-win habit into my classroom this year. Students have to work with each other to accomplish many of the objectives that are apart of my daily lessons. The correct response or answer may come from anyone in any group. Students have learned to depend upon one another to obtain certain goals. Allowing the students to interact throughout the lessons has allowed my students to adopt the win-win concept.
ReplyDeleteChapters 6 and 7 have provided windows to the implementation of 7Habits into elementary and secondary schools. In the elementary schools it seems the entire culture is fused with 7Habits principles. In the high schools the implementation is targeted to specific classes or programs. Whichever way a school chooses to implement, a concrete goal is needed for success to be achieved. The high schools' implementation of 7Habits is extremely varied.
ReplyDelete"We're in the people business, the business of building people" really struck me in chapter 7. Often school is the first and only area in a student's life where the student has to "step up to the plate." We must equip them with the skills they need to swing successfully. However, we must also teach them how to react during those times when they do strike out. Now more than ever educators are responsible for educating the whole child. It is important that we step back and remember that our examples and lessons go beyond reading, writing, and math. We truly are building people.
ReplyDeleteWe work in a leadership profession, whether it be through leading a small classroom to being the instructional leader of the school. We need to use this responsibility to model leadership and work to develop it in our students.
ReplyDeleteI have been encouraged reading the posts on how many of our schools have embraced the 7 Habits and The Leader in Me. This book has shown us that there are leaders in everyone, we just have to find the right avenue for each to express their leadership abilities. The examples in Chpater 7 show that the 7 habits can be applied at all levels of culture and education to build leaders in us all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian, for us to teach leadership, we and the teachers must model the behaviors we wish to see in our students. Gradually, our students will mature and begin leading among their peers. What a impact we will have when our students leave our care with the ability to lead.
ReplyDeleteSince we have several students who come from less affluent homes, it is imperative that we take an interest in their lives. We may be the only person that shows up to their ballgames and other extracurricular events, we might be the only one who asks how they are doing in class, and we may be the only one who will be there for graduation.
ReplyDeleteAs Shannon said, mutual respect is a wonderful thing and it opens neverending opportunities.
As a result of our recent book study, I contacted Arab City Schools’ special education coordinator, Billy Roy, to ask him about the Seven Habits for Highly Effective Teens study at Arab High School. He affirmed that the Seven Habits study is still a part of a required 9th grade course at AHS. He commented bout how much their parents appreciated the results of this course. It was interesting to have discussion with an active user of the program.
ReplyDeleteWhen working with employees in service positions, we often have the challenge of guiding them to a sense of ownership of the education community. In the task of assisting them to develop leadership skills, I am often reminded of nuggets form our 7 Habits training. I also pull encouragement from there as I attempt to 'prop-up my leaning side'.
ReplyDeleteI am excited every year at this time, when we are working on our 6th grade school play, to see students who sometimes have a very hard time in the academic classroom step up and become a leader while working on the play. I am reminded of how important it is to provide a variety of opportunities for students of different talents and abilities to become leaders.
ReplyDeleteBeing in a self-contained classroom with the same students throughout the year really enables you to see leaders in a variety of areas. Some students lead socially and some academically. It is very interesting to watch those who are quiet leaders. They lead by example even though they don't vocally take an active role in most classroom situations. It is very fulfilling to watch all of their leadership skills develop and to see them use them in a positive way to help others in our classroom community.
ReplyDeleteAs I read Amy W's blog, several thoughts came to mind. I continue to believe we need to ask more of our students, by teaching them responsibility. I mentioned to my students a video clip we saw in our chapter 7 discussion at Oneonta. At one of the schools, students were trained as greeters. When someone came to the door, the student stepped out, welcomed the visitor, told him/her whose class it was, the material currently being studied, and invited the guest to come in. A student immediately volunteered to do that in that period. He then practiced it and now does it. I really like that. I have a few students who think they cannot stand in front of the class to make a presentation in a darkened classroom from powerpoints they have already prepared. We are not leading them into roles that may be expected of them, if we do not get them over this fear. Too often, I find that students want a detailed explanation of any "project" they are preparing. When we respond in that way, I think we stiffle their creativity and keep them dependent. We need to help them become independent learners.
ReplyDeleteCh seven began with a very interesting quote "Never give Up". The chapter offered a lot of hope in extending the leadership notion of the 7 Habits to our middle and high schools. There was no one magic way offered to implement into middle and high school, but the core belief that the principal must creat buy-in from the staff, before 7 Habits can work effectively. As in Roosevelt M. S., the principal was clearly in favor of finding ways to empower students to be leaders, not having someone elso do it for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the concept of gradually releasing leadership, so that students have opportunities to lead.
ReplyDeleteWhat better way to teach responsibility than to allow our students to assume leadership roles! I feel the student ambassador program is an outstanding initiative to allow our students to be leaders in their school and community. It is good to see some of our middle and possibly elementary schools implementing ambassador programs. This is jusst one small way to allow students to experience the responsibilities attached to being a leader. It is also great to see the impact it has on other aspects of their lives. It definitely carries over to academics and other areas.
ReplyDeleteI try to practice the 7 Habits in leadership roles with the local CNP Mangers. They have a unique ministry available to them with their staff and customers. Because "actions do speak louder than words". Even in their daily routines most "hardworking people want to work with hardworking people".
ReplyDeleteI tend to side with the opinion of the Japanese business leaders on the timing of implementing 7 Habits training.I love the idea of implementing 7 Habits training in high school. It seems that the high school grades have more leeway in scheduling, but I believe the most important time is junior high. So many of these kids struggle with reponsibility and dealing with others. I would love to look for ways to get this type of training into the 6th-8th graders' schedules
ReplyDeletePublic shcools need to provide more leadership opportunities for students and teachers and then let them lead. It is so hard as an administrator to let go of your vision and allow others to take over and accept a new and possibly better vision created by these groups.
ReplyDelete