Contemplating the Manitoba Teacher's Society Code of Professional Practice


Professionalism. It’s a big word accompanied by some BIG responsibilities. As a member of the Manitoba Teacher’s Society there is a Code of Professional Practice that all teachers are expected to employ and embody. This is no small task. The Code of Professional Practice connects teachers with other professionals in the work force: doctors, lawyers, accountants, police officers… and, I would argue, it is this Code that also sets these professions apart from other jobs. There are some jobs that you can leave at the end of the day. You know that common cliché to “leave your job at work”? However, what I would argue differentiates professionals is that this separation isn’t always that easy or appropriate. The minute I was accepted into the Faculty of Education I accepted a new level of responsibility in my life.

I can’t flick a switch- I made a decision and there no “off” button for teaching. That means when you see me at the grocery store, theatre, rink, or a social I am still a teacher. Some people might scoff at this idea and argue that your personal identity shouldn’t be so tied up in what you do. I would agree to an extent. However, I think it is also important to remember (this is one of my favourite quotes) “that the way we spend our days, is the way spend our life”. If I spend my days teaching, I am a teacher and that accompanies a large number of responsibilities. Being a good mentor is one of them. That means even when I am tired or feel like having a good time- to the public I am still Ms. Simpson: the woman that parents and caregivers trust me to care for and educate their children.

Does that mean that I need to wear a flashing sign on my head with an arrow saying “I am a teacher”? No. But I would argue that sometimes it might feel that way anyways and that if you really want this job that it is something you have to be willing to accept.

This applies not just in my public life, I would argue, but my private life as well. Does that mean that I cannot make human errors or be imperfect (which who is ever perfect anyways)? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that I need to always try my best to be an upstanding citizen and ethical person who abides the law and has good moral conduct. Arguably, this is the way everyone should live; however, most of the time how someone else acts isn’t any of my business if it isn’t harming myself or others. However, when you are a teacher this changes and suddenly my actions do become other people’s business.

In addition, some would argue your colleagues business becomes your business too. This is a topic that makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I am an honest, upfront person when there is something involving me that concerns me but I do think there is a slippery slope to policing co-workers. In class some people argued that that is how a profession’s integrity is upheld: by watching one another and informing a colleague when their actions don’t measure up. However, I would argue that this is easier to talk about doing than to actually do it when the time comes. In addition, I think it is heavily dependent upon context. How long have you been working with this colleague? What is your work relationship like? Are you the veteran or rookie teacher? It shouldn’t matter, in theory because we should all always be able to do the right thing. In reality, this is a lot more difficult…

Research on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development supports this assertion. The correlation between what people believe to be right and what they really do is actually quite low. I think this is because of the human element that exits in every situation. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t ever tell a colleague when I think their actions are inappropriate or not coinciding with our Code of Professional Practice. It means that it will depend on the situation, circumstances, severity of their actions, and other variables that exist.

Teachers should epitomize the qualities we seek in to have in our society. After all, we are the people who shape future generations of adults. Any teacher that doesn’t feel comfortable with this responsibility needs to reconsider their career choice. It is a scary feeling at times to know that my actions will be so influential on others but it is also incredibly empowering. Few people have the opportunity to shape a child’s life the way a teacher does. The most effective way to make changes in a society is through education. A teacher holds the key to this change. Holding ourselves to a high standard should be implicit when we remember this very fact. 

The big question: Who inspired you to teach?

Everyday children inspire me to teach. Their love of learning, natural curiosity, and yearning to understand the world around them inspires me to share what I know with them and to embark on a journey to learn things together.

But the big question was in the past tense. Who inspired me to teach? Ahhhh, it seemed like such an easy assignment at first until I tried to seriously answer the question. There were a few things that made this question difficult to answer: a) that my answer would be posted on the world wide web for all to see and I am a notoriously private person, b) I wasn’t sure if I could pick just one person, and c) it was a question that required a great deal of thought and insight to answer honestly.

In class we used appreciative inquiry (a fancy way to say we used group discussion) to collaboratively create a list of attributes of teachers who inspired us. By creating this list first in small groups and then as a class we were able to appreciate the similarities in our lists once we combined them and explore the differences too. 

So, who inspired me to teach?

A few teachers come to mind for different reasons. However, I would like to choose to name only one at this time.

Mary-Ann Ploshynsky

I have often divided my life into different chapters. Two distinct chapters that exist in my life are life before my brother died and life after. Mary-Ann is special because of the place she had after. 

So often we get hung up on a teacher’s ability to teach curriculum. Parents focus on what their children know rather than what they know how to do, demand to know “what you learned today”, and so forth. What is lost in classifying a teacher’s worth this way is the things that teachers give to us that cannot be compartmentalized or measured. The things, I would argue, that are really important.

Mary-Ann was a special teacher for the skills she helped students develop and for the way in which she did it. I grew up in a small, rural town and Mary-Ann was not always a parent’s favourite teacher. Parents would grumble that she wasn’t teaching us enough of “what we needed to know” or that she was eccentric (she did like to carry a large juice jug of green water around). Students would often join in on some of these criticisms and judgements because in a small town it is easier to be a “sheeple” than to stand out on your own. Of all the benefits of small town life, an open mindedness to uniqueness would seldom be listed. In addition, when you are a student you don’t always know what is best for you and rely on adults to help you form your opinions as you develop.

Mary-Ann was a student centred teacher. This made her unique for me in my educational experiences because I grew up in largely traditional classrooms (though had mostly positive experiences as a student). However, Mary-Ann seldom favoured being traditional. She was an intelligent, positive, outspoken woman and was not afraid to go against the grain and stand up for her students. She was highly energetic and enthusiastic. In addition, she always encouraged students and tried to help them find their own place in the world. Some of Mary-Ann’s most valuable help came to me when I had not yet found my place...

My brother died when I was in grade six and in grade eight my Grandmother also died. I will never forget the day she saw me breaking down in the classroom and made the split second decision to drop everything she was doing and reach out with open arms and a warm heart to try and ease a young girl’s pain and confusion. She took me out of the classroom for a long walk through our town campground/park. Mary-Ann didn’t bother with any formalities or paper work; she acted on instinct and gave my soul just what I needed: some love and understanding. She didn't worry about her long list of things to do or the lesson plan she was going to miss teaching that day. Her primary concern was always her students well-being. Such kindness was not any kind of favouritism towards me. She found ways to use her keen intellect and social intelligence to help students any way she could on a regular basis.

Mary-Ann never gave me her pity but rather provided a positive adult mentor to me, someone who was a safe haven to talk to. Seldom did I share too much, the comfort was simply in having someone around who would take the time to listen. I always related to people older than me better than people my age and Mary-Ann recognized and respected this. In addition, she offered something that few others could in my life could: a connection to my brother. Being the youngest by eight and ten years respectively, many of my classmates and teachers barely knew my siblings. However, Mary-Ann knew my brother well and had taught him. Having someone to share memories and anecdotes with was a key component to working my way through the grieving process. 

There are countless gifts that Mary-Ann imparted during our student-teacher relationship but the best gift of all that she gave was her time. I hope when I become a teacher in my own classroom I never forget this, no matter how busy my life might get.