Name of Student: Ciaran Porter

1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING

On behalf of all teachers here in Ireland, the Teaching Council has set out a list of
standards/requirements that we as educators are expected to uphold. These
following ethical values support and highlight what exactly our role is as teachers.
First I will discuss how it is necessary for the teacher to promote respect. This is to
ensure we promote equality, emotional and cognitive development. In short the
goal here is to have mutual respect between everyone in the school – in the hope
that this respect will then be used in the students’ everyday lives. It is also vital
that we are promoting care in the classroom. Teachers’ undertake this job because
they have the best interests of the students. This is demonstrated through positive
influence, professional judgement and empathy in practice. Next is integrity –
honesty, reliability and moral action all fall under this particular area. We as
teachers must uphold and exercise these values in every part of our lives. Finally,
we teachers are expected to promote and uphold trust – this encompasses
everything from pupils, colleagues, parents, school management and the general
public. This trust is then seen as fairness, openness and honesty. All of these values
are linked with one another and must be promoted together and equally. The
Teaching Council sets out the following standards that apply to all registered
teachers regardless of their position.
1. Values and Relationships: Teachers should be always committed to the best
interests of students, respect individuality and specific needs of students.
They should be committed to equality and the inclusion of everyone –
appreciating differences in students rather than exclusion of these students.
2. Professional Integrity: Teachers should act with honesty and integrity in all
aspects of their work. They should respect the privacy of others and the
confidentially of information gathered from others. Teachers should also
avoid conflict between their professional work and private interests which
could reasonably be deemed to impact negatively on pupils.
3. Professional Conduct: Teachers should uphold the professions reputation.
They must also ensure safety of students when under their supervision,
while working within the framework of relevant regulations. Teachers must
also report any incidents which may impact a student’s welfare. They must
ensure any communication with others is appropriate and not crossing any
 ethical boundaries. Teachers must ensure that they do not practise while
under the influence of any substance which impairs their fitness to teach.
4. Professional Practice: Teachers should maintain high standards of practice
in relation to providing feedback, facilitate students in their holistic
development and create an active environment where students can develop
lifelong learning skills.
5. Professional Development: Teachers should take responsibility for
sustaining and improving the quality of their practice by: ensuring all their
professional knowledge is current and in line with regulations.
6. Professional Collegiality and Collaboration: Teachers should work with
teaching colleagues and student teachers in the interests of sharing,
developing and supporting good practice and to maintain a high level of
education for students. Teachers should also engage with the planning,
implementation and evaluation of curriculum at classroom and school level.

When making a complaint about a registered teacher, one must address the
Investigating Committee. A complaint can be made for any number of reasons
regarding the teachers’ performance, behaviour, any fraudulent declaration, if
he/she is medically unfit to teach or if he/she has been convicted of a triable
offence.

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION

The role of a teacher is an extremely important one and in my opinion the

decision to become a teacher should not be taken lightly. This is due to the amount
of work and the massive responsibility we as educators undertake when teaching
groups of students. That is why I believe this professional code of conduct is
extremely important to provide all teachers including myself, with guidance and
support wherever it is required.
In my opinion this is a very well structured and is laid out article. I found it
easy to follow and any information I was looking for was very easy to locate due to
clear headings and sub-headings.
Firstly I would like to discuss the importance of respect both in and out of the
classroom and reasons it is essential to promote. Based on research I have carried
out and also my own personal experience, I believe there should be no place for
shouting or losing one’s temper either in or out of the classroom. This profession
may test your patience at times however it is vital that you find a way of remaining
calm in order deal with any problems that arise in a calm and collective manner. I
believe all teachers would agree that a large part of effective classroom
management begins with respect, however for it to work successfully this respect
must be mutual on both sides; meaning there must be mutual respect between
teacher and student. “An atmosphere of mutual respect means that students also
treat each other properly. The result is a classroom where more learning takes
place as students feel safe, motivated and, of course, respected.” (Guyana, 2015).
There are many ways of achieving mutual respect with students however I believe
it is always vital when first meeting a class to clearly explain all expectations and
classroom rules. This way you are giving the students the control of how the class
will unfold. If you treat them with respect to begin with; it is more likely you will
receive the same in return. I also believe that teachers must remain consistent and
that these rules must be enforced fairly without any favouritism for the mutual
respect to remain present in the classroom.
Equality in the classroom is also paramount and should always be on the
mind of a teacher in their classroom – in the hope that this will lead to equality
outside the classroom also. Based on my research carried out and experience in
the classroom while on school placement in my third year of college, I have come
to realise the importance of equality and unbiased treatment of students in the
classroom. For my third year placement I was teaching in a DEIS school or
disadvantaged school. This means that quite a large number of the students were
in some way disadvantaged for example their financial background or possibly
some form of special needs. (Citizens Information, 2015). There was also a large
number of non-Irish students in the school – it was because of this; I needed to
ensure I was treating every student with the same level of respect and fairness like
they all deserved. During my research, I found that Karl Marx, a German
sociologist, was very concerned with social class and how it affects different
people. Marx points out that in a capitalist society, the higher class will exploit the
lower class for profit. (Sociology101, 2011). His point is that we should not be living
like that, instead we should see ourselves as equals instead of simply seeing
different classes. “According to Marx, in the future capitalism will be supplanted by
a society with no divisions between rich or poor... the economic system will have
communal ownership and will lead to a more equal society than we know at
present”. (Giddens, Duneir, Appelbaum, &Carr, 2009, p. 12). This was what Marx
hoped would someday happen; that everyone would be equal and there would be
no divide of any sort. As a teacher, I must remain very conscious of this theory.
Firstly I must remain unbiased when teaching different students from different
upbringings. It is also extremely important to “acknowledge and respect the
uniqueness, individuality and specific needs of pupils/ students and promote their
holistic development”. (The Teaching Council, 2016). This is to ensure that you the
teacher, are setting a good example to other students on how to treat those from
different backgrounds. The students will look up to you, a teacher, and may see
you as a role model – providing you act accordingly.
During my weeks of placement in year three, I have tried my very best to
promote equality in the classroom. Firstly when it came to questioning; because I
struggled slightly learning all student’s names at first, I would simply have the list
of names in front of me and I would call them at random when asking questions or
addressing the class; this promoted equality but also helped me to remember their
names and faces. Secondly I was conscious of equality and different backgrounds
when I was working on seating plans so that I wouldn’t divide social classes.
However this was not an easy task and I sought assistance from my co-operating
teachers as they had known the students for much longer than I have. One way I
could promote more equality in the future would be to possibly include more
group work, such as Think-Pair-share. ‘This approach gives all students the
opportunity to have an equal chance at participating’. (Cox, ND).
I believe the professional code of conduct outlines a large number of very
interesting and important points related to teaching and how we as teachers can
better ourselves constantly. I believe this is very relevant in the development of a
professional teacher as it outlines exactly what is expected and what not to do. It is
similar to a map or guideline for new teachers to follow as they find their way,
however I also think it is vital for existing teachers to ensure they remain familiar
with its content as it applies to everyone in our profession.

3. LIST OF REFERENCES

 The Teaching Council. (2016). Retrieved from www.teachingcouncil.ie:

http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Fitness-to-Teach/Code-of-
Professional-Conduct-for-Teachers1.pdf
 Guyana, M. O. (2015, November 19). Retrieved from education.gov.gy:
http://education.gov.gy/web/index.php/teachers/tips-for-
teaching/item/1795-how-to-achieve-mutual-respect-in-the-classroom
 Citizens Information. (2015, March 23). Retrieved from
citizensinformation.ie:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/the_irish_education_syste
m/measures_to_address_educational_disadvantage.html
 Sociology101 (Director). (2011). Marxist View Of The Role Of Education
[Motion Picture].
 Giddens, A., Duneir, M., Appelbaum, R., & Carr, D. (2009). Introduction To
Sociology. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
 Cox, J. (ND). Teach Hub. Retrieved from www.teachhub.com:
http://www.teachhub.com/5-teaching-strategies-cultivate-classroom-
equality