EDLD 5370 Reflection over 5345 Part 4.4

EDLD 5345 asked us to review Chapter 247 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), "Educators' Code of Ethics," and conduct observations and/or interviews our school, and use the results of those observations/interviews to complete the "Code of Ethics Mindwalk."
There are several areas addressed in the Educators’ Code of Ethics. My interviews and observations focused on TEA Correspondence and Complaints Management, including who can lodge a complaint and what the complaint has to include, the ethical standards under each of the three main areas of Chapter 247 of the TAC and possible consequences of personnel engaging in any of these ethical conflicts. The strategies I used to complete this assignment included interviewing my principal and superintendent about ethical violations they are aware of either with staff at this school or any of their former schools. I practiced comparing our local school policies to the policies listed on the TAC website and by using Walsh’s School Law text. (Walsh, Kemerer & Maniotis, 2010)
My learning and interaction from colleagues gave me some insight in to how slippery a slope employee conflicts can be. Administrators must follow the letter of the law and most still rely on the advice of the school legal counsel. A life-long learning skill I also discovered is that it may be crucial to seek the help of reference materials when constructing a case for employee discipline. I will keep an updated copy of some school law resource information handy. The past interactions with teachers who may not follow the letter or the spirit of school laws and guidelines has shown me that schools actually have a lot of leeway in dealing with insubordination, stealing and bad treatment of students and parents. One lesson I’ve learned both from the internship text is that to be a good leader, “you must do what you tell others to do.” (Martin, Wright, Danzig, Flanary & Brown, 2005) “A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader ‘walks the talk’ and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others.” (White, 1997)

Martin, G. E., Wright, W. F., Danzig, A. B., Flanary, R. A., & Brown, F. (2005). School leader internship. (2nd, p. 60). Parsippany: UB Communications.
Walsh, I., Kemerer, F., & Maniotis, L. (2010). The educator's guide to texas school law, seventh edition. (7th ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press.
White, B. (1997). Seven qualities of a good leader. Retrieved October 30, 2011 from http://www.groco.com/readingroom/bus_goodleader.aspx