It seems that I should stand corrected on a previous article that was written. That article pertained to the code of ethics that Arkansas passed for teachers. In that code I had information about the possibility of teachers being reprimanded for acts carried out with students. However, I was not under the impression that the code also affected the private life of teachers when students were not involved.
Thankfully, I was corrected on this issue in one of the comments that was left by a reader. In that comment the reader stated that the first version of the code allowed for teachers to be reprimanded for acts that they carried out in their private activities. For example a speeding ticket or having alcohol at a restaurant could get a teacher in trouble.
This does seem too harsh. Should the school system really be in control of a teacher’s private life? Should teachers be held to higher standards outside of school than other professionals are held to outside of their jobs?
These are some tough questions. While I do not think that there should be any kind of job reprimand for acts outside of school unless they are criminal acts, I do think that teachers should use good judgment when it comes to where they are and what they are doing.
The difference in teachers and other professionals is that teachers work directly as role models for children. Therefore they should be considerate of what acts and words they carry out in front of children regardless if they are in the classroom or not.
Again I do not believe that they system should create a law or rule or a punishment for these actions. I feel this is something that the teacher should deal with morally and based on values.
I would like to apologize for the lack of information that I reported on the Arkansas code of ethics. While I do not believe that there should a code created that controls the legal acts that a teacher carries out when not on duty, I do believe that teachers need to keep in mind that little eyes are looking up to them.