The Importance of Professionalism and the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics: A Tale of Ethical Paradox

"When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back at you."

Indeed, those words encapsulate the experiences I encountered during my tenure at a place I'll refer to as Tunica High School. I was baffled by the juxtaposition of supposed authority figures who dismissed their own breaches of conduct, while pointing fingers at what they perceived as my minor transgressions. This experience underscored the importance of professionalism, integrity, and adhering to the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics for me, a tale I believe is relevant to teachers, administrators, and parents alike.

The crux of the tale revolves around a benign TikTok video, crafted by one of my students during a theatre class. In the video, we were merely bobbing our heads to a song chosen by the student. The lyrics weren't crystal clear, and in my judgement, the video was innocuous.

Yet, Mr. Petty - an alias for the principal of Tunica High, found fault. He accused me of violating the Educator Code of Conduct on the grounds of "inappropriate language on school grounds" and "failure to provide appropriate supervision of students." These were allegations he perceived from the song in the TikTok video, a song I had little say in choosing, and whose contentious lyrics I didn't hear.

Even as I tried to process these accusations, I couldn't help but feel the sting of irony. The same Mr. Petty who was so swift to allege my ethical transgressions, had a history marked with violations himself. There were stories of domestic violence, his mugshot parading the Internet as a testament. There was the episode when he got into a physical fight with a teacher while he was vice principal. The incident took place on campus, in full view of students and staff. Yet, not only did Mr. Petty escape dismissal, he was promoted and still serves the district today.

In a similar vein, let's consider another character in this tale, Ms. Johnston. A former assistant principal at Tunica High, she had her own brush with legal troubles when she was arrested for public drunkenness and vandalism. Much like Mr. Petty, her mugshot too was plastered across the Internet and social media. Despite this, Ms. Johnston not only retained her job but was promoted to the principal position a mere six months later.

Throughout these experiences, I found myself grappling with a question: How does a district justify releasing dedicated and ethical teachers while upholding and promoting those with questionable actions? It points to a deeply concerning flaw in our education system - a paradox where actions and consequences seem oddly disjointed.

What happened to me was not pleasant. Yet, it sharpened my understanding of the absolute necessity for ethical behavior in academia. The Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics exists for a reason, to hold us educators to a standard that matches the importance of our role. Integrity and transparency are not mere words to adorn a school's mission statement. They should be a reality that permeates the very fabric of our educational institutions.

If we are to instill in our students the values of honesty, respect, and responsibility, it is us who must first embody them, especially when our hands are unclean. The ethical paradox I experienced at Tunica High is a stark reminder that we have a long way to go. Yet, each story shared, every discussion fostered, is a step towards change.