Student, Principal, and Principle Centered Ethical Leadership
Children are taught to be responsible for their actions as soon as they understand right and wrong. Parents teach children to admit to their wrongs regardless of the consequence. This teaches them to be responsible for their actions or what we consider moral philosophy or ethics. Can we expect students to be ethically competent when they enter school? No, we can’t. But we can expect them to learn it. All parents to do teach expected conduct of the school, thus it is then the school’s responsibility to teach such actions/conduct. Teaching character education as students enter Pre-K/Pre-K 4 and continuing such education at the age appropriate level will help to produce better citizenship in the school and community.
At every level of education (elementary, intermediate, middle, Jr. high, and high school), schools have Student Council and/or Honor Society Clubs. clubs instill and further educate through student-centered leadership. These clubs usually start at the 4th or 5th grade level. Students in the lower grade levels can learn the same type of leadership with Student of the Week, Class Leader (President), or Leader of the Day. The younger students can learn how to lead with respect and not being mean to their classmates just because they are the appointed leader of the specific time frame. The older students learn the same concepts; however, they also are responsible for day to day activities at the school such as raising the flag, leading the school wide morning pledges, and liaison for students.
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Students become more conscious of the value of education and their studies when involved with such student centered leadership. They learn the process of campaigning and remain ethical while doing so. They learn how to resolve conflict among themselves and learn at an early age the concept of “agreeing to disagree”. Such leadership will spill over into the classroom and with other students.
Principal centered leadership focuses on the ethical leadership of the campus administrator. The principal must not only follow the policies and procedures of the district but those collaboratively created for the campus. Though the policies and procedures must be followed, it must be done in an ethical manner. Many new issues have arisen that principals must now deal with that was not an issue 10-20 years ago. Principals must now make the ethical decision of how to deal with staff to staff issues, student to staff issues and student to student conflicts. Principals are now faced with legally and ethically handling inappropriate relationships (staff/student or staff/staff). Should the principal handle the issue publically or with the least publicity as possible? Are all parents and staff made aware of the situation or just the parties with possible involvement? Many schools have their own police officer on campus with policies and procedures or what types of infractions will be handled by the district police versus the city police. Should a principal allow a staff member or student to be led off campus by any form of officer? Should it be done while the exchange of class is occurring or once the halls are clear? As a principal, I would conduct all investigations with the least amount of public scrutiny as possible. I definitely would protect the “due process” of my students and staff by not leading off campus during high traffic times. If possible, I would allow parents to pick the student up and have the campus officer follow to whatever authority the student must report (district police, city police, probation officer’s office, etc). The same would be allowed for staff members. Allow the privacy of what is to take place away from campus.
Stephen Covey has a couple of books which can help us become more principle centered leaders. Covey states, “Significant, sustainable quality must ultimately be generated inside-out”. Covey’s belief is the same principles that govern our personal quality performance also lead to increased professional and organizational effectiveness. Some researchers believe that we usually have more integrity in the workplace than we have in our personal lives. That is not the concept taught by Covey. I tend to agree with his natural leadership philosophy. When the four dimensions of human nature are fulfilled, we can become better leaders. The four dimensions are physical, mental, spiritual, and socio-emotional.
We must be physically fit to endure the challenges of leadership. It has been proven that diet, exercise, and rest can affect your processing ability. The lack of such will not allow for appropriate, intellectual choices and rational reasoning. Your physical well being will be a catalyst for the other three dimensions. When you are not physically well, your mental capacity is affected. I believe the reverse is also true. When you are not mentally well, it will affect the physical body. We must get the required amount of rest for our mental stability. We must also keep our minds sharp with continued education, workshops, and/or self teaching. Reading and participating in webinars to keep abreast of updated material or best practices in any career will help keep our minds functioning. The old adage “if you don’t use it, you lose it” is very true. We must keep our minds functioning at all times. We can use all mediums to do so. Academics is usually what we think of and refer to but the use of exercise and games (sports, cards, board games) will keep you sharp as well. Our spiritual being can keep us grounded. Spirituality manifests our quality of being. What is your belief system? What helps keep you intact when things are falling apart? It is your spirituality; not necessarily your religion. I know that my religion dictates my being; however, those who are not religious can still be spiritual. All three of these must work in tandem in order to be effective. Last but not least we have our socio-emotional health. We must be emotional healthy in order to interact appropriately with others. We must be comfortable with ourselves and abilities before we can lead others. A leader with all four dimensions intact will be an outstanding leader!!
Student, Principal, and Principle Centered Ethical Leadership
Children are taught to be responsible for their actions as soon as they understand right and wrong. Parents teach children to admit to their wrongs regardless of the consequence. This teaches them to be responsible for their actions or what we consider moral philosophy or ethics. Can we expect students to be ethically competent when they enter school? No, we can’t. But we can expect them to learn it. All parents to do teach expected conduct of the school, thus it is then the school’s responsibility to teach such actions/conduct. Teaching character education as students enter Pre-K/Pre-K 4 and continuing such education at the age appropriate level will help to produce better citizenship in the school and community.
At every level of education (elementary, intermediate, middle, Jr. high, and high school), schools have Student Council and/or Honor Society Clubs. clubs instill and further educate through student-centered leadership. These clubs usually start at the 4th or 5th grade level. Students in the lower grade levels can learn the same type of leadership with Student of the Week, Class Leader (President), or Leader of the Day. The younger students can learn how to lead with respect and not being mean to their classmates just because they are the appointed leader of the specific time frame. The older students learn the same concepts; however, they also are responsible for day to day activities at the school such as raising the flag, leading the school wide morning pledges, and liaison for students. .JPG)
Students become more conscious of the value of education and their studies when involved with such student centered leadership. They learn the process of campaigning and remain ethical while doing so. They learn how to resolve conflict among themselves and learn at an early age the concept of “agreeing to disagree”. Such leadership will spill over into the classroom and with other students.
Principal centered leadership focuses on the ethical leadership of the campus administrator. The principal must not only follow the policies and procedures of the district but those collaboratively created for the campus. Though the policies and procedures must be followed, it must be done in an ethical manner. Many new issues have arisen that principals must now deal with that was not an issue 10-20 years ago. Principals must now make the ethical decision of how to deal with staff to staff issues, student to staff issues and student to student conflicts. Principals are now faced with legally and ethically handling inappropriate relationships (staff/student or staff/staff). Should the principal handle the issue publically or with the least publicity as possible? Are all parents and staff made aware of the situation or just the parties with possible involvement? Many schools have their own police officer on campus with policies and procedures or what types of infractions will be handled by the district police versus the city police. Should a principal allow a staff member or student to be led off campus by any form of officer? Should it be done while the exchange of class is occurring or once the halls are clear? As a principal, I would conduct all investigations with the least amount of public scrutiny as possible. I definitely would protect the “due process” of my students and staff by not leading off campus during high traffic times. If possible, I would allow parents to pick the student up and have the campus officer follow to whatever authority the student must report (district police, city police, probation officer’s office, etc). The same would be allowed for staff members. Allow the privacy of what is to take place away from campus.
Stephen Covey has a couple of books which can help us become more principle centered leaders. Covey states, “Significant, sustainable quality must ultimately be generated inside-out”. Covey’s belief is the same principles that govern our personal quality performance also lead to increased professional and organizational effectiveness. Some researchers believe that we usually have more integrity in the workplace than we have in our personal lives. That is not the concept taught by Covey. I tend to agree with his natural leadership philosophy. When the four dimensions of human nature are fulfilled, we can become better leaders. The four dimensions are physical, mental, spiritual, and socio-emotional.
We must be physically fit to endure the challenges of leadership. It has been proven that diet, exercise, and rest can affect your processing ability. The lack of such will not allow for appropriate, intellectual choices and rational reasoning. Your physical well being will be a catalyst for the other three dimensions. When you are not physically well, your mental capacity is affected. I believe the reverse is also true. When you are not mentally well, it will affect the physical body. We must get the required amount of rest for our mental stability. We must also keep our minds sharp with continued education, workshops, and/or self teaching. Reading and participating in webinars to keep abreast of updated material or best practices in any career will help keep our minds functioning. The old adage “if you don’t use it, you lose it” is very true. We must keep our minds functioning at all times. We can use all mediums to do so. Academics is usually what we think of and refer to but the use of exercise and games (sports, cards, board games) will keep you sharp as well. Our spiritual being can keep us grounded. Spirituality manifests our quality of being. What is your belief system? What helps keep you intact when things are falling apart? It is your spirituality; not necessarily your religion. I know that my religion dictates my being; however, those who are not religious can still be spiritual. All three of these must work in tandem in order to be effective. Last but not least we have our socio-emotional health. We must be emotional healthy in order to interact appropriately with others. We must be comfortable with ourselves and abilities before we can lead others. A leader with all four dimensions intact will be an outstanding leader!!
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