Moral Imperative



Moral Imperative is a concept that many professions seek to implore of their professionals and wish to share with those who use their services. Doctors, lawyers, public servants, politicians, and educators are all expected to practice, make decisions, and educate under a mindset of morality or with a deep moral purpose. While not every person in such professions is a truly moral person and may not always make decisions with morality, they are expected and believed to do so.

Fullan and Quinn (2016) stated that effective leaders do the following:

  • Build relationships with everyone
  • Listen and understand the perspective of others 
  • Demonstrate respect for all
  • Create conditions to connect others around that purpose
  • Examine with staff evidence of progress
As an educator, I seek to become an effective leader in and out of my classroom. Moral Imperative filters my words in public, including my personal social media posts and "friends" I accept in such arenas. I do feel as if educators are often forgotten as regular people with differing or controversial opinions, feelings of frustration, and anxieties that plague their daily thoughts. Educators are expected to remain "ON" all of the time and are often punished for their humanity. For example, if a doctor or even a politician says an off-color comment about another person, they may be reprimanded but if a teacher says the same comment, they could and probably would lose their job. The Moral Imperative of educators is expected to remain high, no matter what. When an educator can combine a strong moral basis for life, they will, however, become a strong leader through consistent positive choices and attitudes. 


While I do not currently hold a titled place of leadership, I am a leader in my classroom and among my family and friends. I foster more purpose in my life through censorship of my thoughts and speech. I do not agree with many aspects of our current education system but I have chosen to create change within the system by improving my own educational standing, listening and seeking to understand varying opinions, and always examining my own practice. My colleagues and I are always learning, growing, and seeking to better our students and classroom by discussing what worked and what did not to ensure our students are always progressing. 

One of my biggest areas of weakness, and this has been a challenge for me since I began developing differing opinions from my parents, is demonstrating respect for all. I feel as if education is of utmost importance. I am not speaking only about formal education but about searching for and recognizing truth instead of living in blissful ignorance. I feel as if educators should be held to a higher standard in proper speech and a desire to research and understand topics such as politics (we are government employees so, yes, politics matter!), environmental issues, and human development. I find it difficult to respect college educated people, people who are educating young people, but use horrible grammar in written and spoken conversation. For example, I have worked with teachers who said, "I seen her at the store" or "When I done got that, I was happy." I do mentally judge them and have a difficult time build deep lasting professional relationships with them. I feel the same about educators who say politics are confusing and don't matter or share information they "heard on the news" without verifying the source. I am, however, respectful to all but it may not always be genuine respect, but a sort of faux respect to protect my position. 



Because I know I struggle with respecting those I feel do not desire to always work to better themselves in life or at work, I do not believe I have reached a place in my own life to be a successful leader. I will continue to focus on my own education, health, mindset, and pedagogy while searching for value in everyone I meet. It is my moral responsibility! 



References
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence Making. In Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems (p. 3). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.




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