Why does society hold teachers to higher standards of moral and ethical behavior?

Society holds teachers to higher standers of moral and ethical behavior because we are the people responsible for the next generation. As a teacher (or SLP) we will be role models for the children in our classrooms. As a role model we need to teach our students right from wrong. We will teach our student our morals and values by demonstrating them. They are apart of the invisible curriculum and they will be visible for all our students to see through our actions and reaction to situations. Students will learn from us how to or how not to act in similar situations. It is important that we as teacher show our students how to respond in a way that is appropriate. In today’s society children are getting mixed messages as to what is right and what is wrong. The media and many of the “stars” that children look up to are not holding themselves acting in a way that is moral or ethical. For example there is a lack of right holding oneself accountable. An example of this could be Paris Hilton going to jail. She blamed everyone else but herself. It was everyone else’s fault that she was going to jail even thought the reason she went to jail is because of her own decision to drink and drive. She knew that drinking and driving was wrong and against the law, yet she made the simple decision to do the wrong thing and drive anyways. Children see this example and think that it is okay to do what is wrong and blame everyone else but themselves. We as teacher need to show and teach through example the morals and values such as right from wrong. If the children in our classrooms see us acting in a manner that is not moral or ethical, they will learn these faulty morals or ethical behaviors. If the children learn the faulty morals and ethics our society will be constructed of individuals may not even understand the difference of right from wrong.

Why is collaborating with other teachers, or integrating courses or curricula, a matter of importance to you or your students, or to their futures?

It is important to integrate other course work into therapy because it allows for a greater opportunity of generalization. Generalization occurs when a skill is in the final stage of the learning process just before mastery of the skill occurs. When including other course works into therapy students it not only gives students a chance to practice with other course work but they also become aware of their errors they are producing in outside the therapy room. Therapy time is very limited and if we as Speech Language Pathologists can encourage speech and language therapy outside of our room, it will maximize the students learning abilities. One of my professors once told us, “What happens in the therapy room is a big who cares, what happens in the outside if therapy is what’s important.” If we can help students generalize what they are learning in therapy to areas outside of therapy, the student will practice more and learn the skills faster. The faster the students learn the skills, the sooner they will be dismissed and no longer need services.

What experiences have you had that you can say with a level of certainty to your clients, “you will need this skill in the real world.”

Communication is the foundation for education. In order for us to learn we need to be able to understand and to be understood. Communication effects every aspect of our lives, whether it is written, gestural, or verbal. In order to effectively communicate with eachother we need to know all the processes involved. It is important to know the rules of our language system. If a person does not know proper grammar, others will not understand the message that is being conveyed and they may be perceived as being unintelligent. Another aspect of communication that is important is being able to produce the sounds of a language correctly. For example, if a person is substituting a T for the K it is difficult to understand what is being said. Is the person saying can or tan? Mis-communications that occur because of a lack of language structure or inability to produce the proper sounds can lead to a lot of frustration, for all parties involved in the conversation. I believe that as my students grow older they will gain an understanding and have a desire to correct their speech and language skills.