Mumbo jumbo claim denied

The Teachers' Council is defending the code of ethics it developed against the criticism of United Future education spokesman Bernie Ogilvy who claims the $100,000 code is a wasted opportunity.

"It is a piece of meaningless mumbo-jumbo," he said yesterday.

"Our teachers already know this stuff. The Teachers' Council could have been the pre-eminent body for ongoing teacher education and peer support.

"What we need is a credible watchdog for teaching standards."

But Teachers' Council chairwoman Joanna Beresford said teachers who participated in workshops dealing with ethical dilemmas - while developing the code - found it very useful.

"That's what it's designed to do and it's designed to state quite clearly not just what teachers should expect of themselves and their peers and colleagues, but what students and parents and caregivers can reasonably expect of teachers - by way of professional conduct and behaviours.

"It's both a fairly high-minded aspirational statement to the profession plus something designed to give practical assistance on a day-to- day basis for teachers, plus something that underpins other roles and responsibilities the Teacher Council is discharging."

She said the cost was funded by teacher registration fees and it would cover more than 80,000 people.

The Code:

* Commitment to learners. Under this heading were numerous teacher-related goals, such as teachers to develop and maintain professional relationships with learners.

* Commitment to parents/guardians and family/whanau. Among goals were for teachers to recognise carers' roles in education, involve them in decision making and respect their rights to information about their children, unless it was judged to be not in the best interests of the children.

* Commitment to society. Teachers were to strive to support equal opportunity programmes/policy; work to develop schools with democratic ideals; teach and model positive values and encourage students to apply them.

* Commitment to the profession. Teachers were to raise professional standards and achieve good conditions by, for example, assisting newcomers and engaging in continuing professional development.

- NZPA