MTS Code of Professional Practice

Every occupation has a set of rules, policies, or guidelines which all its employees must abide by, and teachers are no exception.  In Manitoba, the Manitoba Teachers Society (MTS) has a code of professional practice, which contains thirteen required standards of conduct for all its members.  Once you have entered into the Faculty of Education you are considered a member of MTS.  I have provided a link to this document if you wish to read each of the standards of conduct.

To be honest, I was a little surprised when I read through the code of professional practise, due to the simplicity of it.  I guess I was expecting a long paper on all the expectations and guidelines of being a member of MTS.  I was quite pleased by the layout of this document, as its easy to see the thirteen standards which all teachers are to follow.  Each of these standards makes so much sense, and some seem like common sense for anyone who knows the school system. 

In reading through this code, it was interesting to see the similarities between our definitions of professionalism and the thirteen standards of conducts printed here.  In a class discussion of defining professionalism we came up with the following definitions: "Meticulous adherence to unwavering commitment of the education of society (students, parents, and colleagues) and to the practice of education itself.  A person must always uphold their standards and values as well." and "A manner in which an individual adheres to a code of conduct, ethics, and values of the teaching profession.  There is an assumed commitment towards students, parents, the school, and community which must be upheld at all times.  Professionals must also be willing to be life long learners."  In both of these definitions our class managed to reach well over half of the standards of conduct printed by MTS.  This is a good sign since all of us are now members of MTS, and will be for many years to come.

I'm very glad that we covered this document, as there were a couple standards that I was not previously certain of.  One of these was number seven, where a teacher is told that if they are having a problem with another teacher, they must direct their complaint to that person directly before going to the appropriate officials, with the other teachers awareness.  I had always assumed that if there was a problem in the school the principal would be the person to talk to, but after becoming familiar with this document I have come to see how it is best to just confront the person you are having the issue with and try to solve it internally, before getting others involved.  This prevents a lot of talking behind people's backs, which is not appropriate for a professional place of work.  Another standard that I had never been quite certain of was number twelve, where a teacher can not accept a position at a school if the school is in dispute with MTS.  I was glad to learn that Manitoba teachers can not strike, so hopefully I do not have to experience this situation.

I believe this was an important document to familiarize myself with and to learn while I am student teaching and acquainting myself with others in the profession of teaching.  These are all serious standards of conduct for anyone who wishes to be considered a professional teacher, and I would not want to put myself in the position of not abiding by one due to my ignorance of the code of professional practise.             

http://www.mbteach.org/inside-mts/professionalcode.html