WTS 9 Portfolio Entry

The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) published the code of

ethics for Catholic educators. The purpose of this code is to make the students’ well-

being the foundation of all decisions. The mission of the NCEA is, “In service of the

Gospel of Jesus Christ, NCEA strengthens Catholic school communities by providing

professional development, formation, leadership and advocacy.” As outlined in their

mission statement, the purpose of the NCEA is to be a strong leader, help Catholic

educators and students learn, and to help those educators and students proclaim the good

news. This is evidenced in the Code of Ethics for Catholic Educators through the three

categories that the code is separated into: Commitment to students, commitment to the

ministry of teaching, and commitment to the community. Catholic educators are

supposed to preserve their students’ rights, promote professionalism, and challenge their

students to live out their Christian values.

As a Catholic educator myself, I like this code of ethics because it stands for

everything I believe in. One of my favorite parts in the code is where it states, “The

Catholic school educator upholds the authority of the school when communicating with

parents, students, and the school community.” I love being able to share my faith in (and

out) of the classroom. No matter what I am teaching I am able to tie in Jesus’ teachings

in a child friendly way. For example, when it comes to being kind, I can share examples

with my students of how Jesus was kind and relate it to how they can be kind with others

and walk in the footsteps of Jesus. When it comes to pinpointing what I dislike about this

code, I cannot. Each bullet point of the code for Catholic educators contains a little piece

of my teaching philosophy.
 The Code of Ethics for Catholic Educators would help me when faced with an

ethical decision at work. However, not all families who attend Catholic schools are

Catholic and share the same beliefs. Therefore there could be disagreements on what is

viewed as right or wrong. At the end of the day, by choosing to attend a Catholic school,

a certain level of respect needs to be attained.

One of the journal entries I wrote about dealt with a man named Chris whose

mom recently relapsed into alcoholism. Chris’ dad threatened to leave the family if

Chris’ mom relapsed. The ethical dilemma asked if Chris should tell his dad about his

mom’s relapse to potentially get her help. Upon reviewing the code for Catholic

educators, Chris should tell his dad about his mom’s relapse because if Chris’ dad left the

family, he would not be preserving the basic tradition of being there for your spouse in

sickness and in health.