This is an extremely important standard as it is the notion that educators are role models inside and outside of the classroom, and that one’s actions matter. Educators are a held to a high standard of practice with words, behaviour and actions, and this is something that we must all remember and keep at the forefront of our minds always. Not only does the actions of an educator inside and outside the classroom reflect on themselves and the school, it reflects on the profession as a whole. This is a large responsibility, as teachers should always be viewed as respected and responsible adults who are able to nurture and care for the minds of youth.
During my practicum, I was in a Kindergarten classroom. These students are just learning how to be a student, and navigate their way through school for the first time. There is a lot of learning and forming skills happening at this time. One thing about Kindergarteners is they are very welcoming to new people in the classroom, and are very open and inviting. In the first week that I was teaching, the Wednesday was Pink Shirt Day, which is a day to promote kindness and anti-bullying. Students are encouraged to wear pink and show their support. While many students did have pink to wear, a few didn’t, so we made some pink bracelets to be more festive for the day. I used the bracelet making as a literacy lesson, where they had to sound out and form words using alphabet beads to add to their pink bracelet. I made an example to show during my explanation of the activity and showed the students what I had sounded out on mine: spread love. Of course, many of the students were eager to sound out their own words and personalize their bracelet to their liking; however, I noticed some of the students were very complimentary of my bracelet and wanted theirs to match mine. Not only did they use my example to understand what to do, they used my example to match me and be “twins”. For the rest of the three weeks I was there, I noticed some students wearing their bracelets again and reminding me that we were matching. In another example, I would often say to the students “I love that” and I noticed that some students started saying it as well when they would complement their peers. There were many more instances like this as well, which drilled the idea that students are very malleable and influenced very easily, so making good decisions and being that positive role model is extremely important. Kindergarten is a grade where it is easy to see the impacts of your role in the classroom; however, it is just as important in all grades.