For the past few years, Mira Costa has utilized the same ethics policy, but on Jan. 20 Ed Council discussed an updated version that more clearly outlines who is responsible for each step of ethics policy intervention in the case of an infraction, and if implemented correctly, will promote a more fair classroom environment.
The proposed ethics policy is the product of the Ed Council’s collaborative effort between administrators, department chairs and teacher recommendations. The new matrix maintains the previous point system in which students accumulate points for each infraction but adds more infractions to some of the categories.
The update also clearly labels whether a teacher or administrator will take action, as opposed to simply listing an arbitrary consequence. Labeling whether a teacher or administrator will carry out a given action helps clarify the corrective process and enables students and teachers to have a clearer understanding of the process.
Many teachers believe that the changes will give students structure if implemented properly. Math teacher Tim Kelley believes that the new ethics policy is theoretically sound, but he is curious to see if it can be integrated into Costa in such a way that it creates a meaningful change in the academic community.
If the students ultimately seem to be more accountable for their actions, therefore enhancing the learning environment, the policy could make more of a positive impact on Costa than previous ethics policies have been able to. Enhancing the policy one more time before next year could also help ensure its effectiveness.
Principal Dr. Ben Dale also stated that the Ed Council created the updated version to reflect new uses of technology, such as smartphones. For example, the 6b infraction category now includes punishments for students who take a photo or screenshot of a test. This demonstrates the faculty’s understanding that in order to combat new forms of cheating, the standards must be modified and clarified as to whom will actually deal with such infractions.
If implemented strictly, the new ethics policy will consolidate all consequences for student misbehavior and allow teachers to rely on a focused and organized set of steps to properly keep their classrooms under control while remaining fair.
According to English Department Chair and Ed Council President Alan Zeoli, most teachers at Costa teach because they love their students, which makes it difficult for some teachers to fully enforce the ethics policy. The policy will be easier to implement considering that it will reduce variability in the manner that teachers assign punishments to students.
These new measures should be approved as they provide an unprecedented level of clarity to the proceedings and are reflective of the current technology use at Costa. This updated ethics policy serves not only as a comprehensive plan for dealing with specific and new infractions, but also as a call for morality in its actual implementation.
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