“Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession.” – taken from BCTC’s Professional Standards for BC Educators
When I think about the contents of Standard 2 and what it means for me in my life as both a person and a teacher, I realize that I have already been upholding the contained ideals in various different aspects of my life. I was a competitive curling player from 10 to 16 years old. Being a competitive athlete meant I had the opportunity to travel to many different places to play the game I love including Fraser Lake, Williams Lake, Kelowna, Vernon, and Mission. My coach was an amazing role model and mentor. He always had high standards for our team’s behaviour and he was very clear about these expectations. When we were out of town, our coach expected us to behave professionally on and off the ice. He expected us to act as if all of our curling games were televised and there were cameras and microphones listening and watching our every move; if we were going to do or say something that we would be embarrassed to have heard and recorded, we had to bite our tongue and think before we spoke. He was very adamant that those standards and expectations did not end when we stepped off the ice but continued while we were in the locker rooms taking off our equipment, leaving the venue, in the hotel, getting something to eat at a restaurant, etc. If our conduct and behaviour did not live up to his expectations, we were talked to and disciplined as necessary to make sure history did not repeat itself at the next game or competition.
At the time, I did not understand the decisions my coach made. I remember feeling upset and confused that he was expecting so much from us at such a young age because we weren’t professionals and so we shouldn’t be treated as such and held to those expectations. However, sitting here today and looking back on these experiences, the only feelings I have are those of gratitude, contentment, and appreciation. Our coach taught the team how to behave in a competent manner that was well beyond our years and that maintained the credibility and good reputation our team had when we went out of town, which was that we were a skilled and competitive team with class, respect, professionalism, and grace both on and off the ice. Our conduct as individuals impacted the positive perception of the team as a whole, as well as the perception and reputation of the people of Prince George because we were representing our city every time we stepped on the ice. Because I learned these skills at such a young age, I was able to transfer them into other professional aspects of my life that came up such as being a role model during my time volunteering for the junior curling program, knowing what was expected of me and my conduct and presence in nursing school, and understanding the expectations of my conduct and behaviour and how I am representing teachers through these entities both on and off duty. I will forever be grateful for my early competitive curling career because without my coach, I would not have had such a head start on these skills and they wouldn’t be as ingrained in me as they are now. Instead, they would have been something I had to learn, and my prior behaviour could have had unwanted consequences on my reputation as both a person and teacher.
