THE DEMANDS OF SOCIETY FROM THE Chapter 2, Lesson 2

TEACHER AS A PERSON Third Meeting

TWELVE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER
WALKER, ROBERT; A LONGITUDINAL, QUALITATIVE, QUASI RESEARCH STUDY OF IN-SERVICE AND PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

1. Prepared
2. Positive
3. Hold High Expectations 10. Respect students
11. Forgiving
4. Creative 12. Admit mistakes
5. Fair
6. Displays a personal touch
7. Cultivate sense of belonging
8. Compassionate
9. Have a sense of humor
OFTEN TIMES WE HEAR PERSONS ADDRESSING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS
AS "YOUR HONOR" OR REFERRING TO THEM AS "HONORABLE." BUT DO
THEY REALLY DESERVE THE TITLE OR RESPECT?

the term "honorable" - great respect or self-respect

It refers therefore to a person known of high moral
integrity.
Considering the definition, we have to admit that
there is one person whose profession highly entitles
him or her to be addressed "your honor" – the
teacher.
PREAMBLE
THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
SEC 3, ARTICLE III CODE OF ETHICS
"Every teacher shall merit reasonable social
recognition for which purpose he shall behave
with honor and dignity at all times and refrain
from such activities as gambling, smoking,
drunkenness and other excesses, much less illicit
relations,"
 PUSE V PUSE, GR NO. 183678
A teacher, both in his official and personal
conduct, must display exemplary behavior. He
must freely and willingly accept restrictions on
his conduct that might be viewed irksome by
ordinary citizens. In other words, the personal
behavior of teachers, in and outside the
classroom, must be beyond reproach.
SEC 3, ARTICLE IX CODE OF ETHICS

“A teacher shall maintain at all

times a dignified personality which
could serve as model worthy of
emulation by learners, peers, and
others”
SANTOS VS NLRC, GR 115795
Furthermore, the Court ruled that Art. 68 of the Family
Code enjoins the husband and wife to live together,
observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render
mutual help and support.” As a teacher, one stands in loco
parentis to his students and must therefore act with a high
standard of integrity and honesty. It is settled therefore
that a teacher who engages in extra marital affairs, when
both are married, amounts to gross immorality justifying
termination from employment.
With such high standard of morality and
stringent rule of conduct the teacher must
observe, not only inside the school but also
even outside.
existing laws require the teacher, in the
exercise of the profession, to play the dual
role of an educator and a mother or a father
of the student – the most important roles of a
person to our children
A teacher as an educator has the duty to ensure
that his or her students receive "quality education."
The Constitution in Article IV, Sec. 1, provides that
"xxx the State shall protect and promote the right
of all citizens to quality education at all levels and
shall take appropriate steps to make such education
accessible to all."
REV. FR. JOAQUIN BERNAS, S.J
"xxx making sure that basic education is really solid, because if it
is not solid, it affects the quality of secondary education. If
secondary education is poor, then the person goes to college
unprepared for college work. And if he is allowed to graduate
again with a poor quality college education, he goes to university
professional education even more unprepared."

In short, the teachers must ensure that each student acquire at least
the minimum learning competencies to enable them to become
functionally literate to go through the next higher level in the
formal education ladder.
1) ensure the competence and
efficiency of teachers in the
performance of their duties; and
2) ensure proper and fair evaluation
of student’s academic performance.
Standard of efficiency and competence
of teachers
The Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers provided in Article IV, Sec. 2, that "Every
teacher shall uphold the highest possible standards of quality education, shall make
the best preparation for the career of teaching, and shall be at his best at all times
in the practice of his profession."
Also, in Batas Pambansa Blg. 232,
otherwise known as the Education Act of
1982, Sec. 16 (2) provides that "The
teacher shall xxx be accountable for
efficient and effective attainment of
specified learning objectives xxx."
a teacher is expected to be efficient and competent in the
performance of his academic duties at all times.
Otherwise, a teacher who has consistently shown his
inability to efficiently perform his duties and
responsibilities, within a common performance standard,
should no longer be allowed to stay in school. As decided
by the Supreme Court in the case of Evelyn Pena vs NLRC
"xxx schools can set high standards of efficiency for its
teachers since quality education is a mandate of the
Constitution xxx security of tenure xxx cannot be used to
shield incompetence."
EVELYN PENA VS NLRC
Petitioners were teachers at the Naga Parochial
School in Naga City. They had been employed there
for more than three years and as a consequence,
had enjoyed permanent status. On May 4, 1998,
however, they were given notice of the termination
of their employment on the ground... that they failed
to obtain a minimum efficiency rating of 85% in the
two previous school years as required in the
teacher's manual of respondent school.
PROPER AND FAIR EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS
To establish therefore the acquired academic competencies of the students, the
teachers should evaluate or give grades strictly in accordance with the law.

The Code of Ethics provides that "a teacher has the duty to determine the academic
marks and the promotion of learners in the subject they handle. Such determination
shall be in accordance with generally accepted procedure of evaluation and
measurement."

Section 16 (5) of BP 232 mandates that a teacher shall "refrain from making
deductions in student’s scholastic ratings for acts that are clearly not manifestations of
xxx scholarship."
The Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Section 79 provides that "the grade
or rating xxx in a subject should be based SOLELY on his scholastic performance. Any
addition or diminution to the grade in a subject for co-curricular activities, attendance
or misconduct shall NOT be allowed xxx.“

The Code of Ethics further provides that "a teacher shall not make deductions from
their scholastic ratings as a punishment for acts which are clearly not manifestations
of poor scholarship."
The Supreme Court said that a teacher who merely tries to
influence a colleague to change a failing grade of a
student to one that is passing is already guilty of gross
misconduct.

The High Court rules in Padilla vs. NLRC, that "the pressure
and influence exerted by (a teacher) on his colleague to
change a failing grade to passing one constitute serious
misconducts which is a valid ground for dismissing an
employee."
The academic grade should be based upon actual
proficiency demonstrated and not upon other
considerations such as conduct or attendance.
Thus, it is not a matter of discretion on the part of the
teachers in the giving of the students’ grades, but rather it
is a clear obligation for the teachers to determine student
academic marks solely based on scholastic preference.
For a teacher to do otherwise (that is, to give a grade not
based on the students’ scholastic performance), would
undoubtedly be tantamount to serious academic
malpractice or grave misconduct in the performance of
his/her duties.
Article 218 of the Family Code provides
"The school, its administrators and teachers
xxx engaged in child care shall have
special parental authority and
responsibility over the minor child while
under their supervision, instruction or
custody."
The student is in the custody and hence, the
responsibility of the school authorities and other
school personnel as long as he is under the control
and influence of the school and within its premises,
whether the semester has not yet begun or has
already ended.
Even if the student is just relaxing in the campus in
the company of his classmates and enjoying the
atmosphere of the school, the student is still under
the custody and subject to the discipline and
responsibility of the school authorities and the school
personnel.
Clearly, a teacher or school personnel required to exercise
special parental responsibility, but who fails to observe all
the diligence of a good father of a family in the custody
and care of the pupils and students, shall be held liable
for gross neglect of duty.
The teaching profession is no doubt the most honorable. It
is even said that because of their enormous responsibility
to our children, teachers should be honored more than the
parents themselves.
For if the parents cause the children to live; the teachers
shall cause them to live well.
CHIANG KAI SHEK SCHOOL V. CA
254 PHIL. 394
An unpleasant surprise awaited Fausta F. Oh when she reported for work at the
Chiang Kai Shek School in Sorsogon on the first week of July, 1968. She was told she
had no assignment for the next semester. Oh was shocked. She had been teaching in
the school since 1932 for a continuous period of almost 33 years. And now, out of
the blue, and for no apparent or given reason, this abrupt dismissal.
The Court takes this opportunity to pay a sincere tribute to the grade school teachers,
who are always at the forefront in the battle against illiteracy and ignorance. If only
because it is they who open the minds of their pupils to an unexplored world awash
with the magic of letters and numbers, which is an extraordinary feat indeed, these
humble mentors deserve all our respect and appreciation.
Today therefore, as most schools open for the new school
year, all teachers, whether in the private or public schools,
colleges and universities, should no longer be addressed as
mere "sir" or "ma’am" or "miss" but by the title all of them
obviously deserve: "Your Honor."

Written by: Ulpiano P. Sarmiento III, education lawyer

SOURCES
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2002/06/13/164457/teacher146s-code-ethics
http://www.lawschoolcasebriefs.net/2014/06/jose-s-santos-v-nlrc-et-al-case-
brief.html
http://lawyerly.ph/digest/c843a?user=709
http://lawyerly.ph/juris/view/c6e28