Teaching Manifesto Part Two

6. Without standards, we sacrifice our authority at the altar of low expectations. We set standards, but resist standardization. Relevant standards meet diverse needs fairly. Standardization flatlines needs unfairly. As ethical teachers we challenge blind and deranged standardization that heightens the fear of failure and the lowers the bar of excellence.


7. We believe the caring teacher embraces authority and democracy in the classroom. Authority without democratic transfer of power to our students becomes autocratic. Democracy without the guiding wisdom of teacher authority breeds inefficiency and bad power: bullying, factions, unethical teacher silence and the silencing of minorities.

8. We teach to be aware of and alleviate fear. We commit to overcoming our personal fears that disconnect us from our students. We then address learned helplessness, academic performance anxiety, institutional failure and imposed silence through attentiveness and stress-relieving strategies.

9. We teach to the mind and the emotions, to curricular goals and wellness, to analysis and connection. We care by eliciting and listening to our students’ emotional needs as intrinsic to education.

10. We teach to the spirit. We intentionally and boldly open the universe and its awesome features to our students. We create space for awe, curiosity, beauty and personal modeling. We consciously combat the repressive power of moralism, legalism, factism and groupism. As we engage the spirit, we answer our true calling.