D016 LEADERSHIP
FOUNDATIONS AND ETHICS
TASK 1 LATEST GUIDE
WESTERN GOVERNORS
UNIVERSITY.
, lOMoAR cPSD| 19857451
ACM – 2 Task 1: Ethical Leadership
A1. Personal Values
I am looking forward to using several of my values while engaged in educational
leadership, with personal integrity being at the forefront. My father, undoubtedly, had the largest
impact on regards to integrity, being a devout Catholic, as well as, an attorney. While discussing
the law with him as a child, I would suggest answers to legal issues that, inadvertently, contained
nefarious means as a path to a favorable solution for his side of a case. Without fail, he would
explain how his integrity, as well as his integrity towards the “spirit of the law,” would prevent
him from acting in the manner which I suggested.
My concept of personal integrity was further influenced by my time in the military.
Integrity was one of the three mottos of our military branch. We simply defined integrity as
“doing the right thing when no one is looking.” Often, we were in a hurry to get work done and
had supervisors that, on one hand, demanded inspections and repairs were done swiftly, with
little acknowledgment of the actual amount of time procedures required to be done in the safest
or most complete matter. While admittedly I had failed on several occasions to prioritize my
safety, I never completed tasks that could cause any type of system failure to the aircraft I was
maintaining. The thought of any of my maintenance or shoddy inspections resulting in
catastrophic accident, was not something that I could imagine living with.
Another value that I have held much firmer in my past several years of teaching has been
my commitment to the concept that all students can learn, as well as adopting a growth mindset.
Early in my career, I taught middle school social studies and found that getting students to
achieve was a natural ability of mine. However, when starting to teach middle school math, I
found state-level achievement levels for my students to be almost an incomprehensible goal.
After several months of teaching, however, I altered my perspective and came to understand the
difference between worrying about state-level achievement, and the far more reasonable goal of
ensuring that all students could learn. This concept came to me when focusing on student
growth, rather than far-fetched expectations which did not center on the individual student.
Personalizing instruction and expectations resulted in much better academic success for many of
my students while building their confidence and reinforcing their ability to learn.
A2. Ethical Obligations
As a school leader, I have certain ethical obligations and ethical behaviors that I will be
expected to model. Despite living in a state that has mandatory state testing, and our schools thus
being evaluated both at a state, as well as a federal level, based on data, it will be important for
me to remember that data points on a chart are not the only pieces my career will entail. As an
educational leader, it is fundamental to the career to exhibit leadership styles, while taking into
concern issues such as empathy, enforcing a sense of belonging, and having transparent
communication to create a culture where learning can best take place, which consequently, will
result in higher achievement from staff and students alike.
For example, a leader needs to demonstrate a sense of empathy towards the students of
the building. While keeping in mind that all students can learn, it is imperative that remember
that students have lives outside of the realm of the school, and issues at home, work, with family,
FOUNDATIONS AND ETHICS
TASK 1 LATEST GUIDE
WESTERN GOVERNORS
UNIVERSITY.
, lOMoAR cPSD| 19857451
ACM – 2 Task 1: Ethical Leadership
A1. Personal Values
I am looking forward to using several of my values while engaged in educational
leadership, with personal integrity being at the forefront. My father, undoubtedly, had the largest
impact on regards to integrity, being a devout Catholic, as well as, an attorney. While discussing
the law with him as a child, I would suggest answers to legal issues that, inadvertently, contained
nefarious means as a path to a favorable solution for his side of a case. Without fail, he would
explain how his integrity, as well as his integrity towards the “spirit of the law,” would prevent
him from acting in the manner which I suggested.
My concept of personal integrity was further influenced by my time in the military.
Integrity was one of the three mottos of our military branch. We simply defined integrity as
“doing the right thing when no one is looking.” Often, we were in a hurry to get work done and
had supervisors that, on one hand, demanded inspections and repairs were done swiftly, with
little acknowledgment of the actual amount of time procedures required to be done in the safest
or most complete matter. While admittedly I had failed on several occasions to prioritize my
safety, I never completed tasks that could cause any type of system failure to the aircraft I was
maintaining. The thought of any of my maintenance or shoddy inspections resulting in
catastrophic accident, was not something that I could imagine living with.
Another value that I have held much firmer in my past several years of teaching has been
my commitment to the concept that all students can learn, as well as adopting a growth mindset.
Early in my career, I taught middle school social studies and found that getting students to
achieve was a natural ability of mine. However, when starting to teach middle school math, I
found state-level achievement levels for my students to be almost an incomprehensible goal.
After several months of teaching, however, I altered my perspective and came to understand the
difference between worrying about state-level achievement, and the far more reasonable goal of
ensuring that all students could learn. This concept came to me when focusing on student
growth, rather than far-fetched expectations which did not center on the individual student.
Personalizing instruction and expectations resulted in much better academic success for many of
my students while building their confidence and reinforcing their ability to learn.
A2. Ethical Obligations
As a school leader, I have certain ethical obligations and ethical behaviors that I will be
expected to model. Despite living in a state that has mandatory state testing, and our schools thus
being evaluated both at a state, as well as a federal level, based on data, it will be important for
me to remember that data points on a chart are not the only pieces my career will entail. As an
educational leader, it is fundamental to the career to exhibit leadership styles, while taking into
concern issues such as empathy, enforcing a sense of belonging, and having transparent
communication to create a culture where learning can best take place, which consequently, will
result in higher achievement from staff and students alike.
For example, a leader needs to demonstrate a sense of empathy towards the students of
the building. While keeping in mind that all students can learn, it is imperative that remember
that students have lives outside of the realm of the school, and issues at home, work, with family,
