Saturday, May 14, 2011

PYP Attitude: Integrity

During the week I was talking with a teacher about meetings.  I used to teach her grade last year, but this year I don't so I never attend their planning meetings.  She was saying that she missed me because I was clear thinking and could suggest ways forward with the units of inquiry.  She said something else too that has stayed with me and I've thought a lot about - she said the reason she liked me being there was because I was full of integrity.  Now interestingly enough integrity is one of the PYP attitudes.  Before this week I never really thought about it all that much, but after this conversation I went back and checked the PYP definition and it is this:  Being honest and demonstrating a considered sense of fairness.

However there is more to it than that - and just as I was mulling over it I saw this tweet from @ssendro:
"Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people." ~Spencer Johnson
And that's where I think people have different opinions.  Some people like to hear the truth - they would rather hear what people are thinking and have it openly discussed in a meeting.  Others don't like it, perhaps they feel threatened by it.  Sometimes it's easier just to say nothing.  Sometimes it's easier not to rock the boat.

A few days later I was in the dining room chatting with another teacher.  She told me that this year she's had a hard time because a lot of the units have changed.  She said she found it hard to let go of the way she'd done things in the past.  However what she went on to say made me want to hug her.  She said it was because of this that she decided to move to a different grade where everything was new.  She said she wouldn't feel like she had to hold onto anything any more and that she would be able to move forward in a better way.  And I thought to myself WOW - that's integrity and honesty all in one.

Photo Credit:  Honesty Seed Pods by Chris John Beckett  AttributionNoncommercialNo Derivative Works

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