What Could Be Wrong with Integrity?
This article appeared in The Transylvania Times edition June 22, 2023
Transylvania County Board of Education earlier this month reviewed proposed changes to a Code of Ethics for school board members. This code is part of “Policies to Lead the Schools” from the North Carolina School Boards Association, which provides advocacy, leadership, and services that enable school boards to govern at the highest level.
The code of ethics sets expectations for school board members’ behavior; in brief: They must obey laws. They should conduct meetings in an open and public manner. They should attend meetings and make decisions with the objective of providing our students with a sound education. Board members should model civility to students, school employees and all members of the community. As elected officials, they should be representative of all the people. At the same time, they should encourage free expression of opinions and engage in respectful dialogue between themselves and the public.
The code says board members commit to … model civility to students, employees, and all elements of the community. The proposal was to add “and integrity” after the word “civility” in the above phrase. One board member objected to adding the word “integrity,” saying he felt it to be subjective and open to interpretation; that it could create situations where certain opinions or dissenting voices could be dismissed or labeled as uncivil, limiting diversity of thought.
Oh, really? The word “civility” remains in the language of the code–there was no motion to eliminate it. “Civility,” like “integrity,” has multiple definitions in Merriam-Webster and thus is also subject to some degree of interpretation—but none of the board members objected to “civility.”
For that matter, “pledge,” “allegiance,” “united,” ”republic,” and “liberty,” all words in the Pledge of Allegiance which is recited—appropriately!—before each meeting, have multiple meanings. They, too, could be “open to interpretation,” yet we have never heard this board member object to repeating the Pledge of Allegiance.
So, what could be wrong with “integrity”? Some of the synonyms Merriam-Webster lists for “integrity” are: Character. Decency. Goodness, Honesty. Morality. Virtue.
Definitions of integrity may vary on the margins, but the consensus regarding what it means to be a person of integrity is so strong among English-speaking peoples that countless American institutions and businesses list integrity as a core value. The word comes from the Latin integer, meaning whole or complete. When our actions are aligned with our values, we are whole. Over time, the word has evolved to mean alignment of our actions with admirable ethical principles - the courage to do the right thing despite temptations to take the easy way out.
Important voices have contributed to this consensus. Author C.S. Lewis famously defined integrity as “doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.”
President Eisenhower observed that integrity was unquestionably “the supreme quality for leadership… Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on… a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
Businessman, investor, and philanthropist Warren Buffet looks for three qualities in the people he hires: “integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first one, the other two will kill you.”
Former Republican U.S. Senator Alan Simpson quipped, "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."
First Lady Michelle Obama said, "We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square."
And when dealing with students in our education system, integrity begins with us - the adults in the room. We must “walk the walk,” not only “talk the talk.” It is not enough to say we value diversity of thought. We must demonstrate respect for others who hold different views and resolve conflicts in responsible ways behaviors that students learn by watching the adults. The adults in our school system must marshal the moral courage to take the deliberate actions necessary to make our schools inclusive places, where students of all races, religion, genders, and abilities connect in meaningful ways to learn and succeed.
We adults hold enormous social and political power in a school setting. Our decisions will profoundly influence how our children will grow into productive engaged citizens. But the power of our example is equally important. We must model the highest ethical standards, and that requires a moral vocabulary. We must not shrink from words like integrity or the values that integrity implies: responsibility, respect, fairness, trustworthiness.
After little discussion and no objection, the motion to omit proposed revisions such as adding “integrity,” passed. Choosing to leave integrity out of the Code of Ethics may not be front page news, but it is disturbing.
Resources:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_to_help_students_cultivate_integrity
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-moment-youth/201509/integrity-in-the-classroom
https://academicintegrity.org/resources/fundamental-values
