“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to
change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
This year, the Honor Council at Houston Academy decided to
update the Honor Code. While we have a well-established honor code and honor
system, the Council felt that we needed to do something tangible to make honor
a more visible and vibrant concept in our community.
For the first time, students at HA are taking part in a
special ceremony to help reinforce the concept of honor in our community. To quote from the revised Honor Code:
At the beginning of the school
year, during a special honor ceremony, faculty and students declare their
honorable intentions and publicly acknowledge their support of the Honor System
by signing the following pledge to uphold the Honor Code: “On my honor, I will
not violate the Honor Code, and I solemnly pledge to act honorably in all my
endeavors as a representative of Houston Academy. My signature affirms my
honor.”
To this end, Mrs. Emblom, the Honor Council sponsor, has
acquired a leather-bound book that each student will sign, every year at the
beginning of the year. Thereby, we will record for posterity our communal pledge
of honor. Two hundred years from now,
the children of Houston Academy will be able to look back and view the
signatures of the current students who have collectively pledged to make
Houston Academy (and the world) a better place. In addition, every time a student in the Upper School at HA complete an assignment, he or she will write or type on his or
her paper, "My signature affirms my honor."
I could not be more proud of what the students on our Honor
Council have accomplished, and I am equally proud of our students who have
voluntarily made their commitment to uphold high standards of excellence for
our community.
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| Students Sign the Honor Book During the Honor Code Ceremony |
Like most of you, I firmly believe that we are obliged to
provide students with a firm foundation in moral and ethical character. As a
parent, what I hope most for my
children is not that they attain academic or athletic prowess, but rather that
they be decent, kind, and that they seek to serve others. More precisely, I
believe we must teach our students to be honorable. Unfortunately, in many schools,
any emphasis on the concept of honor is starkly absent. This is to the
detriment of our society.
One need not look any further than the news media to see how
a lack of morality and ethics has negatively affected our country. In sports, where
many of our children find role models, Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his
Tour de France victories because he “doped”; Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, was
suspended for the rest of the 2013 season in July for violating the league’s
substance abuse policy; and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick did
jail time for gambling and illegal dog fighting. Of course, the Enron, BernieMadoff Ponzi Scheme, and WorldCom scandals in the corporate world have grabbed
headlines, and more significantly, have robbed people of their life savings.
In academia, numerous studies have, likewise, shown
disturbing trends. According to one prominent study, 70% of students in the
United States admit to cheating in one form or another (Gulli, Kohler, &
Patriquin). Moreover, it appears to be getting worse. Donald McCabe (1994) of
Rutgers University has done research comparing the frequency of cheating in the
1960s to the frequency of cheating in the 1990s. To cite just a few examples
from his work, McCabe tells us that the number of college students who admitted
to copying someone else’s work has risen from 26% in 1963 to 52% in 1993, and
the number of students who admitted to using a “cheat sheet” during a test has risen
from 16% to 26% during the same time period.
Of course, the proliferation of technology has made cheating
in our schools almost too convenient.
McCabe (2006) tells us that students are using technology to cheat in
larger numbers than ever before: In 1999, 10% of students surveyed admitted to
copying wholesale off the Internet; by 2005, 40% admitted to doing so. I could
cite many more studies that illustrate similar trends.
Fortunately, independent schools like HA have taken the
strong step of establishing an Honor System to stem the tide of dishonorable
behavior. Consistently, the literature has shown that creating an Honor Code
and an Honor System significantly decreases academic dishonesty (Bowers, 1964;
Campbell, 1935; Canning, 1956; McCabe & Trevino, 1993; Sierles, 1988; et
al.). Perhaps more importantly, however, a well-functioning Honor System helps
students to adhere to honorable behavior later in life – well beyond their
educational career (Bowers, 1964; Campbell, 1935; Canning, 1956; New England Journal of Medicine, 2005; Sierles, 1988; et al.).
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Moreover, research on effective schools and organizations
tells us that giving people a stronger sense of efficacy increases the strength
of any organization (Collins, 2001, 2005; Covey, 1992; Fullan, 2001, 2003; Heifetz
& Linsky, 2002; Patterson, 2003; Whitaker, 2003; et al.). Furthermore, the
research on Honor Codes tells us that the most successful systems centrally
involve students in the decision-making process and persistently involve the full participation of the school community
in shaping the system. Indeed, with the full support of everyone in the HA
community, I believe we are about to embark on a cultural shift that will make
an indelible impact on our students and, by extension, the world around us.
If you get a chance, congratulate Sean Christiansen, Claire Duerson, Jacob
Beauchamp, Rachel Beverly, and Bailey Spivey. Please take the time to thank our
“small group” of Honor Council members for what they have done “to change the world.”
Scott D. Phillipps, Ed.D.
