August 9, 2020  
 
 
Dear PMEA colleagues and PCMEA members:  
 
Welcome to the summer edition of For the Good of the Order brought to you by the
PMEA State Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention
(Council TTRR), supporting "the life cycle of a music educator."
 
For future e-bulletins, you are encouraged to share any new ideas or proposals, organizational solutions, and policy or procedural reminders "for the good of the order." Please send your submissions to [email protected].  
 
 
 
Model Code of Ethics for Educators 
 
PMEA Board Adopts the MCEE at its Summer 2020 Meeting 
 
"Motion from the TTRR Council that the PMEA State Board officially adopt the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) as published by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, and furthermore, will provide professional development on the MCEE in future workshops and conference sessions."
Passed unanimously at the Virtual Meeting of the PMEA Board on July 20, 2020
 
PMEA members are "ethical professionals." Our moral aspirations, the "codes" we subscribe to, and our professionalism are important to us, our students, our programs, and our communities. Essentially, these are our beliefs for which we stand, the values and behavior we model in our day-to-day decision-making to "make a difference" in the lives of our students, and the overall integrity of our profession.
 
Like the spokes in a wheel, the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) encompasses five core principles with equal emphasis:
    1. Responsibility to the Profession
    2. Responsibility for Professional Competence
    3. Responsibility to Students
    4. Responsibility to the School Community
    5. Responsible and Ethical Use of Technology
Within these, 86 standards are presented in 18 sections.
 
Released in 2015, MCEE was developed by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) in partnership with many other nationally accredited educational organizations:
  • American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
  • American Federation of Teachers
  • Association of Teacher Educators
  • Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation
  • Council of Chief State School Officers
  • National Association of Elementary School Principals
  • National Association of Secondary School Principals
  • National Board of Professional Teaching Standards
  • National Education Association
  • National Network of State Teachers of the Year
A code of ethics sets a higher threshold than regulatory codes of conduct or even a nonprofit organization's bylaws and compliance laws enforced by the government. A code of conduct, such
as the Pennsylvania "Code of Professional Practices and Conduct" from the Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC), provides absolutes for employment, licensure, and/or civil/criminal sanctions. The MCEE document serves more as a compass to help steer professionals towards sound judgment in their daily decision-making. What is unique about a true code of ethics vs. a code of conduct is that the principles are not defined in exact terms of law or policies, nor do they necessarily model family morals or values on which we as individual educators have been raised. The proposed standards are not about definite issues of right/wrong or black/white, but shades of grey. They are more open-ended, offering opportunities to discuss recommendations for consideration from a set of possible choices based on the circumstances of each ethical dilemma or resolution.
 
Although the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has endorsed MCEE (according to Minutes of the State Board of Education on January 12, 2017), there has been no mention of it on the PDE or PSPC websites.
 
PMEA is already "ahead of the curve" in providing ethics training for its members. Since 2017, PMEA has presented numerous local workshops, professional development videos, and conference sessions on ethics for music teachers.
 
To download and review a copy of MCEE, click here.
 
For more information, watch this five-minute video summary of MCEE from NASDTEC. 
 
For PMEA's application of MCEE, here is a video from the Chair of PMEA Council TTRR.
 
Stay tuned for future information about future PMEA-sponsored sessions on teacher ethics and the MCEE.
  
 
 
 
Summer Conference Videos to Prepare for the Reopening of Schools 
 
Did you miss the first-ever PMEA virtual conference? For a limited time, recordings of all keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and panel discussions will be available to members. The topics are varied and timely:
  • Advocacy
  • Arranging
  • Basic Bow Technique
  • ChoralWorks
  • Distance and Remote Learning
  • Diversifying Repertoire
  • Elementary Chorus
  • Ensemble Musicianship
  • For the First Year (or Rookie) Teacher
  • General Music
  • Google Classroom
  • Inclusivity
  • LGBTQ+ Issues
  • Marching Band
  • Mentor Program
  • Model Curriculum Framework
  • Music Websites
  • PCMEA
  • Preparing for 2020-2021
  • Self-Care for Music Educators
  • Social Emotional Learning
  • Social Justice Songs
  • Special Needs
  • The Standards and Music Literacy
For only $50 ($30 for retired or PCMEA members), you will be granted full access to 34 hours of professional development!
 
Interested? Go to the PMEA website here to register by August 17 2020. Click here for a summarized schedule of the summer videos, which can be viewed until mid-October 2020.
 
 
Need help? JUST ASK! 
TTRResources and more from PMEA!
 
Have you visited the PMEA website lately?
 
Take an extended trip to www.pmea.net to peruse the following sections. You cannot help but notice the often-repeated red toolbox graphic, referencing materials developed by the PMEA EXCOM, staff, Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention Council, Professional Development Council, and other colleagues. If you are looking for links to webinars/videos to kick off the new school year, recommendations for online music education tools and consultants, examples of virtual ensemble performances, etc., check out these sections:
 
 
Up next for this month is PMEA Open Forums!
 
"I don't know may be the most common phrase spoken among teachers right now. PMEA is providing open forums for music teachers to come together and discuss what the start of the school year might be like. Everyone is invited to all forums. Bring your questions, concerns, and solutions. The greatest resource we have is each other. Together we will work through this. Together we teach." - PMEA Webinar Page 
 
The schedule of these Zoom meetings is as follows:  
  • Tuesday, August 11 @ 11 a.m. Focus on Higher Education
  • Thursday, August 13 @ 7 p.m. Focus on Choral Ensembles
  • Tuesday, August 18 @ 7 p.m. Focus on Band & Orchestra Ensembles
  • Thursday, August 20 @ 7 p.m. Focus on General Music Classrooms & Ensembles
 
To Renew Your PMEA Membership TODAY 
 
The 2020-21 PMEA membership year is now underway. We greatly appreciate your continued support of music education through membership renewal during this unprecedented time. We strongly encourage you to renew by October 1 in order to continue to receive full PMEA member benefits.

Invoices have been emailed to your primary address on file with PMEA which you can print out and mail in with a check - or log-in and pay online at www.pmea.net.
 
If you haven't noticed yet, the PMEA membership portal has gotten a new look! The next time you log-in to the PMEA website, you will be prompted to update your password.Your username will remain your primary email address. However, for the update, you will need to create a new password.


 
Please stay safe and healthy! Let us know if PMEA or Council TTRR can answer any questions or offer you assistance!  
 
 
Musically yours, 
 
Paul K. Fox, Chair
PMEA State Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention  
 
 
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