Honor Code Research Paper

I believe the purpose of the honor council and the honor code is to establish guidelines for the students by the students. If the honor code was manufactured solely by teachers, students would see it simply as another rule set by teachers. If established and created by students, I believe the code is more relatable and easier to obey. Having students in the position of making and enforcing the rules allows them to use their own personal experience and opinions. This allows the code and rules to be more specifically tuned to students. Students can understand more than anyone else in Country Day the hardship of obeying all school rules. Having that knowledge would better prepare them to make fair rules and enforce them in an equally fair fashion.
When enforcing the honor code, I believe going in front of your peers is less intimidating then going in front of teachers. Having an all student honor council allows students in hearings to be more comfortable, meaning they are more likely to be able to calmly explain any events that took place to cause them to have to meet with the honor council.

As a sibling, my home life can often seem like a big game of he said she said.
Whenever a chore was forgotten or the tv remote was missing my sibling's first response was to blame me. Although some of the time I was in fact at fault, the very idea that I was always the first to be accused deeply upset me. So much so, that it began to shape my actions. I wanted to avoid any and all possible faults so I would no longer be considered a suspect. In other words, I wanted to seek perfection. After several days of that treacherous pursuit I realized I wasn't really living, I was simply monitoring every action to avoid all conflict. It was this realization that truly made me recognize the importance of being able to make mistakes. In situations in which my integrity was challenged I always learned from mistakes I had made, but I also learned a way to live without making the same mistake again. I believe making mistakes is an important part of growing up, but it is even more important to be able to learn how to move on with life and not repeat your mistakes. Being in an environment like Country Day that allows you to make mistakes but also have to take responsibility for them is the best possible way to learn, mature, and truly find where your morals
lie.

I think one of the most prevalent honor issues in Country Day would have to be students forgetting to do assignments or study for tests and using their peers’ work, or information from them, in order to help themselves. One way of addressing the issue of forgetting to study for tests would be to put an agreement in place between the students and teachers. The agreement would entail that is a student had forgotten to study, they can meet with their teacher and agree upon a time in the near future to take the test. There would be a small percentage of points deducted, but it would give the student a chance to study and increase the odds of them doing well on the test, while also maintaining their honor and the honor code. For assignments, I think the most that could be done is to continually reiterate to students the importance of not sharing their own personal work with others. A reminder that not only would the person using their work have to address the honor council, but they would as well. I think the very idea of having to go to the honor council and explain to your advisor and parents why exactly you chose to do something strictly prohibited is enough to keep students from sharing their work.