Principles and Integrity

Integrity is something I've thought a lot about recently because it is part of our school's mission statement, and we were discussing this during the first week's orientation.  The mission statement is as follows:

We inspire all of our students to continuous inquiry, empowering them with the skills, courage, optimism, and integrity to pursue their dreams and enhance the lives of others.

Integrity is an important word that covers honesty and acting according to your values and principles.  It is basically the value that we place on ourselves.  If we act with integrity we walk the talk, and we are able to do this because we know we are in charge and that we can change the things we don't like.  We can imagine something better and have a vision of what we can become.  Stephen Covey writes about being principle-centered and says "You can't become principle-centered without a vision of and a focus on the unique contribution that is yours to make."

The PYP lists integrity as one of the attitudes that help promote international mindedness.   Knowledge, concepts and skills are important, but by themselves they don't make an internationally minded person. Attitudes are one of the 5 essential elements of the programme as the PYP recognizes the importance of developing personal attitudes towards people and the environmental as well as towards learning.

Photo Credit: Erik K Veland via Compfight cc