Rooted in the Honor Code

 

 

The Honor Code has been part of ESA since the school’s founding in 1979. Mr. Cabell Tutwiler brought the Honor Code from his Princeton experience, and the founding faculty adopted it as part of the fabric of ESA.

Let’s quickly recognize the benefits of having an Honor Code. Everyone wants to be trusted. At ESA we enjoy a level of trust from the moment we start. Rather than constantly check if you’re doing the wrong thing, ESA assumes you’re going to do the right thing. This allows you to be a more well-rounded student, because your school experience goes further than the classroom. How you handle your integrity and honor builds and forms your character.

In this first week of school, please make sure you understand how the Honor Code relates to each of your classes. For example, assignments like: essays, labs, and take-home work, and other projects.

So what happens when there is an offense?

The teacher of the class speaks to Mrs. Bush, who brings the case to the Honor Council. We, as a council, meet, where we hear the teacher of the class explain their side of the case, and we ask any questions we have. When that time is done, the student and their advisor sits in front of us and tells us their side, and we ask them questions too. When we don’t have any more questions to ask, the student leaves and we as a council discuss a few different things. We ask ourselves:

My philosophy on consequences has a ton to do with self-improvement, taking the whole procedure as a learning experience or a lesson.

Our goal as a council is to help you realize how it was an offense (if that is the case), and ultimately guide you to avoid those decisions or situations in the future.

The most common situation for offenses is rooted in procrastination. Putting off studying, writing, even planning is what usually causes major problems. I urge you to keep this in mind throughout the school year, especially when you are given important assignments and projects.

Also, I said earlier that I believe our job is to also educate the school about the Honor Code, so I did not see why we stopped at the Middle School in terms of educating and involving students. So another mission this year, and moving into the future, is to reach out to the Lower School. Helping them understand, through activities and discussions, the importance of the Honor Code.

But to fully understand the Honor Code, it’s not about just reading the phrases. You have to understand the purpose -- be able to read between the lines and comprehend the meaning and significance behind it. I see it as a way to be the best possible person you can be. It is not only for school or to be signed after a test, but it’s a code to constantly think about. Use it to challenge yourself.

One of my favorite quotes concerning the Honor Code is one I heard from former Headmaster Hiram Goza:

To wrap things up, I’d like to briefly explain exactly why I chose to be on Honor Council, and then run for president going into my senior year. ESA has been and is a major part in my growth and development. My dad, I’m sure none of you know him, took a job here when I was 2 years old, and I have spent a lot of time on this campus ever since. ESA has given me so much throughout my life, so I wondered how I could possibly give back everything it has given me. I set my sights on this role, because I think it is one of the most important traditions this school has.

This is my challenge to you all. I challenge you to find something you’re interested and passionate about this school year, and school years to come. And I urge you to expand on that passion by making it somewhat your own. Finally, I encourage you to share that passion with ESA.

If you don’t try to find a passion here at ESA, you’re limiting your ESA experience, as well as depriving others of your strengths and talents.

This community, which is based on trust, only thrives when we as students fully embrace the opportunities offered here. So many people share the passion for ESA, which is rooted in the Honor Code. It is the foundation of who we say we are. But it doesn’t work to just say that’s who we are, but we have to show that is who we are too.

Whatever you decide to do, do it with integrity and always keep honor at the forefront of your mind.