Interview Board Member: Now Miss Murphy, just one final question. I suppose you are aware that there has been a lot of talk recently about the values and ethos of a school and the need for teachers employed in the school to reflect that ethos in their lifestyle. What is your own view on this whole question? Miss Murphy: Hm . . . well . . . Can I be frank? Interview Board Member: By all means, please do! Miss Murphy: / think it's an exceptionally complex question. As I see it, the school authorities have long standing rights which must be taken seriously and parents too have very important rights which are enshrined in our Constitution. But teachers and pupils also have rights which must be taken seriously and if this is the case then neither the rights of the parents nor of the school authorities are absolute. In other words, what I'm trying to say is that there is no easy answer to the question, but there is a clear need for the various parties to sit down and attempt to thrash out in open discussion some kind of code; the kind of code which might win a substantial and genuine commitment among the parties. Otherwise I think we have a recipe for smouldering dissatisfaction and recurring conflict. The real losers then are the pupils. I think they're very quick to sense the slightest tension in the atmosphere. Interview Board Member: I see! SOME PREVAILING CONCEPTIONS OF ETHOS. I shall begin by asking the reader to consider whether Miss Murphy's forthrightness and style of argument should help in securing for her the post for which she was a candidate or whether her remarks identify her as a potential troublemaker of whom a prudent school management should be wary. The reader may well reply that the information
supplied is too slight to provide the basis for a valid judgement. I am
quite aware of this and I should stress that there is no attempt here to
force the reader prematurely to nail his or her colours publicly to the
mast
