COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Texas A&M University

Teaff: Ethics and Values Must Be Learned At Young Age

11/16/05

Courtesy University Relations

The development of character in a young person is the foundation for a good system of values and ethics, Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said Wednesday at Texas A&M University.

Teaff was keynote speaker during the first day of the Administrative Leadership Institute (ALI) sponsored by Texas A&M's Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development. He spoke on "Ethical Behavior in Tough Situations." ALI is an annual event geared toward public school leaders and policy makers.

"My definition of success is having character in everything you do," Teaff, Baylor's all-time winningest football coach, said.

"One of the real problems today is our value system; the one we had 30 or 40 years ago isn't what it used to be. We need role models, and for most kids, that should be their fathers, but studies show that over 60 percent of kids today grow up without a positive male role model in their home."

Teaff cited his own father, Bill Teaff, as the "absolute best role model any kid could ever have.

"He died two years ago at age 92, and he worked full time until he was 89. He lived his life by always doing the right thing. If he said something, he meant it. If you did something wrong, you knew you would have to answer to him. His word was truly his bond. My mom is now 91 and she still drives her car. My parents never went to college. They were children of the Depression, and they both had the strongest work ethic you could imagine.

"That's another problem today - many of the people in our society who get into trouble are not employed. If students today can learn a good work ethic, their chances for success are improved dramatically."

Teaff said he was able to learn a good work ethic from his parents, was able to turn that work ethic into an education and "it changed my life totally. My father worked hard and he always, always told the truth.

"That's a big key to ethics today - can you be truthful? Is everything you say the truth? And can you back up what you say if you need to?"

Respect for others is one way of showing values and ethics, Teaff said, again citing his father as an example.

"He answered everyone - even people he did not know - by saying 'yes sir and yes ma'am. I asked once why he did and he said, 'It's a way of showing people you respect them.' So I copied him, and I still say 'yes sir' today. I learned that lesson from him."

As head of the 10,000-member American Football Coaches Association, Teaff says his organization places a great deal of emphasis on ethical behavior. He said that in 1906, then-President Theodore Roosevelt was very concerned that college football was getting out of hand. There were five or six player deaths that year and some schools followed rules while others didn't.

"Roosevelt said if you don't correct this game, I'll do away with it, and he meant it," Teaff said.

"So some coaches got together to draw up rules on the field and rules of conduct for players and coaches. Out of that meeting, the NCAA was born, and shortly later, the American Football Coaches Association. I am proud to say that we were one of the first groups in America to have a written code of ethics. The first was handwritten by the famous coach Alonzo Stagg, and it's in our headquarters."

Teaff, voted National Coach of the Year at Baylor in 1974 for his 'Miracle on the Brazos' season and Baylor's first Southwest Conference title in 50 years, said teachers and principals today can be a critical force in teaching and stressing ethics to students.

"When you look into a child's eyes and you tell him or her something and you realize they 'get it,' that's the crescendo of education," he said. "To me, that's what education is all about.

"It's been said character is what you do when no one is looking. That's very true, and we need to be examples. The familiar phrase of 'I'd rather see a sermon than hear one' is one we can all relate to."

Shirley Neeley, Texas commissioner of education, is scheduled to speak on "Ethical Decisions for All Texas Children and Youth" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Grant Teaff speaking at the 23rd Annual Administrative Leadership Institute.

Grant Teaff speaking at the 23rd Annual Administrative Leadership Institute.

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