Reporting Code of Conduct Violations

Any student, staff, or community member is welcome to report Code of Conduct violations at any time, directly or anonymously.  If any person wishes to submit an anonymous code of conduct violation, please log into the feedback email address and email feedback to info@mountainherbalism.com.

Login: botanyfeedback@gmail.com

PW: veratrum

All teachers and TAs are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.

Goals of the Code of Conduct

Teachers aim to make participation in our classes an equitable and bigotry-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

We want to be conscious of the impacts of our behavior, and choose to behave in ways that contribute to a healthy and healing learning community.  If a person is accused of violating the Code of Conduct, before escalating an issue and challenging the validity of the report against them, the person should consider if it’s possible to learn from the experience, reflect, apologize, and move on. However, if a person feels they have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Code of Conduct, they may notify info@mountainherbalism.com with a concise description of the grievance.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies within all field classes and all classroom settings.  This code also applies when a teacher and student are interacting outside of class time.  The definition “student” starts when students have submitted their online applications and continues for 6 months after students have completed any Mountain Herbalism classes they may have enrolled in.  If a teacher has been involved in unacceptable behavior with Mountain Herbalism community members outside the boundaries of the classroom setting, Mountain Herbalism retains the right to treat those external incidents in the same manner as internal incidents.  If a staff member is unsure of the scope, they should talk about it with other staff members to come to a mutual understanding before any possible code violation happens.  Exceptions may be made to this scope if there is consensus among core staff members.

Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers are responsible for:

• Ensuring student safety at all times.
• Treating all students with equal amounts of attention and respect.
• Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback.
• Accepting responsibility and making sincere apologies to those impacted by our actions, and learning from the experience.
• Respecting people’s identities (pronouns, name, etc).

Examples of unacceptable behavior include:

• Inappropriate relationships between students and teachers.  This includes:
  • The use of sexualized or gendered language or imagery.
  • Sexual or romantic attention or advances of any kind.
  • A teacher offering additional or special instruction to one or more students that is not open to all students.
  • A teacher spending time with a student 1:1 outside of the classroom setting.  Exceptions can be made through conversation with other co-teachers on an as-needed basis.  In the past, some scenarios that have arisen include:
    • A student is holding a party or gathering, and the teacher is invited.  Accepting this invitation is acceptable within this code of conduct as long as:
      • The teacher is always in a group setting at this party/gathering; never 1:1 with our student or another invitee.
      • The teacher’s conduct reflects well on the Mountain Herbalism program.
    • A student needs a ride home due to car issues or something similar. Accepting this responsibility is acceptable within this code of conduct as long as:
      • The teacher checks in with another co-teacher before accepting this responsibility, OR  if checking in is not logistically feasible, the teacher sends an email reporting the necessary incident to all other co-teachers within 24 hours.
  • A teacher communicating with students outside of class (in-person, texting, emailing or connecting with a student over social media) about anything in their personal or private lives, or otherwise not related to class curriculum/activities.
  • Exception is made if this relationship (friendship, romantic relationship) has been established as normal prior to the student applying for the program. It is the responsibility of the teacher to tell other co-teachers of any prior relationships with enrolled students before the start of the program, so that everyone is aware.
• Insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks.
• Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission.
• Any other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
• Being on any recreational or prescription drug during class time.  Because of the responsibilities teachers have to ensure student safety, no teacher should be consuming any mind-altering substance during class time without checking in with all co-teachers for that day.  Barring full disclosure of the substance and a collective decision among co-teachers to make an exception to this rule, we maintain a substance free environment.

Enforcement Responsibilities

All staff members share in responsibility for clarifying our standards of acceptable behavior and for seeing that appropriate action is taken in response to any behavior that is deemed inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Staff enforcement responsibilities include:

• All teaching staff are required to report any known or reasonably suspected code of conduct violations to all other co-teachers in a reasonable time frame.
• All staff members have the opportunity to discuss and offer insights and perspectives on existing code of conduct violations.
• Adrian Mintzmyer is ultimately responsible for ensuring that appropriate action has been taken when code of conduct violations are submitted.

Enforcement

Our goal is to support efforts to “call people in” to a greater understanding of the impacts of their behavior, and how those impacts align with greater systems of oppression. We strive to support each other’s growth and learning and acknowledge that we all make mistakes. We seek conflict resolution strategies that honor the needs of those most impacted. That said, it is up to the individual staff members to decide how much (or little) time and resources are invested in supporting individuals on their learning journey.

Possible enforcement actions:

1. First Warning

A private, written warning or conversation, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and information about the impact it had. Depending on the circumstance, a private or public apology may be requested.

2. Second Warning

A written warning with specifics about the behavior and its impacts. Specific requests for repair may be made at this time, such as offering an apology, taking a step back from teaching, or avoiding contact with those most impacted.

3. Release

A co-teacher may be released from all teaching commitments without warning or compensation.