Ethics...does it really matter?

As defined online, ethics are the "moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior" (http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=ethics+definition).  I think this is a perfect definition of how ethics is relevant in the classroom.  Teachers need to be intentional about modeling for students.  Modeling should include instruction, activities, expectations, and ethics.  Teacher's need to be the first leader in the classroom.  Each person has different beliefs, but morals are accepted as what is right.  As a teacher I will display appropriate and moral behavior in the classroom in multiple ways.  The most relevant example to me it when we learned in class that we need to use pictures that are not copyrighted.  It's so easy, as I proved, to go to Google and copy and paste pictures into a presentation without thinking twice about copyright laws.  As I learned that night, we as teachers need to teach our students to follow rules and guidelines by showing them appropriate behavior.  Even though ethics may seem insignificant at the time, students will remember the actions of a teacher, whether good or bad.  If not we risk effecting children in negative ways - whether it's immediately shown in their classroom behavior, or later on in society.  It's my personal conviction that teachers should even be aware of ethics outside of the classroom because you may never know when students are watching, and I never want to disappoint my students with unethical behavior.