What makes the teaching profession, PROFESSIONAL?
A professional attitude is important if teachers want society to recognize them as professionals. There is no substitute for a constructive, positive attitude towards teaching. Dedication towards learners, the subject and the school in totality is imperative.
Teachers should have respect for their own professionalism and stay up to date in their field of knowledge. Professional behavior exhibits trustworthiness and maintains confidentiality. As a member of staff, being supportive and cooperative plays a fundamental role in a learning organisation. Responsibilities should be shared among members of staff, ensuring not to leave all the disciplining to senior staff. Classroom management is currently under more scrutiny than ever before and entails aspects such as management of time, space, discipline and diversity, to mention only a few.
With the professional skills to manage class effectively, the conduct of teachers will include some of the following:
- striving to become professional educational experts
- respect for oneself, the learners, parents, department and community
- utilization of channels for professional development
- knowledge and understanding of the child
- a purposeful and well-managed classroom
In addition, other factors which can increase teachers' effectiveness as professional persons are cheerfulness, dependability, enthusiasm, fairness, honesty, patience, a spirit of inquiry and a sense of efficacy.
Teachers have rights and obligations too. These obligations are related to the quality of professionally responsible relationships that they establish. They must also know what the fundamental rights of learners are and it's required to maintain a professional relationship towards learners and also, towards parents.
As wonderful as it could be, there are those teachers who display negative behavior that undermines the image of the teaching profession. I could list a few (there are much more):
- some are not sufficiently qualified to teach their students
- lack of motivation to teach
- not fulfilling their role-model functions as responsible adults
- irresponsibility and ill-discipline
- absenteeism
- low morale
These types of behavior reveal their attitude towards the teaching profession. These are examples of weaknesses that should be addressed in teacher training, workshops, seminars, staff meetings and conferences.
In conclusion, it is it important that the teaching profession must develop its own professional pride, conscience and consciousness and I believe that thorough attention must be paid to matters which can affect the professional status of teaching negatively.
I love this article. Proud teacher here! Thanks for sharing @bdmomuae 😊
Thanks for reading 😉
Will be reading more of your posts :)
Very nice article. Both my parents were in the teaching profession so I understand the characteristics you mention well. Thanks for this concise and well written blog on the subject. Upvoted
Thank you @vm2904 . I appreciate your reply and upvote, but most of all, your approval ;)
Good post but the more I think about it, yhe more I am convinced we have it backwards... there should be less management not more, less respect for teaching as a profession not more. The whole concept of "teaching" is outdated and discipline and obedience all that good stuff is outdated, meant to prepare children for an economy that does not exist anymore. Cursive writing is a "nice to know"not a must know anymore. Sugata Mitra has the best explanation:
Of course there should be adults that help children learn, and they should watch out for the child's wellbeing but least of all should they try to teach anything than the most basic skills. These adults should encourage and coach the child's learning process but should not be allowed anymore to fill children's heads with outdated information and mindsets.
Gosh, what a long speech. I get what he's saying and I get what you're getting at, but I am not convinced that there should be less management and I do not agree that there should be "less respect for teaching as a profession, not more." To be honest, when I read that sentence, I thought that I must have read wrong somewhere, so I read it again and again and each time, I could not believe my eyes. I do not believe that computer-generated learning is any good (especially for younger children) who needs deeper relationships and love and acceptance. Like Jacques Lacan, I believe that human beings, like animals, are driven by basic need like hunger, sexual needs, and ultimately, the need for contact with others. I have some sort of postmodernism going on inside my head, I feel that we need to rethink our belief in science and progress itself, and I fail to see that science will be able to solve this problem.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's not going to happen. I am all for incorporating technology into the classroom and all, I am just not so focused on the future. My aim is rather making things better in the now.
Hehe maybe a bit more provocative than necessary. But the "institution"of teaching and management are both too unchallenged. If the outcomes we get are not what we want, doubling down and more of the same is not the answer. People who dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of children do deserve respect. But most "professional" teachers don't have that on the top of their list. The whole concept of school should be looked at from the basic assumptions up. Children are perfectly capable of learning, it is the teachers who often get in the way of that if the childrens attentions strays from the totally obsolete curriculum and they fidget a bit (go figure they are kids) it is that outdated attitude of "management" and "obedience" that is leading a massive prescription of methamphetamines (=ADHD medication) A system which has to drug 10 to 20% of its students to force them to pay attention has got a few things seriously wrong. The role of the teachers in this system currently looks more like prison guards than people who help children develop their inate talents and curiosity. There are too many sacred cows in education. The status of the teacher as an authorithy figure being one of them...
Check out Ken Robinson's TED talks.
I'll have a look, thanks ;)
A child that is not used to working up to an adult age will continue to not work as an adult.
I agree @leprechaun. They need to be taught this, for their own sake.
Exceptional post! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much @hope777
Thank you @steemiteducation! ;)
As a long-time teacher, I agree with these points. But in the USA, at least, some people have the attitude that anyone can be a teacher, and that teachers have to be closely supervised for "quality control." IOW public school teachers are not considered to be professionals, but more like workers in a factory. Teacher burnout is a big problem in the USA, too. Many young teachers leave the profession within five years.
I wasn't aware of how things are going in USA schools, so thank you so much for your reply and teaching me something new today.
"Teachers be Proud, the future depends on you..."
Amen!
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I have great respect for teacher. Just being a teacher is mental suicide. So I can understand if a teacher no longer has the enthusiasm to be professional.
Sad but true!
I want a teacher for my grandchildren that teaches real history and of course cursive.. Call me old fashioned, I don't care.. kids these days need to know how to write cursive..do you know any of those GREAT teachers I am looking for here is Sacramento :) Great post!!! Love you Steemit Friend!! SUNSHINE247
If only I could point you in the right direction, lol. My son in Grade 2 started cursive writing in school recently. I'm sure by next year, in Grade 3, it will receive more attention.
We thats a good thing. My son is actually 28 now but when he turned 18 and got his first checkbook, he asked me how to sign his name... I had no idea that they were not teaching them. Everything is done on computers now and California is in a crazy world of its own. Our granddaughter is starting 1st grade in August and I can only hope that they teach her :) If not, there is always us to teach her or of course a tutor. Thank you for replying - it is most appreciated!!! Have a GREAT weekend!! SUNSHINE247
Wow. In Argentina the children are forced to use fountain pens that look like they are from the 19th century.
I only wish that were the same here :) Have a GREAT weekend Friends - Great post bdmomuae :) SUNSHINE247