Professionalism for the World Language Teachers

Helene Chan

What is professionalism?

David Maister, a business advisor, states that professionalism is, "...believing passionately in what you do, never compromising your standards and values, and caring about your “students”, your “colleagues”, and your own career."

What is the role of teacher professionalism in education?

Teacher professionalism contains three essential characteristics, competence, performance, and conduct, which reflect the educator’s goals, abilities, and standards, and directly impact the effectiveness of teaching through the development of these qualities.

Teacher Professionalism

How do teachers demonstrate professionalism?

The Ten Commandments of Professionalism for Teachers

Wisdom From A Veteran Teacher

by

Vickie Gill

Define your terms

Successful teachers develop a clear image of themselves at their professional best.

Locate your mentor

New teachers need to locate someone whose style they respect and who will guide them through the pitfalls of the first few years.

Keep up appearances

Successful educators understand that their appearance creates the first impressions that students, colleagues, administrators and parents will have of them.

Respect your power

Professional teachers respect that power — they do not abuse it by becoming a “buddy” or a “‘dictator” in the classroom.

Take care of the parents

Professional teachers work hard to open up lines of communication between the home and the school.

Pull your weight

All teachers are part of a team and must learn ways to work cooperatively with even the most difficult coworkers.

Pay attention to details

Before school begins, teachers need to establish a classroom management plan that includes a system for documenting discipline problems

Pick and choose your battles

A professional knows the difference between a petty annoyance and a roadblock.

Grow in your profession

As with any profession, teachers must stay aware of the new advances in education and resist temptation to teach the same curriculum in the same style year after year.

Be the 21st Century Professional

Incorporate technology to meet the needs of our diverse student population – especially the digital natives

Be yourself

Master teachers work as productive members of their teams and understand that they will be far more effective teachers if they maintain a personal life that is separate from their professional life.

Thank you to:

Resources:

The ten Commandments for Professional Teachers, Vickie Gill, 2005

Words of Wisdom for New Language Teachers, Maura Hallam Sweley, 2006