The idea that teachers are not professionals because they spend a lot of time with young people couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Before practicum every week, one of my nightly routines is to pick out a professional outfit to wear the next day. I give myself a good night’s sleep, leave lots of time to get ready, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school a few minutes early. During practicum, I take every opportunity I can to assist my mentor teacher, observe his professional strategies, and help students with their work. And after every practicum, I spend some time reflecting on my experiences of the day in my journal, making sure to set some goals for the next week ahead.
I often hear of teachers being referred to as “life-long learners.” My mentor teacher often shares with enthusiasm the things he is learning on his Professional Development Days.
Teachers are also reflective practitioners who are in ongoing conversation with their school team about students. My mentor teacher works with a partner-teacher overseeing two half-classes that make up a “POD.” This system decreases the amount of lesson prep and gives teachers the chance to carry out lessons twice in a row, so they can refine their mistakes from the previous class and make necessary adaptations. For me, it is interesting to see how my mentor teacher slightly modifies his teaching approaches between the two classes he teaches.
Teachers need to be flexible and adaptable. Last week was Picture Day, and an entire fitness lesson was unexpectedly shaved out of the schedule, so the teachers left unvisited material for a later day. My mentor teacher remarked multiple times that day, “In middle school, you really need to think on your feet and just take it as it comes.” Other times, my mentor teacher has extended or cut short lessons based on how quickly and smoothly students respond to learning activities.
Interactions between teachers are important professional factors. My mentor teacher interacts in a professional, respectful manner that is friendly and supportive and values open communication with his colleagues and students. He dialogues with resource personnel about support strategies and his students’ learning. The teachers I witness joke around with each other to create a fun and open classroom environment.
Professional communication is seemingly minor but very important. Teachers write emails that are friendly, concise, and written in a respectful and professional manner. Talking to co-workers and students should reflect the role a teacher takes as a professional educator, not a buddy or parent.
Personally, approaching practicum with humility and a willingness to take risks has taught me so much about what it means to be a life-long learner and teaching professional. Interactions with mentor teachers, colleagues, and students have been invaluable in my personal professional development.
What are some valuable lessons you are learning about developing professionalism and being a life-long learner? What have been your greatest challenges or highlights in this area?
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Thanks for your thoughts, Sarah! I especially appreciate what you said about communication needing to be clear, direct, respectful, and friendly. A good reminder.
I also appreciate thinking of teachers are reflective practitioners. Reflection is apart of how to develop our practice to instruct all of our students as best we can.
Warmly,
Alexandra Fischer
Thank you for sharing about yourself in the “About Me” page. Wow, your international experiences sound like they have widened the lenses you have towards life and education. What I appreciated most about your post is that I can pin-point key aspects of professionalism that are unique to being an educator.
I loved this post, Sarah! I especially liked how you pointed out that being professional, a lot of the time, means being adaptable and flexible. These are two aspects that I have learned from my mentor teacher as well, and I think it’s really valuable that we both get to observe teachers who are so good at that!
Thanks again for sharing!
Lauren
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing about your experiences in practicum. I really enjoyed reading about your thoughts on being a reflective practitioner and what this entails. It is so important for teachers to continually grow as professionals and in their field (i.e.. curriculum, teaching styles, etc.) and to strive to become life long learners. I think about this a lot in my practicum and how I can continue to grow in my wonder as a future teacher. Lucky for me my practicum teacher is exceptionally driven to learn more from her students and work colleagues and is always striving to be the best she can for students. It is awesome that we can be in this program together and hold one another accountable to being professionals. Do you think that there is such a thing as teachers reaching a point in their vocation where they “know everything” and do not need to continue pursuing their career with wonder? I know for me I have seen a few teachers who are “stuck in their ways” and it is disheartening because I do not think that a teacher can stop learning- classes are always changing and students are always different.
Thanks again for your insight, Sarah. I look forward to learning more.
Thank you so much for your comment, Robyn! I think your question about whether teachers are able to reach a point in their vocation where they “know everything” is an important one to consider.
I certainly agree that there are teachers who are “stuck in their ways” and do not see their vocation as a continual growth process – I definitely had teachers like that throughout my schooling, and they were usually the teachers I learnt the least from! Their classes were also not very enjoyable. Like I suggested in my post, teachers are always growing and learning, and every class is different. All students come from different backgrounds and learning preferences and have varying instructional needs. It is definitely true that teachers can grow and “get better” at what they do and become more skilled in thinking on their feet and adapting to situations, but I believe the overall vocation is a lifelong learning process.
So really, we are learners just like our students!