{"id":341,"date":"2018-09-28T14:30:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T21:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/?post_type=twu-portfolio&p=341"},"modified":"2019-02-25T12:53:54","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T20:53:54","slug":"a-professional-vocation","status":"publish","type":"twu-portfolio","link":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/portfolio\/a-professional-vocation\/","title":{"rendered":"A Professional Vocation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea that teachers are not professionals because they spend a lot<\/em> of time with young people couldn’t be farther from the truth.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> Days.<\/p>\n

Teachers are also reflective practitioners<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Teachers need to be\u00a0flexible\u00a0<\/strong>and adaptable<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

Interactions between teachers<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Professional communication\u00a0<\/strong>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,\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>a buddy or parent.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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?<\/i><\/p>\n

Photo by Brooke Lark<\/a> on <\/em>Unsplash<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":925,"featured_media":373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","twu-portfolio-type":[128,134],"twu-portfolio-tag":[],"class_list":["post-341","twu-portfolio","type-twu-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","twu-portfolio-type-developing-professionalism","twu-portfolio-type-educ-302","portfolio-entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio\/341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/twu-portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio\/341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio\/341\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"twu-portfolio-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio-type?post=341"},{"taxonomy":"twu-portfolio-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/sarahsommer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/twu-portfolio-tag?post=341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}