Thursday, February 26, 2009
Post 5 - Professionalism in Teaching
Although we reviewed Chapter 3 in class today, I would like to revisit an important topic from Chapter 2. Now that you have read chapter 2 about the professionalization of teaching and we discussed a few of the issues in our last class, I would like for you to reflect upon your 13+ years of schooling and the examples your teachers have set for you. You need to think of a time, experience, or memory of a teacher doing or saying something that exemplified that he/she was truly a well-respected professional. OR you can write about a time, experience, or memory of a teacher doing or saying something that was not professional. Do not use names when you are talking about this teacher. It can be as simple as "One of my high school teachers always wore flip-flops to school." Or it can be a complex issue such as "One of the high school teachers used to go to student parties on the weekend and drink alcohol in front of the students." After you state the issue, type a few sentences about why you thought it was professional or unprofessional and how it affected your learning. Please be sensitive to the fact that this topic is very subjective. Something you might think is unprofessional another person might think is not a big deal. Let's be aware of people's differing opinions. We need to make sure we keep this post PROFESSIONAL:-)
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I had a teacher that had long hair and a beard. He also wore sandals on most days. This is not what I would call a professional look. However I really liked him as a teacher and he made us all feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteThere was this one teacher I had that didn't dress what you think, or picture a teacher to dress like. She always wore these blouses that would expose more than enough of what should have been exposed. To include her hair, was I thought a bit unappropriate because she had a darker shade of pink highlights, or streaks, or whatever you call them, she did that to her hair. I think this causes distraction to the students, you can't teach distracted students.
ReplyDeleteI guess in a way from your comment, Mike, that it can give an assumption, or an impression to a student what type of personality a teacher may have by the way they dress. The main point is if a teacher dresses in such a manner that it doesn't bring negative attention to the teacher, from the faculty, students, and even the community, then it wouldn't be an issue.
ReplyDeleteThere was a special needs teacher at my high school that dressed very inappropriatly. She always wore really short dresses with low tops, which was against the dress code for the students. Shouldn't teachers have to follow the same rules? She didnt set a very good example for the students in our school.
ReplyDeleteThe other students commented on the dress code of their teachers as did I. I think this can be very distracting to students. Teachers need to act more professionally especially when they are in the spot of being a role model to many students.
ReplyDeleteThere was a teacher at my high school that I had for two years. She felt the need to tell us about his/her very personal life. A lot of students found this inappropriate as did I, then he/she began to ask about experiences in our personal life not relevant to her class. Personal questions that she should not be asking. I believe this is very unprofessional and setting a bad example for the students.
ReplyDeleteTo the dress code and hair, I believe that is inappropriate as well. The teacher seems that she was trying to, "fit in" with the students, when she is the one whom needs to be setting the examples.
ReplyDeleteThere is a teacher at my brothers high school who has tattoos all over his arms. He has sleeves, which I think would distract from the learning. Also this I believe is now a law that if you are a teacher you must cover all tattoo's while teaching.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kacey that it is very distracting when teachers seem to talk all about their personal life to the extent that it seems like its all they talk about. There is a line in which the teacher should not cross and it seems like it was crossed a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteI had a high school math teacher who filled in a temporary spot for my original teacher on maternity leave. She was always smelling like alcohol and cigarettes. There was a huge cup and lid on her desk that never left her sight. One day she entered the class late and obviously drunk. It wasn't long, however, till the school district found out and fired her. I couldn't believe that she made it that far in teaching and seemed to me that needed more emotional help then financial help through this job. Very, very unprofessional- I don't think I even need to explain why.
ReplyDeleteJustin- I completely agree! They won't even allow servers in the resturant business to show their tattoo's. Why and how are the letting educated professional teaching children show off their tattoo's?
ReplyDeleteI had a teacher in highschool that asked one of my freinds where she could go smoke during school hours...my friend didnt give her an answer. But there was this place that all the students went to, it was called lake 9 and students would go there to smoke..a week after this teacher asked my friend where she could smoke my friend found her at lake 9 in the middle of 3rd period smoking her cigarettes.
ReplyDeletethe thing about tatoos on teachers, i think they should be covered up at all times because they are a distraction to students. there was a learning disiability teacher at my highschool who would show off her tatoo to the students, which i believe in very inappropriate.its a little to personal to be sharing with your students.
ReplyDeleteIn middle school, I had a teacher who always spoke with authority. Sometimes its not a bad thing, but he intimated the students and we were scared to ask for help on an assignment. He gave us the vibe of 'you should know this already, if not, give me 20 push-ups'. :D
ReplyDeleteI just thought it was unprofessional for a teacher to not show a softer side.
I love it when teachers talk about their personal life. It gives a sense that they are welcoming, but I agree with the others about teachers and dress codes. Hmm, some of them need to update their look or down their look just a bit.
ReplyDeleteWell one day in class i had a back spasm while i took a big gulp of water unfortunatly it came right back out and landed right where my girly parts were and in front of the class he asked if i was lacktating. i just didnt think i was professional to say something like thatto a student esp. since he was a male teacher.
ReplyDeleteIcant believe a teacher asked where she could smoke. Dont you have to be 18 to smoke she should have not asked that, thats not professional at all
ReplyDeleteMy sixth grade teacher was the best guy ever. He may even be why I want to teach. He didn't talk about his own personal inappropriately but we all knew his wifes first name and then names of his kids. IT made him a real person, to know he may have been to a BBQ over the weekend or liked watching Law and Order...stuff like that. He was also truley interested in knowing all of us and our siblings names or pets. I always felt like he really cared about his studetns, he will always be my favorite teacher.
ReplyDeleteThe thing Justin posted about the sleeves leaves me puzzled. Now days, ALOT of people have tattoo's. I agree that sleaves may be distracting and even offensive (depending on what the art is of)but can someone be discriminated against for this? I'm just curious, I would assume it may hinder him from getting jobs. I think wearing long sleeves would be the appropriate thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI had an English teacher in high school who was involved in cheerleading and pep club. Sometimes she wouldn't teach us anything because she was worried about putting together pep assemblies or whatever. What I found unprofessional with her was she did not know how to organize her time. Learning needs to come before pep stuff.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carra that it is unproffesional to not show a softer side to the students. If the teacher shows intimidation, the student is going to focus on how nervous they are with the teacher than what is being taught. I had 2 teachers like that in middle school. I made sure I passed the class and hope I never see them again.
ReplyDeleteI had a teacher in high school who always would count students late even if they came in while it was still 8:00 (class started at 8:00). Yet every other day this teacher would either not show up for class at all or come in 20 to 30 minutes late. I do think students should make it a priority to be on time for class, but if my teacher expects that of me, then I expect it of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Margaret. There are a lot of teachers out there who only teach a subject because they want to be at the school to coach something or for something else and they usually don't end up dedicating enough of their time to the other subjects, even when those other subjects are more important.
ReplyDeletei had a teacher that would rather be cool in the students eys than use proper disciplinary actions. They let the students walk all over them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with khrystyne as the teacher you are to aet an example of what is expected and should perform to the same standards that you expect from your students.
ReplyDeleteThe only teacher I can think of that was unprofessional was my 2nd grade teacher. We were puting our intials on things that we were grading and the teacher was telling me in front of the class that I was suppose to be putting CV and Not CH.Because of my last name and how difficult it is spelled there is a slight H in front. Well the teacher yelled at me. And after school I had girl scouts which my mom was the leader and the girls that were in my troop and class ran to my mom and told her what was going on. So, my mom went to my classroom and told my teacher she was wrong and my name did have a H in front. Long story short... the next day the teacher finally told me sorry that she was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also had a teacher that had long hair and a beard in Social Studies.He took his 8th grades to Washington D.C. I learned alot from this man. Even though I would not call long hair a professional look. I really liked him as a teacher. Sometime to be a teacher maybe we should not be always dress up students like when teachers get dirty to and I think they really do learn better sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMy high school was full of unprofessional teachers now that I think about it. I had one teacher that always told extremely rude and dirty jokes in class, and made fun of kids all the time being serious about it. One teacher always went out with the seniors that particular year and partied with them and had slept with one of the girls, he was a long-term substitute at the time. I also had a teacher who threatened a student by saying "every time you open your mouth it makes me want to choke you", that teacher also threw his podium through the glass in the door. He still works there, actually..they all do.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the coaching comment. I would love to coach sports at a high school some day but i'll deff. be there to Teach, first and foremost. I had a teacher once that was the head football coach and all we did the whole year of Calculus was play pranks on the assistant coach who's room was next door. This included climbing in the ceiling to dump stuff on him in the next classroom over.
ReplyDeleteI had a teacher in high school who was also a coach and became friends with all her players. The fact that she became friends with them is fine but its that she would party with them and she's done other stuff besides party with the male students. Also, having our phones on during the day was not allowed at my high school but she would text students throughout the day also.
ReplyDeleteI agree with sara about how some teachers say inappropriate stuff. I had a physics teacher who was a former marine and she threatend to rip the kids face off and shove it down his throat without even touching him or something like that. But besides that I really liked her.
ReplyDeleteIn 11th grade I had a teacher who was going through a divorce, and he would talk about it a lot in class (though it had nothing at all to do with the material). I still liked the man, and I like how in high school you can talk more frankly with your teachers, but he over stepped the boundaries a little bit.
ReplyDeleteLike Kelsey G. pointed out, sometimes the teachers who say the weird quirky things can be very likable and interesting, but I most appreciated my teachers who could stay professional and have a fun personality at the same time.
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