Lesson 1

🕮 TEACHING AS A

PROFESSION

Former Chairperson of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Hon.

Hermogenes Pabre in his pithy address in a national convention of educators remarked
that the term professional is one of the most exalted in the English language, denoting
as it does, has the following elements: 1) long and arduous years of preparation; 2)
striving for excellence; 3) a dedication to the public interest; and 4) commitment to
moral and ethical values.

If you take teaching as your profession, this means that you must be willing to
go through a long period of preparation and continuing professional development. For
teachers to be able to give more, continuing education is a must. You cannot give what
you do not have. You must strive for excellence because the end goal of a profession
is service and you cannot achieve such excellence if you stop learning. Likewise,
commit yourself to moral, ethical and religious values, your bedrock foundation, and
dedicate
yourself to public service.

The teaching profession is governed by the Code of Ethics for Professional

Teachers provisions of paragraph (e). Article 11, of R. A. No. 7836 otherwise known as
the Philippines Professionalization Act of 1994 and Paragraph (a), Section 6 of P.D. No.
223. As amended, the Board for Professional Teachers hereby adopt the Code of Ethics
for Professional Teachers. Violation of the Code of Ethics for professional teachers is
one of the grounds for the revocation of professional teacher’s Certificate of
registration and suspension from the practice of the teaching profession (Sec. 23).

Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers

PREAMBLE
 Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess dignity and reputation with
high moral values as well as technical and professional competence. In the practice of
their noble profession, they strictly adhere to, observe, and practice this set of ethical
and moral principles, standards, and values.
Two elements of a profession are competence and a Code of Ethics.

The other elements of a profession are:

1. Initial Professional Education- Professionals generally begin their professional

lives by completing a university program in their chosen fields like teacher
education, engineering, nursing, etc. This means long and arduous years of
preparation. This is just the beginning because a professional is expected to
learn endlessly.

2. Accreditation- University programs are approved by a regulatory body like

the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippines to ensure
that graduates from these recognized programs start their professional lives
with competence.

3. Licensing- Licensing is mandatory, not voluntary, and is administered by a

government authority. In the Philippines, this government authority is the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

4. Professional Development- This is an ongoing professional education that

maintains or improves professionals’ knowledge and skills after they begin
professional practice. In the Philippines this is Continuing Professional
Development mandated by RA 10912, otherwise known as the CPD Act of
2016.

5. Professional Societies- Professionals see themselves as part of a community

of like-minded individuals who put their professional standards above the
individual self-interest or their employer’s self-interest. These professional
societies put dedication to the public interest and commitment to moral and
ethical values. Professional societies define certification criteria, manage
certification programs, establish accreditation standards and define a code
of ethics and disciplinary action for violations of that code.
6. Code of Ethics- Each profession has a code of ethics to ensure that its
practitioners behave responsively. The code states what professionals should
do. Professionals can be ejected from their professional societies or lose
their licenses to practice for violating the code of ethics. (McConnell,
Steve, Source: http://www.alexsbrown.com/prof9.html.)