BECOMING A TEACHER, 7/e

Forrest W. Parkay &

Beverly Hardcastle Stanford

Chapter 1
Teaching: Your
Chosen
Profession
Why Do You Want to Teach?
 The desire to work with children and
young people
 Day to day interactions build strong
bonds/relationships
 Appreciation of the unique qualities of youth
 Rewards derived from meeting diverse needs of
students
 Student variability (developmental needs, interests,
abilities)
 Student diversity (gender, race, ethnicity, culture,
socioeconomic status)
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
Why Do You Want to Teach?
 A passion for teaching
 Elementary as well as secondary teachers
describe themselves as “passionate” about
teaching
 A passion for the subject – Mr. Jarrell
 A passion for the teaching life – enjoy school
environment
 A passion for the teaching-learning process –
excited about helping students learn, think on your
feet, teachable moments
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
Why Do You Want to Teach?
 Influence of teachers
 Teacher influence during the formative years
(elementary or secondary school) has the greatest
influence in individuals’ decisions to chose
teaching as a profession
 Teachers as people, rather than the subject taught
by the teacher, was cited as the bigger influence –
the human factor
 Inspirational memories of earlier teachers

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

Why Do You Want to Teach?
 Desire to serve
 Teaching is chosen out of a desire to serve others
 Influenced by experience volunteering in educational
settings
 Desire to give something back to society
 Teach for America – college graduates assigned to teach for a
min. of 2 yrs in urban and rural school districts
 severe shortages of science, math, and language arts teachers
 5 weeks of intensive training
 After 2 yr. commitment is over…
 earn regular teaching certificate

 go back to regular job

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

Why Do You Want to Teach?
 Practical benefits of teaching
 Teachers’ hours and vacations
 Flexibility not available in other professions
 Year-round schools offer “mini vacations” year
round
 Teachers’ salaries are becoming more attractive –see
chart page 12 – keep in mind cost of living
 Many teachers moonlight to increase their income
 hold a second job
 1/4 of the nation’s teachers
 Teachers receive fringe benefits
 Medical insurance and retirement plans
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
Why Do You Want to Teach?
 Job security and status
 Teachers enjoy a higher rate of job security during periods of
economic recession
 The widespread practice of tenure contributes to job security
 Job security granted after satisfactory performance of 2-5 yrs.
 Some areas with teacher shortages are offering large signing
bonuses: moving expenses, loan forgiveness, etc.
 The nation will need 1 million new public school teachers
 Greater demand for bilingual teachers & teachers of English as a
second language
 NEA survey reports that teachers feel more respected in today’s
society

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

Why Do You Want to Teach?
 Job opportunities for teachers from
diverse groups
 Exceptional job opportunities for teachers from
diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as
teachers with disabilities
 The typical undergraduate in teaching is young, white,
female and a recent high school graduate
 Currently only 10 percent are Teachers of color – see chart
page 15
 Expected to drop to 5 percent over the coming years
 Because some attend impoverished schools, there is little
motivation to become teachers

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

Why Do You Want to Teach?
 To attract more minority candidates to
teaching, districts need to:
 Prioritize the recruitment of ethnic educators
 Consider nontraditional sources of Teacher recruitment
 Expedite the application materials of ethnic applicants
 Discuss the possibility of offering hiring bonuses for ethnic
candidates
 Develop a paraprofessional-to-teacher program
 Understand how ethnically diverse employees perceive the
district
 Create a support network for educators of color

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What Are the Challenges of Teaching?
 The challenges as well as the satisfactions of
teaching need to be considered to help you…
 develop a personal philosophy of education
 build a repertoire of teaching strategies
 strengthen your leadership skills
 acquire a knowledge base of research & theory to guide
your actions

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What Are the Challenges of Teaching?
 Classroom management and increasing school
violence
 22% of more than 2,300 students surveyed in the
MetLife Survey of the American Teacher reported
worrying “a great deal” about “being safe at school”
 dealing with discipline can be disturbing and
emotionally draining
 possible risk factors for increase in school violence:
 many schools have high teacher-student ratios
 Some teachers experience high levels of occupational stress
 high student-mobility rates
 Teachers have difficulty meeting students’ needs as well as
recognizing and remembering names
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What Are the Challenges of Teaching?
 Social problems that
impact students…
 Substance abuse
 Teen pregnancy
 Homelessness
 Child abuse and neglect
 Violence and crime
 Suicide
 Poverty
 Health problems
 AIDS/HIV
 Fetal alcohol
syndrome
 These social problems place
students at risk through…
 Low productivity in the
classroom
 Learning difficulties
 Attitude problems that
demand increased teacher
attention
 Teachers are often unaware
of the source of the
problems
 Teachers lack the resources
or expertise to offer help
 Increase in teacher
frustration
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
 What Are the Challenges
of Teaching?
 Need for family and community support
 Can make a significant increase in the teacher’s
effectiveness in the classroom – learning increases
 Student leaders who attended the 1999 United States
Senate Youth Program said “parental support” was
the biggest factor in their success at school
 Students’ success is enhanced by parents/guardians who talk
with them

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What Are the Challenges of Teaching?
 Long working hours and job stress
 “Real working” hours (not compensated for) include
after-hours or extra working assignments
 Detailed record keeping of students’ progress, absences,
tardies
 Supervising students on playground, extracurricular
events, hallways, study halls, lunch
 Teachers are required to attend faculty meetings, parent
conferences, open houses
 Student lack of interest
 Conflicts with administrators
 Public criticism

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

 What Are the Challenges
of Teaching?
 Gaining Professional Empowerment
 Efforts to empower teachers include:
 Professionalizing teaching
 Teachers need to participate in job related decisions
 Unprecedented opportunities for teachers to extend their
roles beyond the classroom – read clip on bottom of pg 19
 Teachers are developing leadership skills
 Skills necessary to an extent not required or needed in the past

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Teaching is more complex than just observable
behaviors demonstrated in classrooms
 A good Teacher is not about methodology or
ideology
 Requires engagement with identity for ones students
 It is a creative endeavor
 Requires a continual shaping and reshaping of
lessons, events, and experiences for their students
 It is exhaustive, complex, never the same twice, and
at its heart an intellectual and ethical enterprise
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 1: The Unpredictability of Outcomes
 The outcomes of teaching are often unpredictable
and inconsistent – teachers nor students can predict
with any certainty exactly what will happen next
 There may be disinterest on the part of students – blank
stares, yawns of boredom, acting out, etc
 Lack of preparation on the part of teachers does not rule out
the possibility of a real breakthrough in understanding for
students
 Teachers are often surprised at students’ reactions to
classroom activities – read note bottom of pg 24

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 2: The Difficulty of Assessing Students’
Learning
 It is difficult if not impossible to determine exactly
what a human being does or does not understand
 Some of what students learn may be indeterminate and
beyond direct measurement
 In spite of state-by-state efforts to standardize
assessment, teachers know that there is always
uncertainty about just what their students have learned
beyond the answers they record for various tests
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 3: Limited Influence on Students’
Behavior
 The Teacher’s ability to influence student behavior is
limited
 The best that teachers can do is attempt to influence
students so they make internal decisions to behave in
the desired manner
 Teachers’ are evaluated by their ability to help
students become active seekers of knowledge
 Underscores the need for a partnership between teacher and
students/learners

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 4: The Importance of Teachers’
Attitudes
 It is critical that teachers model appropriate behaviors
 Students learn by imitation
 Teachers are models for students
 In the primary grades, children idolize their teachers
 Teachers at the high school level have the potential to
inspire
 Teachers need to develop positive relationships with
their students – read bottom pg 26
 Teachers model attitudes about the subjects they teach
– learning is life-long

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 5: The Unpredictability and Immediacy of
Teaching
 Interactive Teaching - marked by events that are rapidly
changing, multidimensional, and irregular
 Teachers must be able to think on their feet
 Teachers must be flexible and able to deal with the unexpected
 Teachers must be able to operate on two levels
 Monitor the discussion
 Monitor the students for confusion or comprehension
 Be ready for the next question or comment
 Be alert for signs of misbehavior
 Preactive Teaching – prepare to teach or reflect on previous
teaching
 Planning for lessons, grade papers, reflect on misbehavior of students

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

What is it Like to be a Teacher?
 Reality 6: The Uniqueness of the Teaching
Experience
 Teaching involves a mode of being between the student
and the teacher
 Involves the teacher’s thought processes – see figure
1.6 pg 29
 Inner reflective thinking
 Exterior reflective action
 Physical constraints of the environment
 Teachers’ abilities to be involved in the curriculum writing
process
 Teachers are influenced by students’ behavior

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

 What Will Society Expect
of Teachers?
 As a Teacher you will be a public servant accountable to the people
 As a Teacher you will be expected to have advanced knowledge and skills
 As a Teacher you will be expected to be proficient in the use of instructional
strategies
 As a Teacher you will be expected to understand the factors that influence
student learning
 High academic and ethical standards
 You will be expected to further students’ social, emotional, and moral
development
 You will be expected to address social problems and risk factors that affect
student success
 Public trust increases and decreases in response to social and political
changes – see chart pg 30

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

How do Accomplished Teachers View
Their Work?
 A Way of Being
 Teachers take their role and make it a part of
themselves
 They need to be aware of who they are and how they
see themselves teaching
 Teaching is a state of being – it’s who you are, it’s
natural, there is a passion about what you are doing

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

 How do Accomplished Teachers
View Their Work?
 A Live Performance
 Every class period is a live performance
 Unpredictable
 Contains live dialogues with students

 Intense

 Attention demanding

 Provides minute-to-minute challenges

 Teaching is full of surprises

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon

 How do Accomplished Teachers
View Their Work?
 A Form of Empowerment
 Teachers have power due to their ability to influence
 Are responsible for what happens when students are
with them
 Establish goals
 Select the teaching methods
 Set the pace in the classroom
 Evaluate students’ progress
 Determine whether students pass or fail
 Are in the position to humiliate if misuse their power
Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon
 How do Accomplished Teachers
View Their Work?
 An Opportunity to Serve
 There is an selfless dimension that takes
precedence over all other motivations to
become a teacher
 Paycheck, public regard, vacations cannot
compare to the opportunity to serve
 This is the heart of teaching

 This is a part of teachers nature and their ethical

responsibility

Copyright © 2007 Allyn and Bacon