THE TEACHING

PROFESSION

TYPES OF TEACHERS
Some teachers are teachers by:
Choice
Chance

Force

Accident

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 THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Can be regarded in three ways:

Teaching as a profession
Teaching as a mission

Teaching as a vocation

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 Teaching as a profession

“Teaching is a noble profession”

The word “profession” is synonymous to:

Occupation, job, career, work, line of work

The word “professional” means long & arduous

years of preparation, a striving for excellence, a
dedication to public interest and commitment to
moral & ethical values.
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 If you consider teaching as a profession
then:
You must be willing to go through a long period of
preparation.

You must be willing to go through continuing education

(continuous development of potentials)

You must strive for excellence

You commit yourself to moral, ethical and religious

values & dedicate yourself to service.

Copyright ©, otb2008 Source: The Teaching Profession by Bilbao et al

 Teaching as a mission

The word mission is derived from the Latin word

“misio” which means “to send”.

The Webster’s Dictionary defines “mission” as “task

assigned”.

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 If teaching is your mission then it means:

a. It is the “task” entrusted to you in this world.

b. It is your assigned task thus you’ve got to prepare

for it!

c. It calls for a continuing professional

education.

“Once a teacher, forever a student”

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 Teaching as a vocation

The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word

“vocare” which means “to call” thus vocation is a
“call”.

For believers, the CALLER is GOD Himself.

“Many are called but few are chosen”

For Non-believers, the CALLER might be a man

calling another man.

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 If teaching is your vocation then it means:

You said YES to your call to teach!

You commit yourself in the total transformation of

the learner.

You consider teaching as a lifetime commitment

thus aim through the years towards quality
teaching.

“Teaching may not guarantee financial security but

love of teaching has served as a motivating factor to
many teachers through the years”. Teaching has
remained inspiring & fulfilling.

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Professional Ethics
The professional :
• renders service and shows concern for
people.
• does not require close supervision or
direction.
• does not work by the hour or expect to be
paid by the hour.
• assumes responsibility for personal
behaviour.
• maintains good physical, emotional,
and mental health.
• continually seeks to improve.
• is loyal to colleagues.
• does not attempt to advance at the
expense of others.
• possesses good communication and
public relation skills.
• gives others credit for their ideas
and work.
• meets commitments and obligations
fully and on time.
• is proud of the teaching profession.
Going beyond...

“It has been said that teachers who have been

teaching for twenty years may be divided
into two categories: those with twenty years’
experience and those with one year’s
experience repeated twenty times.”

(Ur 1996: 317)

In other words
• Sheer time on the job does not ensure
experience
• Successful teachers are those who
continue to develop throughout their
professional lives – the completion of an
initial qualification is just a beginning
(Ur, 1996)
• It is difficult to mantain a sense of
engagement when using the same old
lesson routines or reading texts time
after time
• If we do not take steps towards
development,
it is difficult to mantain the initial
enthusiasm
(Harmer, 2007)
 ‘You can train me, you can
educate me, but you can’t develop
me – I develop’

(Piai 2005:21, in Harmer, 2007)

 Professional Development
Strategies
• Attending Conferences
• Taking courses
• Getting a certificate, diploma or degree
• Peer observations/formal observations
• Lesson planning and reflection
• Reading
• Writing
• Getting online