Ways Teachers should be Professional
The first cardinal rule on professionalism is in the dress code. A teacher should always be smartly and conservatively dressed. This will avoid being a distraction to students and also avoid conflict with other stakeholders in the school. The second aspect is proper communication skills between all four aforementioned parties. Use of polite language is an important mark of professionalism with politeness abiding even when the situation seems to call for harsh language (Lunenburg et al , 2014) . The third aspect of professionalism entails relationships. A teacher must remain a caring adult to the students and never allow the cordial relationship in class become too close to negating the caring adult relationship (Lunenburg et al , 2014) . Towards colleagues, the teacher should also retain a professional relationship that will avoid inordinate complications. The fourth mark is drawing lines relating to privileged information. A teacher will be privy to a student’s particulars that should not be communicated to anyone, administrative secrets that should not be communicated students and many others. Another way of being professional is maintaining cooperation rather than competition with other teachers in the interest of the students (Pillen et al. , 2013) . Further, one should avoid emotional outbursts, even when situations push the teacher to the brink. Emotions are personal, not professional and albeit the teacher is also human, it is fundamental to learn to compartmentalize while at work so that personal feelings should not affect professional obligations.
The seventh mark of professionalism is being cordial with the parents. The parent may be wrong about something, biased or even ignorant but remains an integral stakeholder to a student’s education (Lunenburg et al , 2014) . A teacher should be able to work with the parent as opposed to working without and/or against the parent. The eighth aspect is that a professional teacher will not point out a problem without offering a solution more so to a pupil or a parent. The administration upon whom the responsibility of the school is placed is also another way of being professional . A professional teacher ought not to be a rebel, breaking the school rules even when the teacher does not agree with them unless they are deemed injurious to students (Pillen et al , 2013) . It is better to raise concerns that flout rules. Finally, a professional teacher understands that there is always room for improvement in any relationship and, therefore, endeavors towards self-betterment.
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Personal strengths and One Weakness in dealing with each group
My main strength when dealing with students is the ability to remain cordial even when angry. Children can be a major challenge and will sometimes do things circumspectly designed to annoy. Without being very careful, it is possible to have an outburst which will forever taint the relationship with them. The ability to remind myself that this is just a child enables me to remain calm. My main strength when it comes to parents lies in the ability to make friends easily and interact with different people. This is crucial because the parent pool in a school can be quite wide and dealing with parents usually comes in when there is a problem. Establishing cordiality is crucial. Towards fellow teachers, my main strength lies in the fact that even in a competitive environment I am able to avoid aggressive behavior and this makes me work well with them. Finally, towards the administration, I am a good communicator hence able to maintain proper flow of information. However, it is also within the administration that my main weakness lies. I am independent minded and extremely innovative and thus prefers doing things my way. Yet, under a school system, the administration places rigorous rules and regulation on almost all issues (Wang, 2016) . I will, therefore, need to learn how to operate properly under instruction and to submit my innovative ideas for approval before I implement them.
Importance of Professionalism
The importance of professionalism in teaching lies in the fact that teaching is a relational profession that entails interaction with pupils, colleagues, non-teaching staff, parents and the administration. Therefore, the positive character of a teacher, which is also termed as professionalism is an integral aspect of teaching. The best possible teacher from an academic perspective can fail to have an impact on students due to lack of professionalism (Pillen et al. , 2013) .
References
Lunenburg, M., Dengerink, J., & Korthagen, F. (2014). The professional teacher educator: Roles, behaviour, and professional development of teacher educators . Springer Science & Business Media
Pillen, M., Beijaard, D., & den Brok, P. (2013). Professional identity tensions of beginning teachers. Teachers and Teaching , 19 (6), 660-678
Wang, D. (2016). Turning around a failing school: School administration and teacher professional learning community. In Teachers for Nation Academic Forum
