Post 9: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER (Part 1)

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER: what needs to change?

Today, the seeds of such a dramatic transformation in education are being planted. Prompted by massive revolutions in knowledge, information technology, and public demand for better learning, schools nationwide are slowly but surely restructuring themselves. There are good teachers who love their professions and work very hard. They are so passionate because they give the best knowledge that they have.

However, there are some teachers who just work for living. There are bad teachers that honestly believe they are “good teachers”. These teachers either lack a significant skill to become effective or simply do not have a grasp on what being an effective teacher requires. There are other bad teachers that know exactly what they are and what they are doing. These teachers can typically be grouped into two categories. They are the veteran teachers that are burned out or the newbie that realized they did not want to be a teacher until it was too late. In any case, these teachers are not doing themselves,  their students, or the profession any favors by hanging on just to draw a pay check.

Most goverment institution require teachers to pass a comprehensive series of assessments to obtain certification within a specific subject area. With this requirement, you would think that all teachers would be proficient enough to teach the subject area(s) they were hired to teach. Unfortunately there are some teachers that do not know the content knowledge well enough to teach it. 

Teachers who use inappropriate language in their classroom on a regular basis undermine the moral responsibility they have as an authority figure. Each of these situations involves a serious lack of professionalism which will undermine a teacher’s overall effectiveness. Attitude is everything. You set the tone in your classroom. You can inspire and motivate or devalue, depress, and cause students to believe that their best efforts are futile at best.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION:

• Youtube,. (2015) What Makes a Good Teacher?. Retrieved 30 April 2015 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI5EM8WBSSQ

• Meador Derrick,. (2014) Qualities of Bad Teachers. Retrieved 30 April 2015 from: http://teaching.about.com/od/Information-For-Teachers/a/Bad-Teachers.htm