As a professional, we are constantly questioning the skills and traits that we possess in order to aim to be the best possible teacher. Our values are key in the way that we deal with our emotions and also how we deal with those around us. From the list provided, 5 values have been chosen and a description of how they relate to the role of a teacher has been given:
1. Patience – As a teacher, this is a vital skill to have. With the needs of children constantly changing, and additional support needs being given a higher recognition within the class, patience can be a key factor in supporting development. It allows for there to be time to educate to a quality standard, whilst understanding that learning styles/rates will mean that each child will learn at a different pace – the end result of a child being able to understand is key though, regardless of the time.
2. Respect – Teachers are meant to be respected. They are after all educating the future generation? Correct? Wrong. Respect is something which must be earned, and is in a two way street – the child must learn to respect the teacher, and the teacher must learn to respect the child. Respect is an attitude of admiration for someone, which shows that you regard them in a high manner. As a teacher, we are able to show respect to the children in the classroom to the children, but also to other members of staff, parents and professionals. This can be key for providing the best possible care for children, as many schools host weekly meetings with other organisations such as Social Work, police and NHS professionals should there be any kind of concern for a child’s welfare.
3. Fairness – This is the personal quality of making judgements about situations without being purposefully discriminatory towards someone. Within a school setting, it is extremely important to be fair towards the children so that they do not feel as though they have been individually picked on. Whilst it is easy to have a favourite and least favourite child, for whatever reason, this should be discouraged to ensure each child is treated the same.
4. Empathy – This is when you are able to enter and relate into a mutual understanding of another person’s feelings. Whilst acting as a professional, the role of a teacher would effect this as we must consider a range of people such as the parents, children and staff’s feelings when in discussion about different matters. This is because we must consider how we would feel if we were in that particular situation, so that we can be approachable for anyone to come and speak to us.
5. Integrity – This relates to our own moral soundness as a professional. To work within schools, we are constantly reminded and encouraged to be having independent professional development. If we are aware of what our own aims are, and what we expect, then we are then able to conform our educating around this to be able to allow the children to see our expectations. By knowing what we would like to achieve, we can then set goals and hope to achieve this.
