After watching the video ‘Are teachers professionals’ on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=88&v=MDf2oLt96O8 I have come to a couple of conclusions.
Chris Christie the first person speaking in the video believes that teachers should be placed high up in the professional hierarchy. I share this view as I think teachers have an extremely important role in society. Although I agree with this point I fail to be persuaded by his next. He argues that teachers can simply be satisfied with their jobs by receiving a pay rise. If this is the only reason a teacher can be satisfied then they are clearly in the wrong profession. Teaching is an incredibly rewarding job and when done well creates multiple opportunities for satisfaction as you watch the children you work with improve in all aspects of the curriculum as well as developing into independent people. I personally feel like Chris Christie does not display a high level of knowledge of the teaching profession.
Karen Lewis is the second speaker featured in this video. She talks about teaching as if it is a chore and something that we have to do rather than wanting to do it. I think as a teacher this is the completely wrong outlook to have on the profession. She highlights that instead of being a teacher she feels that she is an “educational worker” then later states that “workers” are those who simply punch a clock. I personally believe that this sheds a negative light on the teaching profession. It suggests that all teachers have no passion for their job and it is simply just a daily task they fulfil. We all know for a fact that there are thousands of teachers who do care about their job and look forward to going to work.
In conclusion I personally disagree with points that both speakers make and I feel that they both talk about the teaching profession in a negative way. However I do agree with Chris Christie’s first point about how our profession should be placed high up in the professional hierarchy. I believe we do serve an important purpose just like a doctor or a lawyer does in today’s society. Our lives revolve around education and without teachers our world would have no means of training people to fill other jobs such as surgeons. Everything leads back to education which is why our profession is so important.
