Category Archives: 1.4 Prof. Commitment

The Virtues of Teaching

In a recent input, we were asked what attributes we think teachers should possess in order to be regarded as both a professional and great practitioner. It’s difficult to pin-point just a handful of qualities, but here are a few that I think are important.

I think having integrity is something we as teachers definitely need. To me this means being honest and having strong moral principles. It’s important to be a good role model and someone who can show children what it means to have values. Being a person of integrity also means that my personal and professional relationships are genuine and I am a person who can be trusted, which is important considering children develop in the context of relationships.

I think having compassion is also important. Defined as “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with the desire to alleviate it”, we as teachers spend a great deal of time helping children understand and overcome issues large and small. Taking into consideration the thoughts and feelings of our children instead of solely responding to their words is great way to build strong relationships. For example, angry words may conceal fear, guilt may hide behind blame. Trying to understand and respond to the underlying emotion can result in the child being more likely to trust and open up a little more.

I think having fairness within the classroom is a definite must. Many define being ‘fair’ as treating everyone the same, but I would argue against this. Children are not the same. They have different motivations for their choices, different needs, different causes for misbehaviour and different goals. That being said, I do think having set boundaries and rules that apply to everyone gives each individual child a clear grasp of what’s expected (and not expected) and the consequences of their actions. But it’s vital to have an unbiased approach in teaching and I think making a real conscious effort not have ‘favourites’ is important.

I think having patience is a quality that we as teacher most definitely need in order to make this job possible! To deal with twenty odd children demanding your undivided attention can be a real task to juggle. Every child has different needs and varying ranges of ability and being able to take a step back and evaluate a situation is essential to staying cool, calm and collected.

And lastly, I think having respect is important in regards to all aspects of life, not only as a teacher. It shows that one values another as an individual and that they have regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others. Children judge the character of us as teachers based on how we treat them. Respect needs to be earned from both sides. When a child experiences respect, they know what it feels like and begin to understand how important it is. That’s why the best way to teach respect is to show respect.