These 5 attributes are some which I believe are very important in terms of being teacher.
Integrity
Official definition; 1- The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
2- The state of being whole and undivided.
My view of this is:
To be professional you must have integrity as it important to be open and honest with your class as they ask difficult questions or challenge your own person views. It is being open to change with your techniques, attitudes and beliefs. It is also being open and honest in terms of asking for help when it’s required or seeking advice on issues which you thought maybe didn’t go so well and there’s possibility for change. It’s also using your own experiences to help within the school environment, whether it being in the classroom or in the staff room etc. I think integrity is having the confidence and the courage to speak up when problems arise and support is essential. It’s also having the confidence and courage to voice your views (appropriately and where necessary) on different topics which you teach with the children however doing it in a way in which you aren’t persuading the children to think the same way, making it clear that these thoughts are purely personal.
Patience
Official Definition: The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
My view of this is:
To be a professional teacher you must have patience as it is important in all aspects of your job; within and out with the classroom. Children will be very challenging with your patience as a teacher as some individuals will take longer to grasp certain aspects of the course where others will fly through certain work. Also many children will challenge your patience as a teacher as they will become unmotivated and distracted easily where they won’t want to do their work therefore it is your responsibility to keep them on track. However if a child continues to do this it will become very irritating and disruptive, being a professional with patience will allow you to deal with these situations appropriately. Also within the staff room if a class with personalities occur patience is essential to avoid confrontation and allow a healthy, comfortable work environment. Moving onto parents, having patience with parents is important as they should be comfortable with asking both simple and complex questions in which you have the patience to; answer, discuss and explain to them anything they may not understand.
Empathy
Official Definition: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
My view of this is:
To be a professional teacher it is important to have empathy as children will normally be more comfortable and work best when the teacher can relate to them. It’s important when a child doesn’t understand the work given to them that you understand their struggle and you can relate to them as this will help you have the appropriate approach when discussing any issues with them. Having empathy will also allow children to be more comfortable in exploring ideas where they’ll ask more questions and feel at ease when making mistakes that they can then learn from. It is also important to have empathy when talking with parents if there has been an issue with their child. It’s important to understand where the parent may be in terms of their emotions and their understanding of the issue which is of concern therefore it is essential to approach them with the appropriate manner.
Tolerance
Official definition; 1- The ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with.
2- the capacity to endure continued subjection to something such as a drug or environmental conditions without adverse reaction.
My view of this is:
Tolerance is very beneficial to a professional teacher as they will be challenged very single day where their tolerance within the classroom will be pushed to the limit. Being a teacher is often a challenge where children’s behaviours can be very unruly and it is difficult to get them back on track with the appropriate behaviour. Children will also have opinions on certain work where it’s possibly even the opinion of ‘what’s the point in this I’m never going to need this… I’m not doing this’ which proves to be a struggle when keeping children on task. Therefore having tolerance is very significant. It is needed in order to deal with situations without ‘loosing it’ and shouting at the children as this has no real benefit. Having tolerance within the classroom will help to provide a happy, controlled and relaxing environment where tempers are kept at a minimum and children don’t waste their time ‘winding up’ their teacher.
Fairness
Official Definition: is the quality of making judgments that are free from discrimination.
My view of this is:
To be a professional teacher fairness is one of the most important attribute’s as each and every child should be treated with equal opportunities within the classroom. Education is something which should be provided to all children will the same level of quality whether it be in a deprived area or a very developed area. Whether a child comes from a rough/working class background or a wealthy/middle class background their education and the attitude shown from the teacher should be no different. This is also important in terms of gender and ethnicity where a child should never be treated any different due to something which is out with their own control. This is essential for children to experience during school and it is essential for teachers to provide this to each child throughout their school experience where they should reinforce this to the children and stop any behaviour which shows any form of discrimination.
