After watching these videos and taking my own notes on the different opinions/views on professionalism I have gathered some of my own thoughts on them…

• Video 1

I completely agreed with everything that was brought up in this video. I think it’s making a very strong, powerful point when looking at professionalism.  How the doctor and nurse explained their jobs are very similar to teaching, in my opinion.  We take a child who has a certain level of knowledge and skills where we then work with them to develop them further as individuals, this brings the great satisfaction which is felt by the doctors and nurses when taking in a patient and making them better.  I think that when you have had a significant impact on a child’s life where they’re grown and developed as individuals who are equipped to move on and develop even further what you’ve taught them in your year of working with them a great satisfaction will be felt.  Passion, dedication, loving your job, team work, commitment, enthusiasm, being reachable etc. is what professionalism looks like according to some of the teachers in the video.  I feel strongly about all of these factors as I think they all make such a huge different to treating teaching as your job; something that needs to be done for a couple of hours and being professional where you’ll see teaching as more than just a job, more than just a couple of hours in the classroom.  Being a teacher means going above and beyond your duties; it’s caring for the whole community and taking into account the difference you’re making in it and not just the children.  Being a professionalism means always staying informed with the; new curriculum, new discussions, new issues and new teaching methods.  To be professional we must be aiming to meet/going beyond the quality and the standard of which society expects us to guarantee the children.  It’s mentioned in the video that teachers aren’t just the educator of the child but the educator of the community, they have such a wider impact than only the child sitting in their classroom.  Therefore being a professional is taking this into consideration and putting in extra effort out of school hours and out of the school.  In saying this though it’s important to have an aim in your efforts, it’s important to know what you’re doing and what you want the outcome to be in the end as this will allow you to help spread your knowledge and skills throughout many people’s lives.

• Video 2

I split this video up into 5 sections for the different teachers opinions on professionalism;

The notes I took from the Miss Catherine Long were points which conflicted with some of my personal views.  Personally I don’t feel as though professionalism is becoming more noticed within society this present day.  I find it has always been noticed merely the concept of professionalism has changed.  When you look back 40 odd years now you find teachers were professional in terms of;  their classroom environment, their delivery of information, the methods of teaching, working with the pupils, teacher/pupil relationships and their involvement with children at break times etc.  For all teachers these factors were to be addressed in the same manner therefore they approached these in professional ways.  However in the 21 century professionalism has changed and adapted for the new education system.  These days their are big differences on what is classed as professionalism.  Teachers have varieties in their classrooms environments, methods of teaching due to the new outlook on teaching.  Working with the pupils is approached in a number of different ways and the teacher/pupil relationship has changed dramatically as they must adapt with society and the changes which occur in it, taking into consideration the new attitudes of children and their development.  Teachers involvements at break times have changed as aspects of behaviour were highlighted and must be monitored etc.  There are many changes which I feel has altered our view of professionalism and therefore I feel society has more of a voice now because everyone has different view points.

I agreed with everything Mrs Nursen Chemmi explained in the video.  I feel teachers have a huge role to play as children will use them as role models where they will copy the way in which you speak/act.  Professionalism should mean you’re continuously being a positive role model in their lives are many children will either be missing a mother/father figure or not have positive role models in their lives.  Children are influenced very easily therefore as a teacher you should take this into consideration and ensure you’re influencing them appropriately.

The first part Mrs Coleen Walsh spoke about is the same as Mrs Nursen Chemmi, however the second part was very interesting for me as it is something that I find is affecting children more often.  Children should never be judge by their home life as it’s something which they have no control over.  If children were judged on their home lives and parents then there would be extremely unfair judgements both positive and negative.  Every single child should be treated equally and given the same chance with their education.

Mrs Erin Smith raised the point that professionalism should be used differently with different groups of people, to a certain extent I agree with this.  Professionalism should vary slightly depending on who you are communicating with however your communication should still be clear and you should still have appropriate attitudes towards each individual the same.  I find that when communicating with different individuals it’s important to keep your key values of professionalism therefore you’ll always respect and approach them appropriately.

Miss Catherine Long describes here essentially that teachers should be engaging with what I just learned to be an enquiring practitioner.  As from my previous blog post I have explained why it is important to be involved in practitioner enquiry.  I feel these are very important and significant words which I strongly agree with in terms of professionalism.

• Video 3 

Chris

I think that Chris had a very positive message about teachers!  I enjoyed listening to him and felt as though he had an important, inspiring speech.  Chris’s passion really shone through in his message where he believes teachers are ver important and should be treating well while being payed well.  I agree with him as he describes how teachers should valued as we care for kids.  This is such a true statement which I feel is overlooked a lot.  Teachers care for every single child in their class and in their school, hence the reason most teachers go above and beyond to help their children learn and develop.  It was very refreshing and I think many teachers would agree with Chris’s words here.  

Karen

I disliked Karens statement and I disagreed with it hugely.  Karen states that she is an educational worker who merely punches a clock, I think this is a hugely negative view on being a teacher which will have a very negative impact on her work as a teacher.  Personally I do not feel that being a teacher is a job in which you can punch a clock as you must dedicate so much of your time and energy into it.  In my opinion Karen is not a professional teacher, nor is she someone who is taking her job serious enough.  She has a variety of children of different ages and different abilities who are all counting on her support to aid them with their development however with this negative attitude Karen will not be able to do this effectively.  I think it’s a very irresponsible and selfish view she has on her job.