Teachers are supposed to be dedicated individuals, devoted to giving more than they receive. Teaching is an unsung “profession.” “Public servants” are expected to go the extra yard, tutor “students” after school to prep them to pass standardized tests, and “voluntarily” agree to do other activities like chaperone a school dance, organize a school assembly, give an in-school workshop or plan and moderate a spelling bee for gratis.
Twenty-eight times during my teaching career I accompanied eighth grade classes to Washington DC, to Williamsburg and to Luray Caverns, Virginia working two eighteen hour days without receiving any additional remuneration. These “professional” extras come with the territory.
Teachers are expected to go above and beyond the call of duty. That means beyond the “unprofessional” responsibilities of cafeteria duty, early morning duty, office detention duty and monitoring the halls and bathrooms between classes duty. In education, “duty” means teacher exploitation by administrations and boards of education. “Duties” have little or nothing to do with education, and they are things that aides or parent’ volunteers could easily perform with little on-the-job training.
Duties require little professional ability, and they are a major factor in keeping today’s teachers unprofessional and subordinate to administrative fiat.
Faculty members must set good examples for the students by demonstrating the spirit of self-sacrifice for the good of the school and the betterment of the community.
Administrators always emphasize to teachers, “Doing extra is part of your professional responsibility,” they lecture at faculty meetings. “Now we still need three more teachers to volunteer for the Six-Flags’ Great Adventure’ trip. You’ll be getting back at eight p.m. Friday night. That’s not too bad. And we need another volunteer for the after school volleyball program and two more chaperones for the Halloween Dance.”
First of all, let’s get the record straight. Teachers are not professional people. They are school employees who are usually only told by administrators that they are professional when something extra or something unprofessional (a duty) needs to be done. Public School instructors follow administrative orders just like janitors, school secretaries, cafeteria workers and aides do. Faculty members have little choice in matters when ...
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... terms of professional incomes, but in terms of professional autonomy. They must escape the obsolete factory-manufacturing model of nineteenth century factory management- (administrators) employee- (teachers) product- (students) mentality that has dominated public school education for the past hundred years since the introduction of the Industrial Revolution. That archaic “factory’ business model” must be dismantled, redesigned and renovated. Teachers need more voice and power in school management to ascend to the distinction of professional persons.
How can the public assist in making teachers feel as if they are appreciated professionals? That’s easy. Respect what teachers do in the classroom. Don’t base your opinion of a teacher on one unfavorable incident and ignore five hundred positive experiences a particular child had in an instructor’s classroom.
Teachers have bad days, too. Parents should not treat classroom educators as if they are their employees because property owners happen to pay taxes just like teachers do. And finally, taxpayers and parents should not act like they know more about education than teachers do. The job is not half as easy as the public thinks.
Hartsfield –Jackson Atlanta International Airport (n.d.). Case Study. Atlanta Metropolitan Aviation Capacity Study Phase II. Retrieved from
In my experience, the majority of my teachers were dedicated and caring people to their work. I previously thought that maybe I had gotten lucky with my instructors in which classes I participated in, or maybe I am a more open minded person than those who criticized our educators. Now I see that teachers are scapegoats for other complications outside of their control. Even if some are no longer of a higher caliber, a reason for the decline could be disheartening caused by their limited resources and general disrespect year after year. The government may not be willing to reverse past changes, but now the system whose purpose is to prepare the children of today to become the adults of tomorrow is being annexed by business behemoths striving for ever greater profits to fill their
The aviation industry has been aware of the large growth trends in air-travel for many years and has set about performing detailed simulations of future requirements. Forecasters use Peak Month Average Weekday (PMAWD) and Design Day Flight Schedule (DDFS) datasets in conjuncture with advanced software to glimp...
Young S. & Wells, A. (2011). Airport Planning and Management (6th ed.). New York, New
The most important reason public schools provide an excellent education is that teachers are required to be highly qualified and suited for the job. When asked if public schools were a wise investment for the government Barnard answered,” Yes, not every parent [very few in fact] are trained and suited to educate students”” (Barnard). In particular, they must acquire and maintain a license to teach. In order to earn this teaching certification, they must demonstrate proficiency in all basic skills, study their subject area in depth, and learn effective techniques of instructing all kinds of learners. They also are required to get on-the-job training under the guidance of an experienced teacher. They have to motivate students to learn and have a passion for teaching, maintain their license, and continue their own education and training throu...
...ween schools and communities, and the administrative and bureaucratic context of teacher work.” (Educating Teachers... p6)
One of the first trials encountered in this class was that of Alfred Dreyfus, a Captain in the French military who was accused of treason for passing French intelligence to the Germans. However where many parallels can be found lies in the subsequent actions taken by the French military and legal system. Dreyfus was convicted on treason and sentenced to be transported to Guiana and serve in a penal colony. As a result he was removed from his legal proceedings, he no longer had access to his case nor any of the officials who had any power to change his case. Kafka’s depicts this process similarly in The Trial, Josef K. has very little to no access to his case and absolutely none surrounding its details, while he is not physically removed from the case he is removed from the case based on the inaccessibility of the courts, the judges and even legal counsel. Dreyfus was similarly removed from the country in order to serve his sentence and it was not until others began to p...
The airline industry is an unprofitable business even with increased traffic every year (HUTCHINSON, 2011). By identifying the marco-environment factors that may have an impact on the airline will enable airlines to make better decisions and to exploit or reduce the impact of those macro forces.
The Law in Kafka's novel The Trial houses a fundamental but fleeting metaphysical metaphor. It is virtually unassailable, hidden, and always just beyond the grasp of human understanding. The Law seeks to impose an unknowable order and assimilate any individual notion of existence. It defines two distinct modes of existence through accusation: those who stand accused by the Law and those who are empowered by the Law to pass judgement upon those accused. From the very moment of his arrest, Joseph K. resists this legal hierarchy stating, "I don't know this Law ... it probably exists nowhere but in your head... it is only a trial if I recognize it as such" (6, 40). Freedom is at the center of this conflict. In attempting to rigidly define human existence, the Law compels humankind to be passive, to accept the incomprehensible legal machinery of the Court without question. "The only pointless thing is to try taking independent action" (175). There is a tacit assumption that freedom, whether one is accused or not, is provisional at best. Kafka uses the priest's allegory of the doorkeeper and the common man to powerfully illustrate this point. In many ways, the novel itself can be seen as an elaboration, commentary, or critique on the allegorical power of the Law.
Preston, B. (1993). Teacher Professionalism – implications for teachers, teacher educators, and democratic schooling. Independent Education, 23, 4-12.
We cannot speak of alcohol without knowing what is it. A definition of alcohol “A colorless volatile flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages” (Free dictionary). The word “alcohol” may come from the Arabic word al-kohl. Alcohol is a chemical compound that makes a person when drinks it feel good and happy, but when that person drinks too much of it, he or she may lose his or her consciousness. So, when people drink too much of alcohol, they might not know what they are doing. In short, alcohol can affect the brain and therefore it can make people difficulty walking and difficulty speech. However, alcohol can benefit the body, such as lowering the risk of diabetes. Also alcohol can be legally consumed in most countries and many countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption. The laws of regulation alcohol are di...
I believe educators are one of the most important careers out there, without them where would we be today? Would you be reading this paper? Would you still be able to read, write, or have an educated conversation? Would you know how to pay for things at the grocery store, and know if you’re receiving the correct change back? Would you know how to tell time, so you can manage your day? When I look back to my young developing stages in life, I always ask myself where would I be today if it wasn’t for my teachers? Teachers are the ones who are building our future generations. Preparing children and teens for higher education. Also playing a huge part in shaping children’s lives, enlightening them, and educating them about society and the world around them; the types of things that a parent doesn’t have time for, or just lacks the knowledge of. I think teachers are what help make this world go round. We simply go to school to learn, and get educated, so that someday we can get a job, or start a business to supply for our families and our self. How would we acq...
Marshall, K. (2005). It's Time to Rethink Teacher Supervision and Evaluation. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(10), 727-735.
First, I realized that, teachers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders and have great responsibilities. They have to balance the curriculum, students, parents, lesson plans, common core, and upper management and still maintain a professional demeanor. Second, educators must follow a strong code of ethics. They must be professional at all times with students and colleagues, keep confidentiality, not have or show any prejudice or bias, maintain safe and positive learning environments, help students with problems, and hand out disciplines accordingly. Lastly, I found that when you’re a teacher, your education never stops. Teachers are always trying to improve their own education and professional growth, both for the benefit of their students and for the benefit of themselves.
Teachers hold a very sensitive role in the modern civilized society. Regarded as social engineers, teachers possess immense knowledge on various issues that affect our daily lives as a community of human beings. Though in many countries including the developed ones, teachers are poorly remunerated they make invaluable contributions to their communities, to society and to the world at large, engaging in yeoman services with selfless love and dedication that could only be considered priceless. This paper serves to explore some of the social contributions that teachers make to the modern civilized society.