PROFESSIONALISM: THE HALLMARK OF A PROFESSIONAL
No doubt, society expects the teacher as a professional to demonstrate professionalism in all that he/she does. Professionalism is both a professional and a personal trait. It behooves every teacher to assume and maintain professional attitude to his work and in dealing with his associates in the profession. It should be his self-imposed duty to constantly improve himself professionally.
The qualities of your favorite teachers may not be very far from one another. Let's compare them with the twelve (12) characteristics of an effective teacher gathered from a fifteen-year longitudinal, qualitative study on more than one thousand essays of teacher education students. (Walker, Robert, J. Twelve Characteristics of an Effective Teacher: A Longitudinal, Qualitative, Quasi-Research Study of In-Service and Pre-Service Teachers":
1. Prepared- Positive come to class each day ready to teach
2. Positive- have optimistic attitudes about teaching and about students
3. Hold high expectations - set no limits on students and believe everyone can be successful
4. Creative - are resourceful and inventive in how they teach their classes
5. Fair - handle students and grading fairly
6. Display a personal touch - approachable
7. Cultivate a sense of belonging - have a way to make students feel welcome and comfortable in their classrooms
8. Compassionate are concerned about students' personal problems and can relate to them and their problems
9. Have a sense of humor - make learning fun and do not take everything seriously
10. Respect students - do not deliberately embarrass students; teachers who give the highest respect get the highestrespect
11. Forgiving-do not hold grudges
12. Admit mistakes- quick to admit being wrong
These twelve traits of good teachers are the same traits given by the students of these writers every time they asked various classes to list down traits of effective teachers. The most common word given is caring. A caring teacher is fair. He/She displays a personal touch and so is approachable. He/she makes every learner belong and feel welcome. He/she feels with his/her students and so is compassionate. He/she is forgiving, does not keep grudges against learners. He/she is humble enough to admit mistakes because he/she cares, goes to class prepared. He/she believes in his/her students and so sets high expectations. He/she cares that students learn and so makes learning fun by injecting humor. His/ her genuine care for learners is grounded on his/her great respect for every learner.