THE TEACHING PROFESSION 

TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

   In the words "professional manner," "gawang propesyonal." "professional fee for expert services rendered" the word "professional" implies one who possesses skill and competence / expertise. "Highly professional" "unprofessional... to act that way" imply a code of ethics by which a professional person abide. In short, a professional is one who conforms to the technical or ethical standards of a profession. 

The other elements of a profession are: 

1. Initial Professional Education - Professionals generally begin their professional lives by completing a university program in their chosen fields - teacher education, engineering, nursing, accountancy. This means long and arduous years of preparation. Take note this is just initial, which means only the beginning because a professional is expected to learn endlessly.

2. Accreditation - University programs are approved by a regulatory body like the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippines to ensure that graduates from these recognized programs start their professional lives with competence.

3. Licensing - Licensing is mandatory, not voluntary and is administered by a government authority. In the Philippines, this government authority is the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

4. Professional Development - This is an ongoing professional education that maintains or improves professionals' knowledge and skills after they begin professional practice. In the Philippines this is Continuing Professional Development mandated by RA 10912, otherwise known as the CPD Act of 2016. 5. 

5. Professional Societies - Professionals see themselves as part of a community of like-minded individuals who put their professional standards above the individual self-interest or their employer's self- interest. These professional societies put dedication to the public interest and commitment to moral and ethical values. Professional societies define certification criteria, manage certification programs, establish accreditation standards a define a code of ethics and disciplinary action for violations and of that code.

6. Code of Ethics - Each profession has a code of ethics to ensure that its practitioners behave responsibly. The code states what professionals should do. Professionals can be ejected from their professional societies or lose their licenses to practice for violating the code of ethics.

The teaching profession is governed by the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers. Violation of the Code of Ethics for professional teachers is one of the grounds for the revocation of the professional teacher's Certificate of Registration and suspension from the practice of the teaching profession (Sec. 23., RA. 7836).

TEACHING AS A VOCATION

   Vocation comes from the Latin word "vocare" which means to call Based on the etymology of the word, vocation, therefore, V means a call. If there is a call, there must be a caller and someone who is called. There must also be a response. For Christians, the Caller is God Himself. For our brother and sister Muslims, Allah Believers in the Supreme being will look at this voiceless call to have a vertical dimension. For non-believers, the call is also experienced but this may viewed solely along a horizontal dimension. It is like man calling another man, never a Superior being calling man Most offen, when people use the word "vocation," they refer to a religious vocation, like the mother in the Activity phase of this Lesson. Vocation includes other big callings like marriage and single blessedness. It does not only refer to a religious vocation. It can also refer to a call to do something like to teach, to heal the sick, etc. Whatever is our calling or station in life, the call is always to serve.

The Christians among you realize that the Bible is full of stories of men and women who were called by God to do something not for themselves but for others. We know of Abraham, the first one called by God, to become the father of a great nation, the nation of God's chosen people. We recall Moses who was called while in Egypt to lead God's chosen people out of Egypt in order to free them from slavery. In the New Testament, we know of Mary who was also called by God to become the mother of the Savior, Jesus Christ. In Islam, we are familiar with Muhammad, the last of the prophets to be called by Allah, to spread the teachings of Allah. All of them responded positively to God's call. Buddha must have also heard the call to abandon his royal life in order to seek the answer to the problem on suffering.

From the eyes of those who believe, it was God who called you to teach, just as God called Abraham, Moses, and Mary, of the Bible. Among so many, you were called to teach. Like you, these biblical figures did not also understand the events surrounding their call. But in their great faith, they answered YES. Mary said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word". (Of course, it is difficult explaining your call to teach as God's call for one who, in the first place, denies God's existence, for this is a matter of faith.) The fact that you are now in the College of Teacher Education signifies that you said YES to the call to teach. Perhaps you never dreamt to become a teacher! But here you are now preparing to become one! Teaching must be your vocation, your calling. May this YES response remain a YES and become even firmer through the years.

TEACHING AS A MISSION

Teaching is also a mission. The word mission comes from the Latin word "mission" which means "to send." The Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines mission as "task assigned." You are sent to accomplish an assigned task. The phrase "mission accomplished" from the soldier in the Activity phase of this lesson suggests that you were sent to do an assigned task, a mission and so if you faithfully accomplish the assigned task, you proclaim "mission accomplished." You responded to the call to be a teacher and so your mission in the world i to teach, the task entrusted to you in this world. These are how vocation and mission are related. You were called for a purpose, te to accomplish a mission while on earth which is to teach. effective If it is your assigned task then naturally you've got to prepare yourself for it. From now on you cannot take your studies for granted! Your four years of pre-service preparation will equip you with the knowledge, skills and attitude to become an teacher. However, never commit the mistake of culminating your mission preparation at the end of the four-year pre-service education. You have embarked in a mission that calls for a continuing professional development As the saying goes "once a teacher, forever a student." (More is said of continuing professional development in the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers in Chapter 3.) Flowing from your uniqueness, you are expected to contribute to the betterment of this world in your own unique way. Your unique and most significant contribution to the humanization of life on earth is in the field for which you are prepared - teaching.

  What exactly is the mission to teach? Is it merely to teach the child the fundamental skills or basic r's of reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic and right conduct? Is it to help the child master the basic skills so he/she can continue acquiring higher-level skills in order to become a productive member of society? Is it to deposit facts and other information into the "empty minds" of students to be withdrawn during quizzes and tests? Or is it to "midwife" the birth of ideas latent in the minds of students? Is it to facilitate the maximum development of his/her potential not only for himself/herself but also for others? In the words of Alfred North Whitehead, is it to help the child become "the man of culture and of expertise?" Or is it "to provide opportunities for the child's growth and to remove hampering influences" as Bertrand Russell put it? You will be made to answer this question again when you will be made to write down your philosophy of education in a later lesson. 

TEACHING AND A LIFE OF MEANING

Want to give your life a meaning? Want to live a purpose- driven life? Spend it passionately in teaching, the most noble profession, Consider what Dr. Josette T. Biyo, the first Asian teacher to win the Intel Excellence in Teaching Award in an international competition, said in a speech delivered before a selected group of teachers, superintendents, DepEd officials and consultants.

Teaching may not be a lucrative position. It cannot guarantee financial security. It even means investing your personal time, energy, and resources. Sometimes it means disappointments, heartaches, and pains. But touching the hearts of people and opening the minds of children can give you joy and contentment which money could not buy. These are the moments I teach for. These are the moments I live for. There may be times, when you will feel like giving up (many leave teaching after 3 or 5 years for varied reasons). Remember you responded to the call to teach and that you have accepted the mission to teach. May you be found faithful to your vocation and mission till the end.

THE "PWEDE NA" MENTALITY: ENEMY OF EXCELLENT MISSION PREPARATION AND ACCOMPLISHMENT

   For a professional teacher who looks at teaching as his/her mission, he/she will do everything to arm himself/herself for an excellent accomplishment of that mission. The striving for excellent accomplishment sometimes brings us to our "pwede na" mentality, which is inimical to excellence. This mentality is expressed in other ways like "talagang ganyan 'yan," "wala na tayong magawa," "dina mahalata," "di ko na 'yan sagot," "dagdag trabaho/gastos lang yan"- all indicators of defeatism and resignation to mediocrity. If we stick to this complacent mentality, excellent mission accomplishment eludes us. In the world of work whether here or abroad, only the best and the brightest make it. (At this time, you must have heard that with the rigid selection of teacher applicants done by DepEd, only a few make it!) The mortality rate in the Licensure Examination for Teachers for these past years is a glaring evidence that excellence is very much wanting of our teacher education graduates. If we remain true to our calling and mission as a professional teacher, we have no choice but to take the endless and the "less traveled road" to excellence.