My profession

My profession

Plan

1. Who is a teacher?

2. Advantages of the teaching profession

3. Disadvantages of the teaching profession

4. What qualities does a teacher need?

5. Famous teachers

Who is a teacher?

The profession of a teacher is one of the most important ones because all other specialties depend on it. Whether it's a doctor, a president, or a movie star, everyone starts their education at school. Anyone who has decided to devote their lives to working with children and has chosen the profession of a teacher must be ready for a difficult path. Firstly, this work is one of the most difficult ones, and secondly, in many countries, the profession of a teacher is extremely low paid. However, for passionate educators, the moral satisfaction and joy of communicating with children and teenagers are usually worth it.

Advantages of the teaching profession

·  Meaningful work. Cultivating young minds is a rewarding endeavor in itself. And the intellectual connection between the student and the teacher brings feelings of satisfaction and self-worth. It is especially pleasant to see the fruits of your labor when the student clearly understands the material and develops as a person right before your eyes.

·    Great influence. The teaching profession is extremely important. It is often the influence of the favorite teacher that causes people to choose their profession. The teacher not only explains the material but also builds character and inspires the child. Therefore, it largely depends on the teaching staff whether a person grows up self-confident and open or damaged and unsociable.

·    Respect and recognition of students. The teacher spends 180 days with students during the school year and becomes one of the main authorities in the life of students. Many adults fondly remember their favorite teachers and often keep in touch with them after many years. Seeing respect, love, and trust in the eyes of children are the greatest rewards for hard work.

·    Earning opportunities. Knowledge is expensive. Therefore, teachers in private schools and lyceums have high salaries. In their free time, teachers can earn extra money by tutoring.

·    Multitasking. The saturation of working days largely depends on the teacher, since working with children means going to theaters and museums, field trips, organizing school events and concerts. Teachers also hold parent-teacher meetings, attend conferences and seminars to improve their skills and share experience. During school competitions, teachers accompany their students on trips to other cities, while for coaches or choreographers, business trips to competitions are an integral part of life. Such a variety of activities helps the teacher to fully unleash their creativity and organizational talents.

Disadvantages of the teaching profession

·    Long hours. As a rule, after a hard day, the teacher does not rest. After school, work continues from home. Checking homework, planning curriculum, and other administrative duties take up most of their free time. In some countries, the study week is 6 days long, which leaves only Sunday to have some rest.

·    Additional responsibilities. Often, in addition to teaching, teachers are engaged in other informal duties. For example, a teacher needs to be able to find an approach to “difficult” children, acting as psychologists for such students, and sometimes for their parents. In public schools (and not only there), teachers have a lot of paperwork. And during the pandemic, teachers were forced to adapt to the constantly changing distance learning programs.

·    Compliance. Despite the rather creative nature of the profession, teachers are often required to follow strict orders. They have to meet shifting standards, rewrite curricula, and compile reports. They often spend more time on paperwork than on teaching. Moreover, schools compete in various metrics, for example, the final test scores. This forces teachers to focus not on the knowledge itself, but on exam results when preparing their students.

·    Mandatory certification. It is common for teachers from abroad to take mandatory license exams at the beginning of their careers in a new country.

·    Modest salary. In public institutions, salaries can leave much to be desired. For example, the average salary of a teacher in Russia is a mere 300 USD per month. In the US the salaries are much higher, but teachers there say that they still have to work overtime to make ends meet.

·    Emotional stress. Being a teacher is difficult. They always have to deal with naughty and disrespectful children. At the same time, a teacher needs to behave tactfully, not to have a nervous breakdown. Argumentative parents are not uncommon and the ability to steer the conversation and avoid conflict becomes paramount. Stress and psychological tension often accompany the teacher throughout the career.

What qualities does a teacher need?

A teacher is an important person in a child’s life. The teacher’s responsibility is to raise a confident and psychologically healthy adult. To do that successfully, the teacher must sincerely love children and have such traits as honesty, politeness, empathy, etc.

Patience and self-control are critical for a teacher, because often they have to deal with unfocused children and explain the material several times. At such moments, creativity can be a saving grace — a creative approach makes it easier for children to understand complex topics and evokes interest in learning. Everyone can simply read lecture material out loud, but only a good teacher can find a unique approach to each child.

The teacher is a leader and role model. To maintain order in the classroom, they must have developed organizational skills and leadership potential. It is also advisable to lead by example and demonstrate the qualities that you want children to adopt — for example, responsibility and discipline. Finally, it is important to build trusting relationships with your students, but at the same time remain an authority, since having a too gentle personality often results in children taking advantage of you.

Famous teachers

Anton Semyonovich Makarenko was a globally renowned educator and teacher. He was the most influential educational theorist in the Soviet Union. Starting as a teacher of Russian Language, Painting, and Technical Drawing in 1905, Makarenko eventually became a school principal. Then in 1920, he became the head of a correctional facility for juvenile offenders. He wrote articles, reports, and books on the topics of teaching and the organization of education. Makarenko created a pedagogical system that influenced education in the entire world.

Maria Montessori was an outstanding humanitarian, teacher, scientist, and physician from Italy. Montessori developed a unique and effective system of free education, which is named after its creator. She strove to eliminate any pressure during children’s upbringing and believed in the inner abilities of the child. In 1909, while Montessori was still alive, courses in Montessori pedagogy began to be opened, and have since been attended by many teachers from different countries. The Montessori system is still used in many public and private schools around the world. She also participated in the movement for women's rights.

Jaime Escalante was born in Bolivia in 1930 but moved to the United States at an early age, where he became famous for teaching mathematics at Garfield High School in East Louisiana. Although the school never excelled in academic performance, Escalante's talent, hard work, and love for teaching were able to significantly improve the academic performance of his students. In the early 1980s, Garfield High School students managed to pass the state Advanced Placement exam, which brought the teacher national awards. Escalante's story was featured in the movie Stand and Deliver.

Questions:

• Why is the profession of a teacher a difficult path?

• What is the most important advantage of the teaching profession? Why?

• What is the most important disadvantage of the teaching profession?

• What is the main quality any teacher needs?

• What other famous teachers do you know?

References:

1. Profession - Teacher. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://www.unipage.net/en/profession_teacher. Дата доступа: 07.01.2023.

2. How to be a professional teacher. [Электронный ресурс]. –  Режим доступа:https://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Professional-Teacher. Дата доступа: 07.01.2023.