2. Professional Etiquette for Teachers

Professional etiquette is important for all professionals and it is even more important for teachers because they are endowed with the responsibility to mold younger generation.

When we talk about etiquette it becomes necessary to take about ethics too. Many think etiquette and ethics are synonymous which is not so.

Difference between Etiquette and Ethics

Etiquette is customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group. It is necessary to ensure that our social interactions run smoothly and that we don’t make one another uncomfortable in any particular situation.

Ethics refers to a set of moral principles that relates to the difference between good and bad. It provides us with ways to consider questions of morality, issues of right and wrong.

Why is etiquette important for teachers?

When teachers practice etiquette,

• Student-teacher rapport will be strengthened.

• Trust, confidence, enthusiasm, interest and hope will be developed in students and not fear, frustration and disappointment.

• Conducive environment for teaching-learning will be created.

• Objectives of the course/ programme can be achieved easily.

The above results of practicing etiquette are interconnected. When the relationship between a student and a teacher is good, a kind of trust, confidence, enthusiasm, interests and hope develop in students. The teacher becomes approachable and thereby a conducive environment for teaching learning is created. This in turn helps in achieving the objectives of the course or programme.

Etiquettes to be followed by teachers inside the classroom

1. Treat everyone with fairness

Look at the following pictures. (Look at bottom Figure No 1)

In the first one, all the three are provided with the same facility but the objective is lost. In the second, the objective is accomplished but all the three are provided with different facilities suitable to their needs. In the third we find the barrier is removed or altered enabling to achieve the objective.

The two strategies that can be used to produce fairness are equity and equality. Equity is giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality is treating everyone the same. Equality aims to promote fairness, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help. Equity appears unfair, but it actively moves everyone closer to success by “levelling the playing field.”

2. Say ‘No’ to favouritism

Do not discriminate students based on their academic performance and achievement. For example, a student who lacks leadership skills need be made a class leader or representative just because he/she has good academic records.

Similarly, don’t discriminate students based on caste, creed, religion, sex, economic status, disability, language and place of birth. On a lighter note, there are teachers who have a tendency to reduce marks for the student who carries the name of their husband or wife. Avoid such tendencies if you are one among them.

Do not discriminate based on students’ good look and attire. It is not necessary that all students with good personality have positive traits. Don’t be judgmental. The common scenario followed in schools and colleges is good looking girls at reception tables or on stage during important functions. Avoid gender stereotyping.

3. Appreciate Heterogeneity (Look at bottom Figure No 2)

4. Maintain a perfect balance between active and passive learners

Provide opportunity to all. Enthusiastic learners volunteer all the time. Know how to silent them without offending their morale. Also, to slow learners give space, extend help and support to perform (Look at bottom Figure No 3)

5. Establish “I know nothing, I see nothing, I hear nothing” attitude to chronic complainers

When students complain about a co-teacher / former teacher / the administration remember Hogan Heroes, Sergeant Schultz method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgcxGFmYyPs

6. Be approachable.

7. Be practical and genuine.

8. Do not shout at the students.

9. Do not use abusive language.

10. Plan your classes, activities properly.

11. Be sincere and do not do for the sake of doing.

12. Consider your expertise while counselling students. Never record negative comments in the counsellor’s diary.

13. Always remember that the objective is not to punish students but to correct them.

14. Give meaningful punishments, if it is really necessary.

15. Never threaten the students on the difficulty level of a course/ subject.

16. Be judicious in using regional language in the classroom.

17. Adopt teaching methods and aids appropriate for Gen Z.

18. Teach topics beyond the curriculum and encourage communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity through questioning and discussion.

19. Give importance to the understanding of concepts and the demonstration of skills.

20. Be fair in marking assignments and answer scripts; be prompt in returning them.

21. Give effective feedback on student responses Gibbs (2010).

22. Do not read aloud to the class the bad responses of a student.

23. Do not confuse yourself between students’ performance in curricular and extra-curricular activities.

24. Be motivating, cheerful, inspiring, humorous, and unbiased.

25. Be open about what you know and do not know.

26. Teach life lessons and do not restrict yourself only to the syllabus.

As teachers of English, if one restricts oneself only to the syllabus, then the person is not a teacher but a cheater. The following poem is by Alan Maley

· What do you do? I’m a teacher.

• What do you teach? People.

• What do you teach them? English.

• You mean grammar, verbs, nouns, pronunciation, conjugation, articles and particles, negatives and interrogatives …? That too.

• What do you mean, ‘that too’?

Well, I also try to teach them how to think, and feel – show them inspiration, aspiration, cooperation, participation, consolation, innovation, … help them think about globalization, exploitation, confrontation, incarceration, discrimination, degradation, subjugation, …how inequality brings poverty, how intolerance brings violence, how need is denied by greed, how –isms become prisons, how thinking and feeling can bring about healing.

• Well I don’t know about that.

May be you should stick to language, forget about anguish You can’t change the world.

If I did that, I’d be a cheater, not a teacher.

Alan Maley

Etiquette towards colleagues

• Do not be involved in gossip.

• Never discuss a particular student’s behaviour with colleagues.

• Never annoy the admin staff.

• Some have the unofficial power to make your life easy or difficult. Find out who that is and never, ever annoy them, no matter what.

• Leave a classroom the way you would like to find it (blackboard, seating, etc.).

Etiquettes to be followed in social media

• Let your posts and comments reflect positivity.

• Prompt your readers to look at the postings critically.

• Do not post any negative opinion about the institution where you work.

• Share messages that can be shared with the students.

• Respect the space and privacy of the students and colleagues, and do not flood the social media with messages conveying instructions.

• Communicate clearly and ensure your communication is free of errors.

Activity to Introspect

Below are six situations. Introspect on the proper ways of responding to those situations. Email your responses to rjayaenglish@gmail.com if you choose to. Thank You

Situation I

Assume that you teach first year UG students who are heterogeneous in their learning abilities. Sreedeep is a student from a reputed, private, CBSE school in a metropolitan city. He is an enthusiastic learner, has good command over the language and always volunteers to present his post-task outcomes to the class. There is another student, Sivaraj, who is from an English medium school in a small town. His command over the language is average and therefore is hesitant and shy to come to the forefront. You want Sivaraj to come forward and present the task outcome when Sreedeep volunteers to do. How will you do without offending the morale of Sreedeep?

Situation II

Maya teaches Communicative English Course for students of Mechanical Engineering. It is ‘all boys’ classroom. They are playful and disturbing when they sit together. Every day before starting her lecture, Maya will assign places for a few students so that she can deliver without any disturbance. One day while she was allocating places for some students, it so happened that one student, Balaji, was left alone on a bench. The boy felt insulted and walked out of the class. Maya felt offended. Next day, while doing the usual practice, she remarked, “Those students who are afraid to sit alone can leave the class.” From then on, the relationship between Maya and Balaji was not smooth. Balaji failed in his internal assessment and the assessment by the teacher was fair. Balaji before returning his answer script wrote on the front sheet. “To the HoD, this paper was not corrected properly.” Maya discovers this only while entering the marks. What should she do? What will you do?

Situation III

You teach one class, say, reading and writing, and another teaches listening and speaking. Students come to you and complain about your co-teacher. Sometimes, students are very good at playing one teacher off against another. “Mr X doesn’t mark us late if we are only 15 minutes late, why do you?” “Ms Y lets us hand in our assignments late, why don’t you?” In such situations, how will you react?

Situation IV

Ms. Hilda is a new teacher finishing her first year of teaching a self-contained class at a local college. Recently, she attended a refresher course on assessment conducted by a renowned professor. During the training, Ms Hilda learned about different types of assessments including standardized, curriculum-based, and informal assessments. The professor emphasized the importance of strictly following the administration protocol when assessing students with a standardized test. Back in college, Hilda administered a standardized test to a student and reported the results to her principal. Her principal expressed concern over the low scores and asked Ms. Hilda specific questions about the student’s performance. Finally, the principal instructed Hilda to give credit for questions the student might have been able to answer correctly but got wrong on the test. Hilda knows that this will invalidate the test results. Additionally, she believes that it is ethically wrong to alter the test results. What should she do? What would you do?

Situation V

Ms. Garcia and Ms. Ming are both sixth-grade English teachers. Ms. Garcia, a new teacher at the school, has additional certification in gifted education. Ms. Ming has been a certified English teacher for a number of years. Ms. Ming has been overheard making negative comments about Ms. Garcia’s teaching ability and about Ms. Garcia personally in the faculty room. Mr. Daniels, the sixth-grade history teacher, has heard Ms. Ming making negative comments about Ms. Garcia on more than one occasion and he knows that these comments are false. He also knows that Ms. Ming has been angry that Ms. Garcia was asked to teach the advanced English class. This is a class Ms. Ming had expressed a desire to teach. He believes this contributes to her negativity toward Ms. Garcia. What should he do? What would you do?

Situation VI

Mr. Garrison is a third-grade teacher in a local elementary school. One of the students he teaches in his classroom is Javier. Javier was diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the first grade. Javier does not require the services of a special education teacher; however, at the time he was diagnosed, his doctor and parents decided to put Javier on medication to help with his ADHD. Javier’s parents are now divorced and he lives with his mother during the week; he stays with his father at the weekends. Javier’s father and doctor still believe the medication is essential to help him succeed in school. Javier’s mother and father disagree about everything. She has begun to withhold Javier’s medication. Javier’s father still gives his son the medication when he stays with him during the weekends. As a result of the inconsistent medication, Javier has had difficulty paying attention in class, completing assignments, controlling aggressive behaviour, and interacting with his peers. Mr. Garrison knows the importance of consistency in following medication protocols. What should he do about this situation? What would you do?