Professionalism (TPE6)

The key to professionalism lies more with internal dispositions rather than simply external appearances. Teachers do need to be on time, stay organized, and effectively maintain other executive functioning skills, but they don't need to devote their entire weekends and evenings to work, appear unfazed by anything, or seem prepared for every minute of the day no matter what. Rather, they must have internal habits of reflection, compassion, and dedication with healthy boundaries (6.1). The best teachers are flexible, patient, and joyfully grateful, all of which help them not only with students but also in collaborating with other professionals (6.5, 6.4). Most of all, in my view, professionals are life-long learners.

When I first started teaching lessons in my full-time placement, I would feel insecure and stressed when I was observed. Often I would notice a few things that went poorly and would conclude that the entire lesson had gone poorly. My mindset was focused on how my teaching reflected on my capabilities. Over time, however, my mindset shifted from a focus on my capabilities to a focus on my growth and on its impact on the students' wellbeing. I began to enjoy the observation process and look forward to receiving feedback. This was because I started noticing that my effort to implement suggestions led to results--the advice really worked. I realized that time and again, besides being given in such a gracious manner, the suggestions offered were on point! I wanted growth and progress, so I came to view the observations of my professors and my cooperating teacher as the best friend of my student teaching (6.2).

Another aspect of professionalism in which I greatly enjoyed growing was working with other teachers and collaborating in a Professional Learning Community (PLC). When I first joined the 3rd grade weekly PLC in my school, I was curious about this environment of educators and awed by the strong teacher personalities in the room. In each meeting, the teachers would debrief rapidly about how students were doing in math and how and when to plan science units and field trips. Although these teachers had much on their plate and much to cover in their PLC meetings, they also took time to check in briefly with one another's personal lives, such as a son learning to walk or a teacher herself being a bridesmaid in a wedding. They showed care for one another through these brief personal check-ins as well as through checking in with each other about their students and their progress and challenges. Through witnessing these collaborative conversations, I came to admire many qualities in these teachers such as stamina, perseverance, and a combination of realism and a sense of cheerful humor (6.3, 6.4).

The teachers in this PLC also joined forces to advocate for students and care for students' needs. For example, when their students took the ELPAC state testing and were required to do it first thing in the morning, the teachers realized that the students felt tired and some of them had not gotten breakfast. The teachers decided to use their own resources to purchase oranges for the students to peel and eat right before their exam so that they would have a sensory activity to help them focus before the testing and so that they would have something in their stomach and citrus to help wake them up. Seeing the creativity, proactiveness, and kindness of these teachers and their consistent commitment to students inspired me. They were certainly a Professional Learning Community, sharing ideas with each about how to improve the quality of their students' educational experience (6.5).

Towards the end of my time with these teachers, I had the privilege of sharing the lesson/topic sequence that I had crafted for a Water and Climate Unit. I had combined Foss and Foss-connected resources and materials into a 10-lesson unit, and the other teachers expressed much gratitude for my work on the unit. I was grateful as well to practice the act of sharing resources with other teachers, as this is such an important function of a Professional Learning Community.