CS 204 Unit 3 Assignment: Professional Career

CS204 Professionalism

Professional Career

The slides that I chose was a Teacher. This is my second year working as a teacher, in an elementary school. This is a profession that I recently switched to. I originally started off in management in a tax office. As a teacher, I put a lot into my students to see them succeed in life. I talk with my students, as well as, listen to them to make sure they are getting what they need from me. I treat my students as if they were family.

The teachers in the slides presented themselves as very professional. Not only did they dress the part, the body language and interaction showed they were very professional. Each teacher wore a professional smile on their face that showed they loved their job. The men, in slides 1 and 3, were clean cut and in button down shirts. The lady, in slide 2, had her hair fixed and a nice blazer. They were engaged with their students. The lady was not talking but interacting with the students.

The teacher in slide 1 is touching the student hand and looking at her in a way that could be unprofessional. Teachers do get close with students but there are also boundary violations that a teacher must be aware of. Leaning over a student in class is one of those violations. Touching students could become a problem, if student feels uncomfortable (Wile, 2016). The teacher in slide 3 has his shirt unbutton and a small portion of his chest area is visible. Some school districts see require men that have on collared shirts to have the button or a tie. In slide 2, the teacher is pointing which could be unprofessional because students may not know who she is indicating.

In my school district, as well as others, we do have boundaries. We do not post any pictures of students on social media, unless it’s school related and they have media release form. We do get down to their level, but we respect their personal space. Most of the kids do have a sense of understanding so there is no need in putting our hands on them. We do give hugs but it’s a quick one arm hug. Dress code is not professional every day. We wear jeans and our school shirts on Wednesday, on Friday’s we wear jeans and a red shirt. We are clean and everyone is coordinated.

Teachers should dress business casual. The attire should be modest, in season and not too tight (Thompson, 2016). Men should wear collared shirts or polo shirts and nice pants (Thompson, 2016). Woman should wear nice pants or skirt and a matching blouse or sweater (Thompson, 2016). For example, today I wore black and white stripped slacks and a nice black blouse. Tomorrow is casual day, so our appropriate attire is jeans and a school shirt. Even though, the district allows us to wear any appropriate attire, our campus chose to wear school shirts so we can be in sync.

There has been a debate for years questioning whether teachers are

professionals (Strauss, 2017). They are considered less educated because they choose their professions due to the lack of jobs (Strauss, 2017). A professional is a person that is qualified in a position. Teachers are very educated and are well trained. They have confidence so their students and parents maintain confidence in them (What does it mean, 2016). They also build relationships with them. They know the content they teach well, and they know how to modify to accommodate the students (What does it mean, 2016).

I have been working in a school for five years. I previously held a leader position. I am very competent and confident about what I do. I enjoy sharing what I know with future leaders to help them to become that professional. I dress the part unless we have casual day and then I’m in jeans and a t-shirt. This is still considered following dress code. I have appropriate personal behavior while I’m on the job and outside of the job. I respect my job, coworkers and students by being dependable and reliable.

Communicating and listening to parents and students, is the best way I show how professional I am. However, I always pay close attention to my students and look for anything that may be a warning. Maybe they do not understand, I must distinguish it. My students have signals for when they need certain things, I make sure I pay close attention, so I know. I never wear my heart on my shoulder, and I welcome constructive criticism with a smile. The same smile I wear everyday regardless of my day. I am always dressed to impress with my pants or skirt and an appropriate blouse.

Being a professional comes easy when you have done it for years but there is always room to learn and for improvement. Some may not think that teachers are not professional, but they spend a lot of time educating themselves. Continued education helps teacher to professionally educate students that will one day become our professionals.

References

Strauss, V. (2017, August 11). Are teachers professionals? Retrieved August 19, 2019, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/08/11/are-teachers-professionals/?noredirect=on

Thompson, M. (2016, November 09). What Is the Dress Code of an Elementary Teacher? Retrieved August 18, 2019, from https://work.chron.com/dress-code-elementary-teacher-2004.html

“What does it mean to be a professional teacher?” eNotes Editorial, 20 Mar. 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-mean-professional-teacher-657625. Accessed 21 Aug. 2019.