Teachers are Professionals

So, I go over a month without posting anything and now have 2 within 10 minutes.

On the first day of class, our professor gave us a link to a video:

I posted it on facebook that day because I thought it was interesting and set the tone for me.

What follows below is my contribution to the class discussion board. We had to read a few different codes of ethics and reflect upon them.  I felt it was important to share here as I continue my journey…

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I really appreciated the You Tube video at the end of the presentation. I posted it on my facebook page and received several positive comments with encouragement from my friends. I feel that the video did a great job of framing my reasons for deciding to become a teacher.

When I completed my undergraduate degree, I thought that I was going to become a high powered (and eventually wealthy) marketing executive. I pursued my MBA to help accomplish that goal. However, my professional career has been largely spent in sales to this point. This is a field that is not respected nor considered ethical by many people. I can appreciate this perspective as there is often a large grey area among sales people.

Teaching is far more straight forward. Many of us are in this program for the sole purpose of obtaining a certification to prove that we have met the minimum qualifications to enter the profession. This is similar to professions like Accountant or Lawyer, occupations considered to be professionals. No such certification exists for marketing and sales so the barrier to entry is very low and set by the individual employer.

Both the PA & NEA ethics shared a reoccurring theme. Essentially, as teachers we are to provide an equal education to all of the students without discriminating or favoring students for any of a variety of reasons and we are not to abuse our authority. I believe these to be fair, reasonable and even noble standards.

Kicking It Old School

The title of this post has a few meanings…

#1
I returned to college to pursue a degree for the 3rd and I think (& hope) the last time last week. I did so by enrolling at one of my “old schools”. I’m once again a Drexel University student. This time I’m pursuing a MS in Instruction. I should complete the requirements of my PA teaching certification by June 2011. I will need a few additional classes to complete the degree and plan to do that immediately after I get certified.

As a returning student, I had to reacclimate to my surroundings. I got a new ID card, dealt with financial aid, visited the student union and bought my books. In the 8 years since I graduated, the school has added and renovated many buildings. Yesterday I went to the library to take a look around and familiarize myself with all of the resources. I was surprised to see that the library has added a Taco Bell. After the shock of seeing fast food tacos in the library wore off, I found a very helpful reference librarian that helped me navigate some important databases. I have a few papers to do this quarter so I want to be prepared.

#2
The early assignments of one of my classes have been all about the history of schools in the US. I guess I always took it for granted that there had always been public schools. However, most of what exists today was created in the 20th century. I watched a video this morning about education from 1770-1890. Things are definitely different now. But, I’m finding the history very interesting.

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I haven’t posted anything in a long time. The process of starting school and now the actual coursework are accounting for a large portion of my time. And I’m only taking 2 classes right now. Over the Summer, I will also start course work at Community College to fulfill some of the certification requirements. Before that I need to take a standardized test called the Praxis and obtain all of my clearances. (Later today I get fingerprinted).

I enjoy posting here and it is an easy way to update all of my friends, so I will continue to do so.