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Reflections on teaching in Saudi Arabia
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
coder wrote:
Just look at ESL. Can one really classify it as a "profession" with a straight face? I can't.

Then what do you consider it? Profession is basically another word for job, occupation, career, line of work, field, etc., which a person is qualified for and/or engages in. That said, how do you respond when others ask you what your profession is, or what you do for a living? (And do you keep a straight face when answering?) Moreover, given your feelings about TESOL, what compelled you to get trained and qualified for a profession you apparently don't think much of?

Anyway, in the context of employment/HR, the term professional refers to work that an individual is compensated for (i.e., professional work experience as opposed to volunteer/unpaid work). Similarly, professional development can refer to training or continuing education---gaining more skills and knowledge. Not surprising, professional development is particularly critical throughout a teacher's career. We can agree PD can range from good to bad to downright laughable.

johnslat wrote:
My personal definition of "professional" is anyone in any job who knows what he/she is doing very well and who always puts forth his/her best effort. In my opinion, one can be a "professional street sweeper"; on the other hand, one can also be an unprofessional brain surgeon."

I agree to some extent; professional in this sense indicates the quality of the work being performed. However, that unprofessional brain surgeon could be brilliant in the operating room yet have a lousy bedside manner with patients, or is frequently late to scheduled patient consultations, or has a reputation of being testy with nursing staff, or keeps a messy office, or wears wrinkled lab coats, or... In other words, he/she has a character flaw or poor work ethic in some but not all aspects of the job---enough so to be labeled unprofessional. Obviously, if someone performs badly in their profession, they hurt their reputation or worse, get booted out of the job.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
With many Asian teaching jobs you have to change your views of what a good teacher is. A smart teacher in most schools will just focus on the say 10% to 20% of the students that are valuable and worth putting effort into teaching. Professional yes, but also smart. Very few schools and most of the students do not have the same values that go together with professionalism, so you have to be smart and focus on the good students who will benefit. Once again that is not a situation created by ESL teachers in Asia.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dear nomad soul,

That's why I called it a "personal definition." Very Happy

But to extend that definition in response to your comments, when defining "professional," I would exclude "character flaws," but not a "poor work ethic."

I've known a few teachers whose "character", in my opinion, left a lot to be desired, but who were great teachers, really "professional."

But, to my mind, one's "work ethic" would be an essential component of "professionalism."

Regards,
John
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