Job Discussion Forums

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Zero: Been reading long? I indicated that posting on Dave's is not a REQUIREMENT of anyone's job. If it is of yours, I would like to see proof of same.

Glenski: Maybe what is now needed here is a definition of professional behavior? Many that I saw in an internet search were profession-specific (e.g. medicine).

After that project, perhaps we could go on to greater heights: proving that 1 is equal to 1 springs to mind as a worthy candidate.

I am afraid that the confusion is really between the concepts of "necessary" and "sufficient".

That is, to be a professional it is necessary to have professional qualifications--it is not sufficient to have them, however.

And it is necessary to have professional behavior--but not sufficient.

It is both necessary and sufficient to have both professional qualifications and professional behavior in order to be a professional.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

The 9/11 pilots might be a case to examine...?

Chris_Crossley

With regard to TEFL, there are those who take very short courses over a weekend which lead to a so-called "certificate" despite the fact that it is obvious to anyone that there is no way that they could have had observed teaching practice. One guy I know, who taught at one of the schools I have taught at in the past, openly admitted to me that he did not consider himself a "teacher" at all even after spending his own money on such a course, even if it was, for him, a foot in the door, proverbially speaking, to EFL teaching.

No matter what courses in teaching that one has taken (in my case, a BEd degree and a Trinity College Certificate in TESOL) - or not as the case may be, a teacher in post is expected to act professionally at all times, as any contract and/or code of conduct will tell you, and to demonstrate the competence needed to be a teacher.

If any teacher in a public- or private-sector primary or secondary school were found to be unprofessional and/or incompetent, he or she would be fired pretty damn quickly. In TEFL, however, there are cases reported time and time again by fellow posters of so-called "teachers", recruiters and school management who have been both unprofessional and incompetent, yet they stay in post for longer than desired either because of the lack of an immediate replacement (for the teacher, usually) or else because the upper hierarchy is indifferent to the complaints made by the foreign teachers, who are thought of as being the kind of people who complain for the sake of complaining and therefore just slow down efficiency.

There are undoubtedly those who demand professionalism of themselves (including myself) and so conduct themselves in a professional, courteous manner as well as display competence in teaching, yet this "profession" of ours - or, as I described it in another thread, a "specialism" (whereas teaching itself is a profession) - does attract those who care little or nothing for either professional conduct or professional competence.

It seems that, with regard to teaching qualifications, employers are less interested in them than in what the teacher can actually do for the school. After all, the management does not flaunt copies of the qualifications in front of the students, though, in one instance that I can remember, framed photocopies (framed!) of the degree certificates of some of the foreign teachers were put in the foyer of the school in order to impress potential students. Whether or not this had an impact on the students, I do not know. However, students, especially the adults and the parents of the young learners, complained very quickly about the lack of competence in teaching in adults' lessons and about the lack of actual "teaching" itself in the young learners' lessons.

As acting DoS at the EF Wuhan (Hankou) school, I got to hear a number of complaints about the latter, and, in order to appease some parents, I once had to "observe" a teacher telling his class of 7-10-year-olds to "colour the man's hat green, colour the man's shoes brown", etc, etc, for a lesson lasting two hours. When I asked him why he was doing this the whole time, he said that he felt that, based on his previous experience teaching this particular group, his students were not actually interested in learning anything and so believed that, if he achieved even this much by giving them what was effectively a colouring lesson in English, he was accomplishing something rather than nothing.

To be honest, I was rather dubious about this, because I sensed that the kids, none of whom were causing trouble or behaving particularly badly, could be made to learn something if only he acted the disciplinarian - but the fact was that he did not want to act the disciplinarian, and so he effectively let his pupils dictate the pace of the lesson rather than the other way around, even if the course he was teaching had a syllabus which had to be adhered to in terms of content and time.

However, professional behaviour was sadly lacking in a 63-year-old man who worked full-time as a "teacher" at a medical hospital and taught adults part-time at the EF school. I heard tons of complaints about him, because he was actually lecturing, not teaching. Part of the job of teaching an EF course is signing certificates at the end of the course and writing comments about each student's performance. At the end of the one course he did "teach", he pretended that he knew absolutely nothing about having to do these certificates and demanded more money for "extra work". I pointed out to him that certification was part and parcel of each course, and he reacted with the lie: "No-one told me!" In the end, he dumped a pile of certificates on my desk without having made any comments and left the school, never to return, though that was no skin off our noses as it had already been decided never to offer him another course. Hence, lack of competence and professionalism is rife in TEFL, though the same applies to any other profession, even respected ones like the medical profession, only the consequences of lack of professionalism in those professions can be more serious.

I think that this is part of the problem - a lot of people simply do not take TEFL seriously and so help to create the damaging reputation of incompetence and lack of professionalism that TEFL has, making the rest of us look bad and helping the disgruntled ex-adult students and parents of ex-young learners to tarnish us all with the same proverbial brush.

EnglishBrian · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 189

chinagirl · Joined: 27 May 2003 Posts: 235 Location: United States

I am a trained, professional ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) teacher. The fact that other people may be employed in the same job as me in various places worldwide does not mean that I am any less of a teacher, or that they are any more qualified. It means that there are gradations of professionalism. I would argue that it is a combination of professionalism AND training/credentials that makes one a professional.

Although I can teach EFL outside of my home country (the US), I can also teach English Language Learners who are learning English as an Additional Language in an all-English environment. I can get a job the the US in the public school system or in an international school with the same benefits as the third grade, biology or math teacher. I belong to several professional organizations, and have qualifications recognized across various sectors from primary to university levels as being an indicator of my teaching preparedness. Most importantly, though, I am confident in my knowledge of language acquisition and teaching pedagogy, which allows me to confidently and appropriately call myself a teacher. I know things that my students do not, I have the metatheory to back up my practice, and I know how to teach my subject.

When I was an untrained, brand new teacher in the EFL field, I called myself an instructor. perhaps that is a subtle difference, but the word "teacher" holds a lot of weight for me.

That said, most EFL positions that are in the private language school market are much, MUCH easier than full time teaching job in an elementary or high school. That's not to say that this kind of work cannot be done by professional teachers. But let's be realistic. I have done both, and when I went home from a language school job, I was done for the day. The same cannot be said for my "regular" school jobs, which require hours outside of the classroom preparing lessons, grading papers, and going other professional duties such as parent conferences.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Glenski:

You appear to be more concerned with professionalism on the part of administrators than on the part of teachers.

As in the medical profession, I would vote for the first attribute of professionalism to be that of BEING COMPETENT (which means having the formal preparation to do one's job well and the practical experience of doing just that.)

And for a professional to continue being competent he/she has to be committed to continuing education and training.

Attitudinal factors include prioritizing student needs over organizational needs, creating a dialog in the classroom and supporting the learning process of students instead of one's own ego, being available to colleagues for sharing of methodologies and techniques, helping to create effective teaching teams, maintaining students' trust by demonstrating integrity and refusing to be corrupted, respecting the rights and feelings of one's students and colleagues.

There are other factors as well, but perhaps someone else will sort those out...?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Sorry, double post. Computer hiccup.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Glenski--A professional must take an active posture--passivity and yes-butting, in my book at least, are not professional attitudes.

(I believe we have had this discussion before--or at least you seem to be drifting toward one that we have had before.)

A professional accepts responsibility for his/her actions. If the administration is unprofessional--and you cannot change that--leave. A professional cannot represent unprofessional postures and continue to be a professional.

For me, it's just that simple.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Moonraven,
Do you even realize that many of the things I have just described are true of practically EVERY mainstream school in Japan?

Leaving the country is not an option for most of us. Does that make us all unprofessional? Besides, most places offer only 3-year contracts anyway, so we "leave" shortly enough as it is.

Is trying to make a change in an overwhelming majority based on years of traditional education passive or yes-butting, and is it even something that happens fast? You assume far too much to label me with those attributes.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Glenski--I apparently touched a nerve. Sorry, but I guess I had expected to do so.

As for your earlier questions--I am not ever passive, but we have had this discussion before and I prefer not to dance in the quicksand with you again.

Either you are a professional--or you aren't. (That's as close to imitating George W. Bush as this poster wil ever come.) There is no semi-professional category in teaching.