Professional Responsibilities of the Teacher

Reflections on Professionalism

The German word for profession is ‘Beruf’. This has its etymological root in the word ‘calling’. Similarly, in English, the word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin ‘vocare’, meaning ‘to call’. The word vocation is commonly used to describe an occupation to which an individual feels deeply connected, where that person has particular gifts to give.

Owing to its altruistic connotations, usage of the word ‘vocation’ has been widely replaced by the word ‘profession’, or ‘occupation’. A profession was historically regarded as a qualification worthy of significant status. The classic professions were those relating to religion, law and medicine. Technological developments and diversity in specialisation fields have seen a broad range of occupations being assigned professional status, among these teaching.

In NSW, the standards of professionalism for teachers are regulated by the New South Wales Institute for Teachers:

‘The Institute was established to support quality teaching in all NSW schools. Its charter is to advance the status and standing of the teaching profession. The Institute works to support the career-long development of teachers and to assure both the profession and the community of the quality of teacher education programs.’

http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/

Although its charter and aims are without doubt necessary and worthy, the relevant documentation for teachers, almost entirely in rubric, outcomes based format is, in my opinion, designed to appeal to people who like to both think inside and tick boxes.

I return here to the concept of a ‘calling’. This I regard as the inner impulse to teach, drawn from the urge for creativity and a flame of passion- not easy to measure, but surely at the core of all great teaching. I have a range of esteemed and experienced teacher colleagues in NSW, working at many levels and in a variety of school systems. Without exception, they express that they manage to keep their love of teaching alive despite the boxed-in approach espoused by the Department of Education. They look elsewhere for inspiration.

I recently read “Teacher Man”, by Frank McCourt. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author drew upon 30 years experience in the classroom to produce his latest narrative.
The prologue can be found here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5151767

McCourt expresses his struggle with the ‘sterile functionaries’ of the New York school system:
'I was uncomfortable with the bureaucrats, the higher-ups, who had escaped classrooms only to turn and bother the occupants of those classrooms, teachers and students. I never wanted to fill out their forms, follow their guidelines, administer their examinations, tolerate their snooping, adjust myself to their programs and courses of study.'
http://www.powells.com/biblio/0743243773

This indeed is the challenge for 21st century teachers- to work as informed and inspired professionals, whilst remaining true to their inner sense of purpose, or calling, within the barrage of bureaucratic demands.

Increasingly, the use of narrative is winning regard as a mode of finding, through the process of critical reflection, meaning in teaching experiences. http://tlac.tamu.edu/articles/narrative_learning_teachers_as_storytellers

I believe that McCourt’s narrative is of particular value in that it is completely lacking in any sugar-coated ‘teacher as super-hero’ approach.

‘McCourt conveys a sense of unease, of discomfort, in his own skin as a teacher throughout his whole career that is not often found in stories about teachers. Learning to teach, as portrayed here by McCourt, is not clean, or neat, or even necessarily successful in the end.’
http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev572.htm

Time and time again, McCourt lacked any conviction in his ‘calling’ as a teacher. He recalls a sense of drudgery, of despair and doubt. In typical self-deprecating style, he stresses the need for sheer perseverance: "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."
McCourt’s saving grace is his gift of story-telling, and it is through his narrative skills that he ultimately wins the hearts and minds of his students:
McCourt savored these triumphant moments in the classroom, which were like small victories in a larger war against apathetic students, rigid administrators, and other forms of resistance. Teacher Man never implies that this war can be won, but for those unsung and intrepid blackboard warriors, it's worth fighting.
http://www.avclub.com/content/node/43334

Every teacher has memories of times that have been meaningful, of times that have provided insight into ourselves or others. Using the narrative form, we have the chance to reflect on our professionalism, using our experiences as the supporting evidence to substantiate new understandings regarding our vocation.