quality of a teacher

8/11/2019 Quality of a Teacher

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QUALITY OF A TEACHER

Teachers as we call them are people whom we labeled as agents of information

transfer. Little that we know that the label carry with it tonnes of responsibility. Call them

what we wish, educator, lecturer, instructor, tutor, mentor, guru or plain teacher, they

are the leader of a sacred and holy foundation we call learning institution. It is where a

teacher carries his or her duty with full responsibility to build a well-balanced of physical,

emotional, intellectual and spiritual nation. In the vast development of globalization,

additional changes in educational technology especially the use of the internet and

other virtual gadgets have contributed to the growth of distance learning. These

involved highly individualized forms of learning. They allow people from different parts of

the world to explore and be involved in a wider form of information, knowledge and

interchangeable facts and data. It also engaged people in the same programme and

student contact can be across great physical distance. People are more interested in

getting all the information and knowledge but at the same time limit or shut down the

interaction with surrounding neighbours, community or any social agencies. As the

educational systems becomes more marketized, colleges, schools and non-formal

education agencies seeks to build relationships based more on viewing learners as

customers rather than learners. The main role of the teacher has turned from classroom

manager to agents of delivering subject matter and focused issues.

Qualities of a teacher.

I believe the conventional teachers are the true agents of change. They abide

by the code of ethics which puts their students as the main domain of their practice. The


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teacher should exercise authority in accordance with the law evolving the pupil's needs

and rights where teachers should recognize that each child is an individual and that

children can differ in what is required for the promotion of their education. Only a

classroom teacher is able to recognize these factors and choose or regulate his or her

teaching strategies to accommodate each individual.

Veenman, 1984; Knowles & Cole, 1994; Calderhead & Shorrock, 1997 states

that a majority of teachers do encounter problems in managing the classroom,

maintaining good relationship with the students and parents, planning and organizing

their lesson and structuring pupils to fit into the community. These are the challenge of

being a teacher. Since teachers are leaders who can inspire and influence students

through their expertise and skills acquire, teachers should know their students well, be

kind and be respectful towards their students. Teachers should set high standards and

expectations, provide encouragement, support and flexibility in order to motivate their

students and get them to do things which they did not think they were capable of. Apart

from being the disseminator of knowledge and skills, they should be the role model to

their students who expect them to practice what they preach. They should also uphold

moral values and humanitarian principles in all their actions. Teachers conduct their

day-by-day doing in such a way that their behaviour can be seen as a good example by

the learners and also the community. Teachers as human model should be innovative,

creative, resourceful and encourages diversity and individuality among his students.

They must uphold all codes of ethical conduct that are necessary and essential in

human modeling and moral education. Furthermore, in our Malaysian society, teachers


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are still seen as a respectable public figure which the society has high expectation

upon.

Ethical responsibility towards the students

Abiding by the Code of Ethics assist teachers in managing their challenging

tasks. The main objective for teachers is to educate students to their highest standards

of achievement. Teacher shall use their best professional practices, materials and

knowledge to deliver the standard-based curriculum in accordance to their students

proficiency. This includes engaging in practices and selection of materials that include

all students, promotes diversity and giving them equal opportunities regardless of their

race, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, language, ability social status, behaviour

or beliefs of their parents. A teacher should always make changes and find other

resourceful manner and innovation to enhance her pupils understanding, thus keeping

up with the current learning development. Teachers are always creating opportunities,

strategies and conduct studies to keep up with the current education flow. According to

Dewey (1929) teachers investigations not only lead to knowledge about the school but

also led to good teaching. Good teaching results in good understanding and

consistently improving the schools achievements.

Even if a teacher is preoccupied with personal matter, their utmost priority is the

students performance. Every teacher is committed in developing the skill sets needed

to best accelerate the learning of the students in their classrooms as well as creating a

classroom environment that is respectful, emotionally secure and physically safe for

their students.

Ethical Responsibilities towards the community


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Teachers are also expected to fulfill their responsibility towards their teaching

profession such as carrying out curriculum and co-curriculum activities, following

precise job procedures and observe internalize work ethics. In carrying out these duties,

teachers are expected to be accountable and responsible and perform their duty with

full dedication and commitment. Teachers are trusted as a knowledge practitioner to

educate the citizens of Malaysia, therefore, they are responsible for inculcating moral

values, developing and preserving our culture and tradition, instilling national integration

and developing a progressive generation in realization of the national philosophy of

education and vision of the country.

Not only must a teacher provide essential information to students famililies and

the community but they are also expected to deliver vital and crucial such as accidents

involving their student, the risk of exposure to contagious disease that may result in

infection and of occurrences that might result in emotional stress among their students.

By doing so, they are also required to maintain confidentiality and shall respect the

familys right to privacy and refraining from disclosure of confidential information. The

teacher shall be objective and accurate in reporting the knowledge but at the same time

exercise care and passionate in expressing views regarding students. It can be

achieved by making statements that are respectful and based on firsthand knowledge,

rather than considering gossip or rumours as source of information.

Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues

Not only that a teacher holds responsibility towards his or her students and the

community, they are expected to maintains a good relationship with their colleagues


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too. Teachers are required to show respect for personal dignity and for the diversity

found among staff members, and to resolve matters collegially. They should also

exercise care in expressing views regarding the professional behaviour or conduct of

co-workers or students.

Within the school, teachers should carry out the programmes which they are

assigned to. Certain programme such as Kursus Peningkatan Profesionalsime,

distinguish teachers who do not meet program standards and are informed of areas of

concern and, when possible, assisted in improving their performance by attending

course, seminars or even classes.

Through these assessments and recommendations, teachers are able to make

judgements and based on fact and relevant issue to overcome their problems.

Appropriate measures should be taken to benefit the interests and consider the welfare

of the students. Teachers are also encouraged to upgrade their skills and knowledge so

that they are more competent and professional in their field. They should not only

focused on the increment of salary and cash incentives but also pay attention towards

the increase in productivity and efficiency of their teaching and learning strategies. In

some cases, teachers should be able to accept the authority of senior professional

colleagues while retaining the right to express professional opinion. They should also

recognize their obligation to advance the causes of education and hence the causes of

the teaching profession. They must recognize their obligation to improve their

effectiveness as a teacher in every possible way in order to cater to the needs of their

students.


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Updating to the current knowledge and skills not only boost a teachers self

esteem but also promote more knowledgeable and skillful students which is essential in

the development of the nation. He would be able to understand how students learn and

develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and

personal development. Through research or studies he might also understands and

uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students development of critical

thinking, problem solving and performance skills to equip them for future challenges in

life.

Ethical issues among teachers.

Teachers nowadays are not only burden with ethical and disciplinary problem but

also financial problems. Some teachers are known to have second jobs to

accommodate the rising cost of living in big cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru

and Penang. What cause them to violate the code of ethics? Financial burden is the

main answer, followed by personal interest. In my personal opinion, it is not immoral for

teachers to have second job as long as he or she is able to observe strict time

management and set priorities over professional ethics. Teachers are known to hold

other career such as part time lecturers or tutors in higher institution of learning. Some

even have their own tuition centers or other knowledge based institution. Some

teachers do not desperately need the money from these activities but as I see it, these

teachers have deep passion over teaching that they are driven to giving more

knowledge than what is expected from them in school. These teachers are very

dedicated and willing to go to tuition centers to supplement what is lacking in the


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students learning activities in school. They realised that the limited interaction hours in

school had caused the deterioration in students performance in school. Yes, they are

handsomely reward but we cannot deny the major roles tuition centers played in

upgrading students performance especially for UPSR, PT3, SPM, STPM,

MUET and etc. Its a money making industry but we do observe the progress and

development of students when they enrolled for tuitions.

Nevertheless, there are also teachers who have great interest in hobbies such as

cooking, sewing, artwork and etc. These hobbies, with support of stable financing, allow

teachers to pursue their interest by opening their own boutique, bakery or shops. In a

way, it becomes an escapism for these teachers from their stressful daily job. Venturing

into entrepreneurship, they can learn to manage a company, deal with financial

arrangement and also meeting people from different walks of life to exchange ideas and

share information. These teachers can help support their family and even provide luxury

for them. As an individual, they can evaluate how far and how good they are at

managing and organizing their own business. These chances might not be given to

them at school. It also promotes self development and motivates them achieve what

they could not achieve when they are attached to school.

Conclusion

However, as human, a teacher cannot defy the work loads, tension and heaps of

non-teaching duties they have to carry out in schools. These odd jobs had cause

teachers to lack planning hours as most of their time had been occupied with school-

related matters. It results in teachers having poor time management when they chose to


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have a second job. Sometimes, a second job requires more time and attention that the

teacher obviously overlooked her main duty in the education system and constantly

neglecting her core business. The limited hours of the day which the teacher can use to

plan strategies and create fun learning for her students had been wasted used out by

his and her greed for self-satisfaction. This is against the professional ethics for teacher

that is to put her teaching and her students as her upmost priority. Stress can lead to

depression and the number of depression cases among teachers is on the rise. This is

alarming because as parents too, we are putting our childrens faith in them. Teachers

are not robots and they have emotions and feelings just like any human being. It is

therefore, unpredictable what they can and cannot do when placed under a lot of strain

and pressure. We often read about the misconducts, immoral behaviour, violence,

sexual harassment and even homicide cases among teachers. The news were

highlighted and some cases were brought in for justification in the court of law.

Unfortunately, some of these cases are found to have basis for conviction.

I believe, when a teacher follows the code of ethics and have accountability in

their teaching profession, they can restrain from getting involved in conducts which

violates their teaching ethics. As teachers who believe in God, I am sure, we are

fulfilling our duty full-heartedly with all the knowledge, skills and acquaintance as

professionals in our field. It is only that sometimes as humans, we are easily diverted

and constantly challenge by greed and social demand that we overlooked our utmost

crucial responsibility.

quality of a teacher

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