ECS 101
“Am I a teacher 24 hours a day?”. I think that the answer to this question is.. absolutely! I work as an educational assistant, which I also believe that I am 24/7. In the field of education, you truly do build relationships with your students. You get to know them, learn about their home life, and build a bond with them. I believe if anything, that the current COVID situation really does prove the “Am I a teacher 24 hours a day” statement to be true. Once students were taken out of school, I was worried sick about my students and how they would do being at home all of the time. You constantly think and worry about them, and if they are being fed, loved, and taken care of at home. School is a happy/safe place for a lot of students, and lots of children rely on their school’s breakfast/lunch programs in order to be fed daily.
I think that to be professional means that you go to work everyday with a good attitude and treat other people with respect. A quote from the STF that resonates with me is “to act at all times in a way that maintains the honour and dignity of the individual teacher and the teaching profession.” I think that as a teacher you need to hold yourself to a high standard in the way that you carry yourself and how you act. You need to carry yourself in a way where you will receive respect from your students and colleagues, and you also need to respect others. In my opinion, that is what it means to be professional.
In the Faculty of Education I think that I am expected to be present both mentally and physically and to engage in activities. I believe that we are to act professional and take our classes seriously. A quote from the STF that resonates with me is “To treat each student justly, considerately and appropriately in accordance with the beliefs of the profession”. I think that this is an important goal for everyone to remember when it comes to our fieldworks, pre-internships, internships, and teaching once we get our own classrooms one day.