The Teaching Profession

Cavite State University
Cavite City ANNEX

A document report in the subject: The Teaching Profession

Chapter I: Social Institution

“The Society and You”

Date submitted: July 2, 2011

Submitted by: Mr. Dandy T. Palaganas

Submitted to: Ms. Thea Dinglasan

The Teaching Profession

What is profession?

Profession is an occupation requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.

Is teaching a profession?

Teaching is a noble profession. It is service-oriented. It has the potential to have a great impact in the molding of the next generation. That is why education should be valued by social institutions like government, the church, the family and civil society.

What is teaching?

• A process of causing change • A process to impart knowledge and information • A process to instruct others

What is a Teacher?

The teacher is the key factor in classroom learning situation. He/She assumes various significant roles in the classroom as;

• A model or an important figure in the classroom • A classroom manager • An evaluator of students learning • Source of knowledge and information • A person who instructs others • An agent of change

What makes an effective teacher?

It can be said that teaching is effective to the extent that the teacher acts in ways that are favorable to the development of a desirable personality in the learner.

Characteristics of an effective teacher:

Professional Qualities

• Teachers knowledge of the subject matter to be taught • Understanding of psychological and educational principles • Understanding and appreciation of the teaching profession

Personal Qualities

• Personality • Interests • Attitudes • Beliefs • Behavior in working relationships with the learner

What makes a good teacher?

This is a question which every young person who is contemplating to become a teacher must fully consider. A great deal has been said of teaching as one of the most important professions from the standpoint of human welfare. Properly understood, however, it is also one of the most technical, difficult, and challenging professions.

The qualities of good teacher include:

• Knowledge • Enthusiasm • Sincerity • Patience • Sense of humor • Voice and speech

You, the Teacher, as a Person in Society

What is Society?

Society is the social relationships between human beings and animals organized collectively, the system of human institutional organization; a community with the same language and customs, an interest group or organization. Society denotes the totality of social organization and its complex network of social relationships or social interaction. It symbolizes the group within which human beings can live a total common life.

Society is an educational system, a great social system of long established relationships which people in it recognize and follow as a certain way of life.

What is Social Institution?

A social institution may be defined as an organizational system which functions to satisfy basic social needs by providing an ordered framework linking the individual to the larger culture.

The term, “social institution” is somewhat unclear both in ordinary language and in the philosophical literature. However, contemporary sociology is somewhat more consistent in its use of the term. Typically, contemporary sociologists use the term to refer to complex social forms that reproduce themselves such as governments, the family, human languages, universities, hospitals, business corporations, and legal systems. A typical definition is that proffered by Jonathan Turner (Turner 1997: 6): “a complex of positions, roles, norms and values lodged in particular types of social structures and organizing relatively stable patterns of human activity with respect to fundamental problems in producing life-sustaining resources, in reproducing individuals, and in sustaining viable societal structures within a given environment.”

Social institutions are an important element in the structure of human societies. They provide a structure for behavior in a particular part of social life. The five major social institutions in large societies are family, education, religion, politics, and economics. While each institution does deal with a different aspect of life, they are interrelated and intersect often in the course of daily life. For example, for schools to be able to exist they rely on funding from the government. This is an intersection between politics and education. Social institutions affect individual lives through other aspects of society such as culture, socialization, social stratification, and deviance. This topic will focus on the social institution of education, and how it affects individual lives through socialization, deviance, and social stratification.

The role of a teacher in society

The role of a teacher in society is both significant and valuable. It has far-reaching influence on the society he lives in and no other personality can have an influence more profound than that of a teacher. Students are deeply affected by the teacher's love and affection, his character, his competence, and his moral commitment. A popular teacher becomes a model for his students. The students try to follow their teacher in his manners, costumes, etiquette, style of conversation and his get up. He is their ideal.

A study by Rosita L. Navarro, et al in 1994 about “Community Perception on the Role of Teachers in the Community”, and a study on the “Community Perception on Beliefs and Attitudes about Teachers and Teaching”.

Here are the research findings on:

“Community Perception on the Role of Teachers in the Community”

Teachers are perceived to be:

1. very important in a community 2. respected in a community 3. help in the community to some extent

“Community Perception on Beliefs and Attitudes about Teachers and Teaching”

The community respondents strongly agreed that teachers:

1. help develop the moral character of children 2. are second parents 3. are assets to the community

The community respondents strongly agreed with 12 beliefs and attitudes, as follows:

1. The most intelligent child should be encouraged to enter the teaching profession. 2. Teacher sets moral standard of the community 3. Teachers make good parents 4. Men should be encouraged to enter the teaching profession 5. The teaching profession is one of the lowest paid 6. Teachers should be paragons of virtue 7. Children obey and respect their teachers 8. Teachers play an active role in disciplining children 9. Praising boosts a child self-confidence 10. A teacher is a child’s model 11. Child’s interest in studies depends upon his/her teachers 12. Parents entrust children’s welfare to teachers

But the community respondents were doubtful regarding this item: “Female teachers generally become old maids.”

They disagreed with this item: “Teachers may inflict physical punishment on children.”

We don’t live in a vacuum. We live in a society. We are part of society. Our society influences us to the extent that we allow ourselves to be influenced by it. Our thoughts, values, and actions are somehow shaped by events and by people with whom we come in contact. We, in turn, help shape society – its events, its people, and its destiny.

John Donne said it in his song “No Man is an Island”:.,. “No man stands alone…. We need one another…” In the context of your life as a teacher, we would say: “No teacher is an island. No teacher stands alone”. Indeed you can’t become a teacher alone.

In this chapter, you will be made to realize the significant role that you will play in the society. This is perhaps one reason why many a time the teacher is blamed for many ill in the society. You will also come to realize the demands it will exact from you for much is expected of you, the teacher. It is, therefore, no joke to become one!