Are You a Professional? by Allyson Cram, Principal Browning Elementary/South Lancaster Academy Mary Meade-Montaque, Principal Roosevelt Elementary School

C ode of Ethics of the Education Profession of the National Education Association The educator recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of the democratic principles.The educator recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of the democratic principles. The educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards.The educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards. The educator recognizes the magnitude of the responsibility inherent in the teaching process.The educator recognizes the magnitude of the responsibility inherent in the teaching process.

Principle I Commitment to the Student The educator strives to help each student realize his or her potential as a worthy and effective member of society. The educator therefore works to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals.

Principle II Commitment to the Profession The education profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring the highest ideals of professional service. In the belief that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influences the nation and its citizens, the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment, to achieve conditions that attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in education, and to assist in preventing the practice of the profession by unqualified persons.

What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do 1.Teachers are committed to students and their learning –Accomplished teachers are dedicated to making knowledge accessible to all students. –Accomplished teachers treat students equitably, recognizing the individual differences that distinguish one student from another –Accomplished teachers adjust their practice based on observation and knowledge of their students’ interests, abilities, skills, knowledge, family circumstances and peer relationships. –Accomplished teachers foster students’ self-esteem, motivation, character, civic responsibility and their respect for individual, cultural, religious and racial differences.

What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do 2.Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. -Accomplished teachers have a rich understanding of the subjects they teach and appreciate how knowledge in their subject is created, organized, linked to other disciplines and applied to real-world settings. -Accomplished teachers command specialized knowledge of how to convey and reveal subject matter to students. -Accomplished teachers modify their practice according to student need. -Accomplished teachers have an instructional repertoire that allows them to create multiple paths to the subjects they teach, and they are adept at teaching students how to pose and solve their own problems.

What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do 3.Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. -Accomplished teachers create, enrich, maintain and alter instructional settings to capture and sustain the interest of their students and to make the most effective use of time. -Accomplished teachers are adept at engaging students and adults to assist their teaching and at enlisting their colleagues’ knowledge and expertise to complement their own. -Accomplished teachers know how to engage groups of students to ensure a disciplined learning environment, and how to organize instruction to allow the schools’ goals for students to be met. -Accomplished teachers can assess the progress of individual students as well as that of the class as a whole. They employ multiple methods for measuring student growth and understanding.

What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do 4.Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience - Accomplished teachers are models of educated persons, exemplifying the virtues they seek to inspire in students. - Accomplished teachers draw on their knowledge of human development, subject matter and instruction and their understanding of their students to make principled judgments about sound practice. - Accomplished teachers critically examine their practice, seek to expand their repertoire, deepen their knowledge, sharpen their judgment and adapt their teaching to new findings, ideas and theories.

What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do 5.Teachers are members of learning communities. - Accomplished teachers contribute to the effectiveness of the school by working collaboratively with other professionals. - Accomplished teachers find ways to work collaboratively and creatively with parents, engaging them productively in the work of the school.

Are You a Professional?

Professional vs. Amateur Professional -Learns every aspect of the job. -Carefully discovers what is needed and wanted. -Keeps his/her work area clean and orderly. -Looks, speaks and dresses like a professional. -Jumps into difficult assignments -Is focused and clear-headed. -Uses higher emotional tones: Enthusiasm, cheerfulness, interest, contentment. -Produces more than expected -Has a promising future Amateur -Skips the learning process whenever possible. -Assumes what others need and want. -Has a messy, confused or dirty work area. -Is sloppy in appearance and speech. -Tries to get out of difficult work. -Is confused and distracted -Uses lower emotional tones: Anger, hostility, resentment, fear, self-pity. Produces just enough to get by. -Has an uncertain future.

The first step to making yourself a professional is to decide you ARE a professional.

Mission Statement Browning Elementary School/South Lancaster Academy (Browning/SLA) is dedicated to nurturing independent thinkers who will go forward from our school with inquiring minds and a solid foundation for a lifetime of total fitness, positive social interactions, and the joy of a living relationship with God.