Are you afraid of becoming a teacher? you could teach English online but first who is a teacher? are there any professional or personal characteristics to being a teacher? if so, then what are the roles and functions of a teacher in a classroom, the school and in the community?

Master of arts In Teaching - Essays in Professionalism and Commercial Teachers College

Who Is A Teacher

Do you want a teaching credential or you are just a master teacher with a dream to be the master of arts in teaching? I want to be a teacher or i am a teacher are some of the words echoed by my friends unlike any types of physicians, John, a sped teacher, Ethan the physics teacher and Grace one referred to as the best teacher at was at first afraid of taking the risk to be a teacher at our teachers college and institute of management. But the big mystery still remains: who exactly is a teacher?

Teachers and Titles Associated As A Professional And Counselor

A teacher, sometimes referred to according to the profession and professionalism such as the best teacher, the physics teacher, elementary teacher, early childhood teacher, high school teacher, elementary school teacher, master teacher, sped teacher, teaching fellow, preschool teacher, best teacher, counselors, or with a longer name and title as a special education teacher, is a person who helps students acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

The writer has also added some points on the professional and personal characteristics of a teacher as well as a short discussion on the roles and functions of a teacher in the classroom, school and the community.

Mary (2020) On Teaching

Commercial Painters - Sped Teachers

Mary states that a teacher or rather a chartered professional teacher is a person with the accurate and specific ability, intuition, education, experience, skills, knowledge and qualifications to teach a specific subject or number of subjects.

In her definition, Mary talks about someone who has the exact and factual insight into something. For example, sped teacher, commercial painter or professional painter with the knowledge enough to help with the learning and teaching of the skill in question.

Definition Of Professional, Personal And Characteristic

After looking at the definition of a teacher, this specific paragraph will now identify the professional and personal characteristics of a teacher.

Before identifying the professional characteristics of a teacher, the following terms; professional and characteristic have to be defined for a proper understanding of what the question demands. But whats the use of all these when the commission on teachers is minimal?

Gerald(1980) On Professionalism And Who A Professional Is

A professional is a member of a profession. This implies that a professional is a member of a certain activity used to earn a living, in this case, the teaching profession.

Maxwell(1918) On Characteristic

The word characteristic means the distinguishing feature of a person or thing. What Maxwell is trying to put across is the fact that a characteristic is something that differentiates people or things from others, uniqueness. For example, some people have big eyes or orange hair. Things as well, like people have different features too, some things like organizations might differ in the way they are run. Professions too like the teaching profession in this case has its own features others can use to make a distinction. For example, a professional characteristic of a teacher can include decent dress code with a moral lifestyle since a teacher must be a role model whether or not s/he likes it.

Now that some terms have been defined, the question can be asked in many ways. 

'Identify and explain the distinguishing features or attributes found in the teaching profession that a teacher must have.'  

Meer(2018) On Professional Characteristics of A Teacher

A teacher must have excellent communication skills. We all know how important communication skills are in every situation, teachers are the worst hit by this, whether one likes it or not, verbal or actioned, you just gotta have 'em.

If a teacher does not know how to communicate-get the learners to understand what the lesson is all about, then no learning and teaching has taken place.

Another professional characteristic of a teacher is to have superior listening skills. A teacher in this modern world now more than ever needs to listen to the learner as well. Gone are the days when a teacher had all the information learners needed, in this era, information is vast at right at the finger tips of the learners, so what a teacher knows, a learner knows too, maybe even more. The Zambian Curriculum today has switched to the Learner-Centered delivery method of teaching, this means the teacher should allow learners to contribute more than s/he, simply put, teacher 20% and learners 80% of contribution during the lesson. So if this is the case in Zambia, what exactly should a physics teacher, sped teacher or any other teacher be doing in class? simple, facilitate, that is why student teachers are encouraged to use more of group discussions in classes when they are on their teaching experience.

Peterson(2016) On Personal Characteristics of A Teacher

Among the personal characteristics of a teacher is the ability to develop relationships with the students. With an amazing connection to the teacher, communication is improved, grades go up and problem solving becomes an easy task for both parties.

For example, if a teacher is friends with a student, the student will confide in him, and sometimes ask for free tutoring lessons after class because the student is actually talking his friend, only that the friend happens to the teacher in class. Sadly this is not the case because many teachers do not talk to their learners outside class.

Roles And Functions of A Teacher In Class, School And The Community

The writer has also decided to look at the roles and functions a teacher has in the classroom, at School and in the community where s/he comes from.

Cox(2020) On The Teachers Role In Class

One of the key roles a teacher has in class is to deliver classroom instructions that helps students learn. One has to prepare effectively and should be communicating the right material during the learning and teaching process.

McGhee(2007) On The Teachers Role In School

On one hand, the role of a teacher in a school is to be a parent substitute. McGhee claims that a teacher is suppose to offer love, care and support and guidance, sometimes even professional financing just as parents do at home.

Bunson(2012) On The Teachers Role In The Community

On the other hand, the teacher's role in the community is to be an agent of social change. A teacher must bring about social change in the community by instilling good morals and developmental behaviors in the learners and the community residents.

Writers Conclusion

In a nutshell, a teacher, offering a professional service is a person who helps learners acquire knowledge, competence and virtue. A teacher must have excellent communication and superior listening skills. A teacher should also have good relationships with the learners or student teachers. Among others, delivering classroom instructions, being a parent substitute and an agent of social change are some of the roles of a teacher in class, school and the community.

Author - Count Ruel