TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

Welcome to my blog! I am delighted to start an insightful writing about teaching profession as a teacher in real life. I believe this article and the following will help my fellow Nigerians to understand educational policies, concepts and many more about our country and our steemians friends who are not Nigerians to be familiar with our policy in education and concepts as well as many more articles that will discuss general information about education, students, teachers, classroom and school as a whole.

Teaching and learning are part of living. Consciously or unconsciously, formally or informally human beings are involved in some forms of teaching and learning process. Western Education introduced by the British is what is presently called Nigeria around the 19th Century made use of formal school system Right from then teaching began to assume a formal status from the traditional and informal system.

The teacher continues to be at the centre of educative process and it is seen as the key man in formal school system an educationists named
Peters considered that teaching involves the passing of knowledge, skills or models of conduct in such a way that the learner is brought to understand and evaluate the underlying rationale for what is presented to him. This is not an easy task particularly when the teacher is called upon to establish the needs, interest, and general ability of the learners.

But does it follows that whoever teaches, is a teacher? Does teaching require training and for how long? Should there be condition for admission into teaching profession. Do teachers need to be motivated? Should they be made to specialize in a specific areas? Should they belong to a common Union or Association so as to promote their welfare. These and other issues need to be addressed in order that teaching takes it rightful place in the comity of professions.

Meaning and Characteristics of a Profession

Human activities are classified according to nature and level of training. Such human endeavours or occupations may be regarded as professions. Some people considered that profession has to do with application of intellectual techniques of the ordinary business of life, acquired as a result of prolonged as specialized training. Teaching precedes other professions since professionals have to be taught their arts before they qualified as professionals.

A profession is usually characterized by the following qualities:

1. Members of the profession are legally permitted to form association or unions to see to the welfare of the members.

2. There is a standard training period and acknowledgement of certificate to admit individual into the profession.

3. Professional recognition are given to members and this grant them power to challenge wrongful incursion into the profession

4. There is usually ethical code of conduct which must be observed, preserved and enforced by the members.

5. There is complete control of the professional knowledge, this prevent others from practicing it.

6. There is professional pride and commitment which enable the members to have a sense of belonging and fulfillment.

7. Professional Oath taking is administered to members on admission. This serves as a boost and deterrent to member on the practice of the profession.

8. Only professionals are allowed to practice no matter the circumstance or position individual may occupy in the society.

The Teaching Profession

Professionalization of teaching started quite early in human history. A background knowledge of teaching profession in Nigeria reveals that there was no formal training for early teachers. The Missionaries made use of the brilliant natives as catechists, interpreters, and sunday school teachers. With the establishment of mission schools, there was the need for the training of teachers towards the improvement of instructions

Government intervention came slowly but steadily until 1969 when the Nigeria educational research council mounted the National Curriculum Conference.
The conference among other things highlighted the importance of the teacher within the school organization and noted that the quality of his training determines the end result of his job as a teacher.

The teacher does not only teach, he guides, transmits, interprets, counsels and is the last chain in the implementation of educational policy of the nation. It is therefore right as it is documented in the National Policy on Education (1998) revised that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers.

What has become of the teaching profession today is still a subject of controversy, the nobility in the profession is questioned and its professional status challenged. For instance some people said that "teaching is however not almost universally accepted like law, medicine and theology, as learned professions" This is so because it has not quite satisfied the following three major factors that come to be associated with profession.

1.Extended period of training usually accompanied by practice

1. A powerful organisation that is able to speak for the generality of members.

2. A code of ethics and standards of conduct set up by members and enforced by their representatives.

Regardless of the controversies that surround teaching profession, it is my view and many other professional teachers that the professionalism of teaching is not in doubt if one considers this fact 👇.

Distinct knowledge by professional

It is expected that in professional practice, the professional has absolute knowledge and the client is considered absolute ignorant. A case in point is the lawyer and the client or doctor and patient. Self medication is an offence because the patient is considered ignorant of his act. Similarly, an accused cannot claim to have a better defence than the lawyer.

In teaching, the using of the primary school as an example client in most cases are the children who are sent to teachers by the parents. Like in other professions knowledge explosion has made it such that some parents may provide a richer instructional materials to aid learning. Some children may even have accessed to certain knowledge that the teacher may not have.

Nevertheless, teaching goes beyond mere provision of knowledge to the learner. It involves development of the entire being for the individual to contribute his quota to the development of his society. Many parents find it difficult to teach their children. Access to information does not guarantee effective learning. A professional teacher make the difference through his understanding of the society which he the teacher translate into curriculum, syllabus, scheme of work, unit plan and lesson note. It is unlikely that any individual can have this background knowledge and proper presentation of lesson to the learners than the professional teacher.

In my next article in connection to teaching as a profession, I will like to talk about professional trainings, oath taking, freedom to practice and professional identity.

I am @udyliciouz