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What Does Society Expect of Teachers?

What Does Society Expect of Teachers? module 1.4

  • Teachers are public servants accountable to the people.
  • Society has high expectations of teachers.
  • Today's teachers are expected to have advanced knowledge and skills and high academic and ethical standards.
  • Teachers are expected to promote student's academic progress as well as further students' social, emotional, and moral development and to safeguard students' health and well-being.
  • Teachers and schools are expected to address social problems and risk factors that affect student success.

A little history...

Public trust in education increases and decreases in response to social and political changes that lead to educational reform. In the 1970s, teachers were portrayed as incompetent, unintelligent and unprofessional. In the 1980s, the image of teachers was bad, as negative press and national reports such as A Nation at Risk declared US education as a failure. In the 1990s, efforts were made to restore dignity to the educational profession. TV shows about teachers such as Disney's American Teacher Awards were aired to highlight the important work of educators.

What is it really all about...

Teachers are expected to

  • be competent and effective
  • be proficient in the use if instructional strategies, curriculum materials, advanced educational technologies, and classroom management techniques.
  • have a thorough understanding of the developmental levels of their students
  • have a solid grasp of the content they teach
  • be informed of exemplary practices and to demonstrate a desire for professional development
  • help all learners succeed
  • hold strong beliefs about the potential for all children, regardless of students' ethnicity, language, gender, socioeconomic status, family backgrounds and living conditions, abilities, or disabilities.
  • ensure that all students develop to their fullest potential.
  • have a repertoire of instructional strategies and resources to create meaningful learning experiences that promote students' growth and development.

Vocabulary

A Nation at Risk-a 1983 national report critical of American education.

Teacher accountability-society's expectations that teachers will adhere to high professional and moral standards and create effective learning environments for all students.

Activity I

Society and teachers

Choose one of the topics below and write a paragraph about it.

a. Describe how teachers' attitude is related to their effectiveness.
b. Explain the knowledge level an excellent teacher must demonstrate.
c. Enumerate some of the ways that teaching is different from other professions.

Would you like to see A Nation at Risk?

Other cool websites:

http://ed.gov/

http://edweek.com/

http://ericsp.org/

 

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