Recently I tweeted the following statement: “Professionalism is…” A few people responded with their opinions.
What is professionalism in your eyes? How does it look and feel in your school?
Nearly completing my first year as an AP, I have come to wonder how professionalism is seen through other people’s views. I found myself comparing my own professionalism as a teacher for the past 10 years to now as an AP.
It is important to me that the minute you walk into your workplace until the minute that you leave, that you always be your best self. It does not make a difference whether it’s with your class, colleagues or admin. Yes, I understand that we all have our bad days but that doesn’t mean that you should forget about being professional at your workplace. Everyday we work with children that deserve our best selves. It seems like as admin and teachers, we are forgetting that we also need to support one another.
Recently I have been in shock at how some staff respond to things or act in certain situations. I understand that nothing is perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect school, perfect admin or perfect staff. We all have things we can work on, however, that should not be a reason to be unprofessional.
There are many teachers that work at my school. There are some people who get along really well and work well together, and then there are some who have troubles within their teams or other colleagues or with admin. Each year is different as we all have our ups and downs depending on the personalities that live with your team. As adults, we need to be role models for our students. There is never going to be a perfect workplace where everyone gets along. It is perfectly normal to have a bad day as we are humans. However, having a bad day does not mean that anyone has the right to be disrespectful as that doesn’t show professionalism.
It is up to you to either talk about the situation and make amends, or to move on. Holding grudges doesn’t get us anywhere and it makes for a toxic environment for our students and other staff members. At the end of the day we are working together to make a better learning environment for our students.
To me professionalism is…
- Respecting everyone around you and speaking to them in a well mannered way, even if you are not on good terms with them.
- Being on time whether it’s for your duty, picking up kids or coming into school on time.
- Respecting student’s learning and giving them your full attention.
- Meeting deadlines.
- Steering clear of gossip and not engaging in drama that doesn’t affect you.
- Helping your team and planning together.
It’s really that simple. When your staff doesn’t show professionalism what do you do? Speak to them? Give them warnings? Let it go? If you let it go and it still does not get any better, then what do you do? Do you hold them accountable when they lack professionalism? Would love to know how your school deals with these issues.
