1 The Teaching Profession
Module 1 The Teacher as a Person and His
Lesson 2 Roles in the Society
THE TEACHER AS A PERSON AND HIS ROLES IN THE SOCIETY
Objectives:
After completing this lesson, you will be able to accomplish the following:
1. Recognize the role of teachers by establishing their importance in the society.
2. Identify the various roles performed by teachers in the society.
3. Enumerate the observable values practice by teachers in the society.
Topics:
1. Various roles of teacher in the society
1.1 The teacher as an expert.
1.2 The teacher as an individual
1.3 The teacher as a professional
1.4 The teacher as a community leader and social advocate
1.5 The teacher as a model of good character
“”The medium is the
message.”
-Anonymous
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
2 The Teaching Profession
Lesson 1: Various Roles of Teacher in the Society
“Teacher are also unique individuals, practicing professionals, community leaders, parents, experts, and
models who are looked upon by students’ parent, the community, and other sectors of the society. Hence
they should be recognized by their own identity.”
Beyond and above the role of teachers in the teaching-learning process in which they are
considered as expert and authority, they played other roles in the society.
The teacher is an essential component of the teaching and learning process. The quantity of learning achieved by
the pupils has been established a highly correlated to the quality of teaching done by the teacher.
1.1 The Teacher as an Expert
What makes a teacher an expert? According to Professor John Loughran, teaching is such a complex
activity because it revolves around decision making involving various concerns and issues. Teachers are
constantly making decisions about a range of ideas, issues and events: content, student behavior, homework,
catering for different learning styles, assessment and so on, not to mention the paper works, reports and data
needed to be complied and submitted to authorities.
Expert teachers know what they are doing and why because they carefully consider how to structure their
teaching in ways that will have a positive influence on their students’ learning.
In conclusion, what differentiates expert teachers from others is that the former understands their subject
matter and they also understand their students. This understanding allows teachers to provide rich
problems, to adapt these problems so that they can be used at many levels of difficulty, to use good
questioning techniques that help students reflect on their own reasoning processes and to adapt lessons to
maximize the learning for all students. (Findell, 2011).
1.2 The Teacher as an Individual Person
Teacher like no other human being is an individual perceived as role models and ideal person. As a person,
he or she grows up as individual with his or her own set of values, beliefs, and perceptions about the smallest
or the biggest things and issues around. She/he has developed certain feelings or emotions, and just like any
other persons, acts with a keen awareness of different situations either rationally or impulsively.
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
3 The Teaching Profession
Teacher’s identifies are shaped by personal, environmental and cultural factors, teacher’s life
experiences, the level of education, skills, vocation or occupation which are all contributory to the teacher’s
identity and personality. Teachers are likewise into problems, confusion, conflicts, and stressful conditions.
Teachers like the learners are also diverse.
The talents, skills, strategies, performance levels, intelligence levels, social behavior, and abilities in dealing
with tasks vary from person to person or from teacher to teacher. There teachers who are great in music and
art, others are good in math, and some are creative in making their classroom aesthetically pleasing and
good to look at.
Teachers have needs.
Teaching is a difficult but challenging source of livelihood. It entails patience and strong heart to face the
challenges confronting the day to day duties of a teacher. The teacher usually ignores the overwhelming
nature of the job and chooses to serve instead.
Greg T. Pavilion identified and listed the following needs which have to be met in order to have
productive and globally characterized teachers:
1. Security and Justice – feeling secured with your environment and with your life is basic
among human needs
2. Emotional Needs - the need to feel safe regarding how you feel about yourself and your
emotional needs must also be fulfilled. There is a need to boost the morale of the teacher, so
he/she will feel enthusiastic and energetic to carry his/her work. Her/his outstanding works
and accomplishments should be recognized and appreciated.
3. Economic Need – money may not be the most important in one’s life though it makes life
comfortable and easier to survive and sustain man’s everyday needs. Time and again, teachers
fought hard for salary increase to cope with the rising cost of living.
4. Spiritual Needs – the enormous tasks of a teacher are sometimes heavy to bear. They put many
stresses on teacher’s shoulder which sometimes affect her moods and attitudes. Teaching
instruction will be also likely to be affected if this situation is not immediately addressed to.
5. Social Needs – teachers link together students, other teachers, school administrators, families and
community members to foster the learning success and healthy development of their students. By
nurturing positive relationships with stakeholders, particularly the students, the teacher brings
downright strong impact on the learning process of the students.
6. Role Clarity – the clearness of the description and responsibilities of a job eliminated
possible conflict in the workplace. Lack of role clarity can lead to tension and conflict
between and among workers and leaders as well. Poorly defined or conflicted roles in a worker
can be a stressor which may result in job inefficiency.
7. Coping Skills - teachers just like any human beings, experience stresses brought about by the
various tasks they need to perform every working day. Stressors can come from the people they
mingle with in and outside of the school.
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
4 The Teaching Profession
Economic
Security and Justice
Emotion
Spiritual
Role Clarity
Coping Skills
Socia
l
Figure 2. Teacher’s Needs
1.3 The Teacher as Professional
Semantically, a profession is a type of job that requires special training and gives status and prestige
to the individual. A professional is one who has competent skills, observes high standards of the job and
abides by the code of ethics. (Bilbao, P.P. et.al )
The Code of Ethics of Professional Teachers, 1997 clearly states that:
Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess dignity and reputation with high moral values as well
as technical and professional competence. In the practice of their noble profession, they strictly adhere to,
observe and practice this set of ethical and moral principles, standards and values.
The definition of what a professional and what is stated in the Code of Ethics both agrees that
professional teachers should possess sets of professional and personal qualities. To qualify as
professional, one should:
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
5 The Teaching Profession
1. Have passed the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT);
2. Have technical and professional competence;
3. Have dignity and reputation with high moral values; and
4. Observe excellence in the performance of the job.
Personal qualities that a teacher must be include:
Obtaining bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree alone does not classify a person as a professional
in the truest sense of the word. Professionalism, the act of being a professional encompasses not only
the degrees acquired. It also includes the many asks that the job requires which should be done
responsibly and effectively.
1.4 The Teacher as a Community Leader and Social Advocate
“No man is an island” is a concept shared by John Donne. It means no one is self-sufficient and everyone
relies on others. Teachers too need to connect with other stakeholders outside the school. The school cannot
survive in isolation and teachers need to step out of the four corners of their classrooms for their
student’s education. Teacher should be active leaders in the community. They should develop stronger
links in the community to carry out some of the school programs
A teacher in California, Alex Kajitani, pointed out that teacher leadership means that a teacher serves
as a bridge between the front lines of the schools and shaping of public policies in the community.
The need for advocacy and collaboration in the community is vital to support student learning.
Teachers reaching out to the community and voicing out the academic needs and the financial
constraints experience by schools is one way to be understood by the public at large and
lawmakers.
1.5 The Teacher as a Model of Good Character
Teaching is a profession that occupies a public trust. It requires the services of
morally upright individuals whom the community regards highly and holds
accountable for the student’s learning. Since way back then, teachers were expected to display good
character.
Steven Covey, American educator, one said “What you do has a far greater impact than what you say.”
Teachers are being looked up to by their students and the parents, including the public, who put so much
trust on them. Teachers action must be reflective of moral virtues, such as fairness and honesty and to adhere
to professional code of conduct. Integrity is a vital character that the teacher must possess. A person with
integrity behaves in virtuous ways, such as keeping promises and refraining from lying and cheating.
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
6 The Teaching Profession
ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT
INSTRUCTOR
