Educators have always been a fundamental part of any education system. Being responsible for the delivery of the most important knowledge to pupils and their outcomes, these specialists play a critical role in the development of society. Today, teachers are also given great attention because of their impact on academic activity, its results, and its success. Additionally, the focus on the introduction of the most efficient methods to share knowledge and experience introduces the high level of demands to educators skills, experiences, and competence. That is why numerous investigators try to evaluate teachers functioning and the way they improve their professional skills. Multiple research works help to understand the basic concepts and ideas of the issue.
For instance, Quirke and Aurini in their article “Teachers Cant Be Made, Theyre Born” revolve around the idea of professionalism in teachers and features that differentiate good specialists from bad ones. The authors state that unlike other professions, teaching may be performed without the states certification which decreases authority and prestige (Quirke & Aurini, 2016). For this reason, the question of professionalism acquires the top priority.
In their study, the authors conclude that the professional status of private education workers is lower than that of public teachers (Quirke & Aurini, 2016). At the same time, principals prefer not to hire certified teachers because of their burnout (Quirke & Aurini, 2016). In such a way, teaching is associated with a particular mission, but not money as educators who have lower salaries show passion and love for their activity.
The idea of teachers’ specific mission and the struggle for personal happiness is also presented in the article Intensification and Complexity in Teachers’ Narrated Work lives by Wiebe and MacDonald. Trying to understand the basic aspects of educators professionalism and their attitudes to teaching, the authors of the article state that these specialists narrative writings could be used to formulate a critical stance and understand the issue better (Wiebe & MacDonald, 2014). The authors outline the unique complexity of tasks teachers face and how they cope with it (Wiebe & MacDonald, 2014). In such a way, narratives become a potent tool to analyze attitudes and perspectives on particular issues.
Nevertheless, both these articles introduce the idea of teachers exceptional nature and skills peculiar to a good educator. Today, we could see the tendency towards the decrease of the level of competence in some non-certified educators who work in the sphere (Wiebe & MacDonald, 2014). At the same time, outstanding specialists who demonstrate love and passion towards their important mission might have low salaries and poor conditions for their personal and professional development.
Moreover, they might face multiple challenges on their way to excellence and efficient teaching. Under these conditions, the analyzed papers suggest a critical question that should be discussed. It is about the current status of teachers, their professionalism, and attitudes demonstrated during their work lives. Another important issue is the place of efficient and talented educators in the modern education system as both private and public sectors have their problems associated with hiring particular specialists and their support.
Altogether, the significance of the issue raised by these two readings cannot be doubted. They demonstrate that teaching is more mission than just an occupation; however, even if an educator has all the needed skills and qualities, he/she will still face multiple challenges that prevent him/her from further development. It could be considered one of the most important problems in modern society.
References
Quirke, L., & Aurini, J. (2016). “Teachers cant be made, theyre born.” Teaching and professionalism in Ontarios private education sector. In W. Lehman (Ed.), Education and society: Canadian perspectives (pp. 172-189). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Wiebe, S., & MacDonald, C. (2014). Intensification and complexity in teachers’ narrated worklives. Canadian Journal of Education, 37(5), 1-26.