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السبت، 20 مايو 2017

Why Professional Development For Teachers Is So Important

By Donald Myers


There can be no doubt that the educational system has changed. Teaching is no longer seen as a calling but rather as just another job. Educators have a difficult time. They have to work under tremendous pressure and they are expected to perform well despite all the institutional factors that make such accomplishments almost impossible. Sadly, professional development for teachers does not seem to be a high priority.

People that think that the only responsibility of educators is to teach cannot be more wrong. They have numerous obligations. They spend hours on administrative obligations. They have to be involved in all school functions, sport events and other activities. The attend numerous meetings and the still have to prepare their lessons and grade student projects. It is not uncommon for educators to spend a fair amount of their private hours on work each day.

It is not only educators that are under stress. The entire system is under enormous pressure. Not enough resources are allocated to education. There are too few educators, a shortage of teaching aids and endless problems with routine maintenance of facilities. Discipline in the schools are deteriorating and there is just not enough support available from the authorities. It is not surprising that educators simply do not have time to grow professionally.

Thankfully, there are some initiatives that aim to address this problem. One of them is the highly acclaimed system of instructional rounds. This system entails small groups of educators attending the classes of extremely highly regarded colleagues. The aim of these visits is to learn from that colleague and to garner new ideas that will improve the effectiveness of the observer in his own classroom.

Studies focusing on acclaimed and successful educators show that they take personal responsibility for their own professional growth. They tend to use technology to improve their techniques and to interact with their students. They belong to online professional forums where ideas and problems are shared. They truly believe in the value of quality education and they are willing to sacrifice in order to provide that quality education.

When studying highly regarded schools, one factor stands out and that is the fact that the technology of the internet has been harnessed to help improve the quality of education. At those schools, teachers and students alike have full access. Educators can use the internet to conduct research, to gain new ideas, to learn new teaching techniques and to communicate with others in the profession.

The modern world is highly competitive. Doing your best is not good enough. Only those that excel can be sure of success. A mediocre education is not a good start in life and mediocre educators cannot hope to prepare their students for the pressures of real life. The only solution is to make sure that educators are allowed every possible opportunity to develop professionally.

An under achieving youth cannot guarantee a great future. Every nation owes its success to the quality of its educational systems. If educators are given the opportunity to grow professionally, everyone benefits.




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