Why do Educators need to Work on their Professional Growth?

Growth is what everyone looks forward every now and then. For parents who raise a child,  nothing can pay to their smile as soon as the baby they are holding suddenly makes gestures that signal his or her growth such as crawling, standing, and eating on their own. Those aching moments they spent watching closely the tiny bundles are paid off, when a step of growth comes to the open.

Because everyone loves to grow whether physical or mental, a journey is made to attain it that does not only stop for just reading an informative article in a magazine, a column in a newspaper, or watching videos on YouTube. Yes, they read, view, and watch the steps at first. But as soon as they get to their knees in standing and taking action that will make them grow, a transformation happens. In other words, it is more than taking the passive way of knowing how to grow, but most of all, a determination coupled with courage and consistency to make a reality is the utmost desire to make things appear to the door.

Now, professional growth is more than a concept, but a journey in the field of professionalism especially for educators. It is a never-ending journey that ends only when they stop breathing. Professional development for researchers is a crucial teachers’ skill towards classroom learning activities, school innovations, and an aid to student’s academic learning results (Borko, 2004 cited in Postholm & Boylan, 2018)

Why the journey of professional growth is crucial to educators? This is quite a constant quest towards education which educators cannot live without brought by the demand of work, technology, and a constant journey for the betterment of learning. It is more than a task to handily weave meticulously to produce a refine end that will satisfy the customer in business, the endless research for the solution or cure of an illness or solving the gap, a strategy to capture the learners’ heart and mind and more.

It was more than a game that one should take after long hours of work, but requires a dedicated and consistent one willing to make a way to walk through in order to grow. Studies show that teaching is considered one of the most stressful jobs (Busby, 2019), and because of that some of the educators did not have time for professional education. Yet, some strive to make a way even in the midst of in-demand activities and schedules just to pursue what is expected of them and for their career dreams. Taking the journey towards professional growth is like a medicine needed to take to get rid of fever or pain. It is like a step ascending to a stair that one must step on to get to the upper floor; a higher note created that is, essential for the song to be completed, and food needed to eat in order to survive.

Below are some reasons why educators need to work on their professional growth:

  1. It is a must to grow professionally.

As an educator, it is expected that you are knowledgeable and smart enough to the queries and lessons you are handling (Shulman, 1987 cited in Hammond, 1999). But there are times that a certain topic you may able to know deeper will be accidentally known by the students ahead or more advanced than you, so that is why they need to handle this is a crucial step to do.

  1. Learning is a constant journey.

Whether an individual is a professional or just an ordinary one, the secret and proven method towards success is to educate oneself. To attain the desired goal is to take action more planning and reading. The same goes for learning. Learning happens when you allow yourself to give an effort to make a way for the sake of knowing and applying what is already serve before you or even discovering a thing no one knows yet (National Research Council, 2002).

  1. A walk-through “Model” concept.

Teaching is considered the noblest profession since it requires more than the qualification an individual is expected to have, but it is also a job that needs a multifarious heart and mind to see and work what is best for learners’ welfare. That’s why being an educator stands for a model that people are looking up to since they know that teachers are professional, kind, giver and more (Teach.com). For this, they always look for a teacher regardless of the need they are facing.

  1. To stay updated

Change is inevitable from time to time. Being a teacher, it is a must that you know what is going on in any sides of the coin for whatever decision made as learning is concerned, you will be accountable for it. To stay updated is a crucial undertaking an educator must strive for. It is expected that a teacher influences much on the life outcome of the learners (Timperley et. al, 2007).

  1. A technologically inclined hand.

One common field people in all walks of life are taking to connect is the use of social media such as Facebook, Messenger, Gmail/Yahoo, Twitter, and others. As educators, to be technologically inclined is crucial to the learning field as it is now a timely built-in cabinet for communications, businesses, reports, programs, schedules, and activities (Office of Educational Technology).

  1. A vessel to maturely handle issues and concerns.

Obviously, teachers are multitasker that is to handle different roles such as being a parent, a friend, a counselor, a lawyer, an engineer, and more to meet the needs of the learners (Alquizar, 2018). Such roles teachers are playing require a smart action that is not merely based on heresy, but what is right as an educator that can only be made through learnings from professional growth undertakings.

For one thing, to note, that being a professional teacher or educator, it is a crucial task to be highly engaged in professional growth otherwise one educator or teacher is not compelled to the task, for the name itself speaks highly of the profession other fields are rooted from. Thus, it is in the teaching field that all other fields born at, so with all the successful professionals in the world.

References:

Alquizar, J.S. (2018). Multitasking of Teachers in the Contemporary Settings: Boon or Bane? Davao

Occidental, Philippines

Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3–15. doi:10.3102/0013189X033008003

Busby, E. (2019). Teachers suffer more stress than other workers, study finds. The American Institute of

Stress. Retrieved from https://www.stress.org/teachers-suffer-more-stress-than-other-workers-study-finds

Hammond, L.D. (1999). Teacher Learning That Supports Student Learning: What Teachers Need to Know

Preparing teachers to be more well-rounded educators. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrived from https://www.edutopia.org/teacher-learning-supports-student-learning

National Research Council. (2002). Learning With Understanding: Seven Principles.” Learning and

Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10129.

Office of Educational Technology. Section 2: Teaching with Technology. Retrieved from https://tech.ed.gov/netp/teaching/

Postholm, M. B. & Boylan, M. (2018) Teachers’ professional development in school: A review

study, Cogent Education, 5: DOI: 10.1080/2331186x.2018.1522781

Teach.com. Teachers Are Role Models. Retrieved from https://teach.com/what/teachers-are-role-

models/

Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, A., & Fung, A. (2002). Teacher Learning and Professional Development.

Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education http://educationcounts.edcentre.govt.

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Ana Mae Badayos Dusaran is a Secondary School Teacher II of Barotac Viejo National High School and presently residing at San Geronimo, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. She, at present a PhD scholar at Atlantic International University and the Assistant Gender and Development (GAD) Coordinator in school. She published some of her poems at Poemhunter.com, and selected PPT presentation and articles, at Figshare.com, Medium and Academia.com. Now, she is a member of different international organizations worldwide. Thus, she is fond of writing poems, writing essays and articles, playing piano, taking photographs, art works, and reading books.