September 23, 2015

Aleigha Hopkins
Journal 2: What does it mean to be a Professional?
Professionalism is an all encompassing term that relates to ones actions, behaviours,
beliefs, and appearance. A person behaves as a professional when he/she acts in accordance with
a generally accepted set of criterion within a given profession. With that being said,
professionalism is dependent upon which profession one is employed in. For example, it is
professional for a police officer to carry a gun and know how to use it; however, if a lawyer
carried a gun around on his/her hip, it would not be deemed to be a professional act. Insofar as
actions go, one acts as a professional in an educators role when he/she is punctual, mature, and
well grounded. A teacher is held to an especially high professional ideal because he/she is often
the person who young students model themselves after. A teacher must act in the ways he/she
expects his/her classroom to act. A great deal of a teachers professional conduct can be
measured by how organized he/she is. Organization is the key component which allows all other
appropriate actions (punctuality, maturity, etc.) to follow.
Behaviour is one of the most important ways in which professionalism can be conveyed.
Professionals hold themselves to a higher standard of behavioural requirements in that they must
be a physical representation of their profession. Professionals behave in ways that are aligned
with their professional guidelines. Teachers must be in control, be level headed, and be
consistent. A teachers behaviour will be picked up on and mimicked by his/her students;
therefore, a teacher must consciously control his/her behaviour and ensure it is appropriate in the
classroom. Teachers do not have the luxury of losing control of the classroom when things are
not going according to plan. Its a teachers prerogative to remain in control, regardless of what
factors come into play. Behaving as level-headed individuals is essential because there are so

many others- students, parents, faculty- who rely on teachers to uphold their professional
conduct. Otherwise, things can get very out of control.
A professionals beliefs are indeed individualized, but they should align with what career
they are pursuing. For example, a teacher should not think that all children are demons who are
incapable of growing or learning. A professional should truly believe in the work that he/she is
doing and believe that what he/she is doing is worthy and worthwhile. A teacher should believe
that what he/she is doing is essential, that children are gifts and are capable of growth, and that
all children deserve his/her best efforts. Ones beliefs often become manifested in unintentional
ways. This means that ones beliefs should align with ones profession, since those beliefs will
inevitably make themselves known.
A police officer or a fireman is not able to perform his/her professional duties if he/she is
not in uniform. This is also true for teachers. A teacher cannot command the respect of a
classroom if he/she shows up to teach in unprofessional attire. A teacher should visually present a
put together look that conveys self-respect and authority. When a teacher is in front of the
classroom, all of his/her students eyes are on him/her. This should be in the mind of every
teacher when he/she gets dressed for work every day.
There are countless other adjectives that can be used to describe what it means to be a
professional. What is important to keep in mind is that professionalism is a holistic term. One
cannot dress as a professional but act as a child and still expect to be perceived to be a
professional. When we act in a professional setting, we are under a microscope. Everything that
we do, say, wear, and express will be put towards a final judgement as to whether we have
behaved in our professional capacity. We must always be aware of this, and we must always act
in a way that best represents ourselves as individuals and as professionals.