THE TEACHER

AS A PERSON
IN THE
SOCIETY
P.E.C 106: The Teaching
Profession

QUALITIES OF A TEACHER
There are two distinct characteristics of an effective
and efficient teacher:
Personal qualities refer to the qualities that
stem from the teachers personality, interests ,
attitudes, and beliefs; and his/her behavior and
working relationships with his/her students and
peers.
Professional qualities refer to the teachers
knowledge of the subject matter, his/her
understanding of the psychological and
educational principles and his/her
understanding of the teaching profession.

AS A PERSON
Innate Qualities
Aptitude

A saying goes Teachers are born.

This refers to the inborn
characteristics of individuals such as
aptitude, often defined as a strong
inclination for some tasks together
with corresponding skills.

 Mental

Ability

A mental ability that is above average

and higher equips a teacher to carry
on her multiple tasks. After hurdling
a 4 year bachelors degree, one can
easily continue to a masters degree.
Mentally gifted and bright teachers
are capable of demonstrating higher
order thinking skills.

Personal Qualities

In the chosen career of teaching, personality could

serve as an inspiration or otherwise to the student
whom she pledge to lead by the hand.
A teacher must essentially possess the following
personal qualities:
Presentable appearance, good manners, courtesy,
and a pleasant voice.
Intelligence, emotional stability, and self-control
Sympathy, kindness, helpfulness, and patience

Integrity, trustworthiness, honesty and loyalty

Sociability, friendliness, and cooperativeness
Flexibility, creativity, and resourcefulness
Fairness impartiality, and tolerance
Sense of humor, cheerfulness, and enthusiasm

AS A PROFESSIONAL
Professional qualities include:
A mastery of the subject matter.
An understanding of the learners. This pertains
to the teachers knowledge about the learners
and the principles of human growth and
development.
Liking and loving learners. A teacher who has
genuine and sincere love for learners can imbue
them with love for learning.

Knowledge of the teaching principles and skills.

A teacher must know the WHATS and HOWS of
teaching including the needed skills and teaching
methods.
General understanding of the different branches
of knowledge along with their interrelationship
and interdependence to solve lifes problems.
Knowledge and background study of arts,
languages, philosophy, math, literature, and
physical science are deemed necessary. A teacher
must also be knowledgeable of information and
communications technology (ICT) as in the use of
computers.
An appreciation of the teaching profession.

THE
TEACHERS
PHILOSOPHI
CAL
HERITAGE

We are heirs to a rich philosophical heritage from

the different philosophies of great thinkers in the
past. They reflected on LIFE in this planet and
search for answers about human existence.
There are 5 philosophies of education:

ESSENTIALISM
Contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire
basic knowledge, skills, and values. Teachers teach not
to radically reshape society but rather to transmit the
traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge
that students need to become model citizens.
The emphasis is on academic content for students to
learn basic skills or the fundamental rsreading,
riting, rithmetic, right conduct. The essentialist
curriculum includes the traditional disciplines such as
math, natural science, history, foreign language, and
literature.
Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of subject
matter. They are expected to be intellectual and moral
models of their students.

PROGRESSIVISM
Progressivists accept the impermanence of life and
the inevitability of change. For the progressivists,
everything else changes. Change is the only thing
that does not change.
Progressivist teachers teach to develop learners into
becoming enlightened citizens of a democratic
society.
The progressivists are identified with need-based
and relevant curriculum.
The subjects that are given emphasis in progressivist
school are natural and social science.
Progressivist teachers employ experiential methods.
They believe that one learns by doing.

PERRENIALISM
The perreniaslist curriculum is a universal one
on the view that all human beings possess the
same essential nature. It is heavy on the
humanities, on general education. It is not a
specialist curriculum but rather a general one.
There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education.
The perrenialist classrooms are centered around
teachers the teachers do not allow the students'
interests or experiences to substantially dictate
what they teach.

EXISTENSIALISM
The main concern of existentialists is to help
students understand and appreciate themselves
as unique individuals who accept complete
responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and
actions. Since existence precedes essence, the
existentialist teachers role is to help students
define their own essence by exposing them to
various paths they take ion life by creating an
environment in which they freely choose their
own preferred way.
Existentialist methods focus on the individual.
Learning is self-paced, self directed.

BEHAVIORISM
Concerned with the modification and shaping of
students behavior by providing for a favorable
environment, since they believe that they are a
product of their environment. They are after
students who exhibit desirable behavior in
society
Behaviorist ought to arrange environmental
conditions so that students can make the
responses to the stimuli. They ought to provide
appropriate incentives to reinforce positive
responses and weaken or eliminate negative
ones.