Code of Conduct: Do NOT break the code!

How should I behave as a teacher?  How should I act professionally? These are two very important questions to think about.  To be honest, I have never read the MTS Code of Conduct  in great detail until my Professional Teacher class last week.  As a student in the education program, I now have a deeper understanding of the key statements and plan to follow the Code of Conduct throughout my entire teaching career. I believe that following the Code of Conduct is part of being in a professional career.  As a teacher, I believe it is important to:
1. Respect confidentiality with both, your students and your colleagues
2. Keep biased opinions to yourself
3. Address appropriate channels when an issue arises
4. Be open to diversity

When I was looking over the MTS Code of Professional Practice, I really thought about the 8th point which states: "A teacher shall not be considered in contravention of the Code in:
a. Consulting with the Society or the president of the member's local association;
b. Reporting reasonable grounds for suspected child abuse according to legal requirements
I believe this is extremely important as a teacher! I know there will be times where I will need to vent to someone.... but I can not! I will not feel comfortable calling up someone I never talk to so I can talk to them about my problems.  Additionally, I  can not state how important I think it is to report child abuse! No child deserves a rough life and as teachers we can help make a difference! 


A Code of Conduct is crucial to have in the education system. It helps keep our school atmospheres a better place for teachers, students, parents, and visitors.  A Code of Conduct is the key to success for teachers. If teachers can follow it, they must be acting professionally therefore are teaching successfully.  When I have a teaching position I will be professional and work hard to follow the MTS Code of Conduct. After all, we as teachers are being trusted with the education of many children!

Throughout my career, I am sure there will be situations where I will question what to do and how to act! This is ok. I think the most important thing is to stay calm and think before acting. :)

Sergiovanni's Professionalism Model

Professionalism means believing passionately in what you do. It means compromising your standards and values. Additionally, it means caring about your students, colleagues, and your own career. I strongly believe that caring is an important part of education. I believe that a teacher must have compassion and respect for others, responsibility and sense of duty, and a commitment to teaching.

Sergiovanni's Four Commitments to Professionalism:
1. Commitment to Caring
2. Commitment to Practice in Exemplary Ways
3. Commitment to Valued Social Ends
4. Commitments One's own practice but also to the Practice Itself

I believe, a teacher must be professional and be commited to making a difference in the school and in the community around them.  It is crucial for teachers to care about their students and their families, colleagues, and the school itself. Teachers are responsible for the creating a safe, caring environment for everyone.  

It is important for teachers to prepare for their classes by creating lesson plans, and to maintain classroom management.  Teachers should also always communicate with the students and parents effectively.

Teachers must attend Professional Development sessions in order to keep knowledge up to date. This is key to being a professional teacher.

Wow! Teachers are hard working professionals! I believe that teachers are commited to making the world a better place! Teachers are constantly gaining knowledge and communicating to students, colleagues, and parents daily.   I strongly believe that teaching is a very rewarding career! I am looking forward to being a professional teacher!

Why Teach?

"Why teach?"
Here are the top 5 reasons:
1. Desire to work with children
2. Passion
3. Influence of former teachers
4. Desire to serve
5. Practical Benefits
I think these are all key reasons why I want to teach. I have wanted to become a teacher since I was a little girl.  I want to be a teacher because I feel that I have the right personality to be successful in the classroom. I am very passionate, organized, reliable, and trustworthy.  I love working with children and have the desire to make a difference in children's lives. I have had tons of experience teaching children through instructing swimming lessons, coaching skating, babysitting, and working at Mini University.
 I believe that a teacher is a very rewarding career however there will be challenges such as classroom management, social problems, rural and urban challenges, diversity, family and community support, long working hours and stress, and gaining professional empowerment.  These are all challenges I am willing to face.  As a teacher, it is crucial to be a positive role model in the community around you!
I am excited to begin my career as a teacher and I am looking forward to helping my students become the people they have always dreamed of becoming!  I have always dreamed of becoming a teacher and soon my dream will come true!

Professional vs. Subject Knowledge Blog

When we discussed this in Professional Teacher I was caught between deciding what was more important in the classroom. I believe that you need both, professional and subject knowledge, in order to a successful teacher. However, I strongly think that the passion for teaching drives you to become more knowledgeable in the particular area.  I think there is a big difference when we look at the content of the course vs. the skills of teaching.  Reflecting on my personal experience, I had one professor who was very knowledgeable in the subject however the professor was brutal at teaching the course material. It is difficult for some people to teach others, therefore I would have to say that professional knowledge needs more emphasis than subject knowledge.
I believe that a good teacher can teach a lot of material as long at they are able to learn the material themselves ahead of time. We all attend education programs to gain the professional knowledge to become good teachers! If we only need subject knowledge, why are we here??  I agree we need to know what we are teaching, however it is more important we know how to teach the material! We need to be professionally prepared and need to have the ability to teach others!  If we are good at teaching, we are able to help anyone gain knowledge!

This is a very difficult discussion as we need both of these to be great teachers! We can not have one without the other! They are both needed. However, I believe professional knowledge is a bit more crucial than subject knowledge.

Favorite Teacher Blog - What makes a good teacher?

It is amazing how many memories I have from school when I was taught by an awesome teacher. My favorite teacher was a male high school teacher.  I always looked forward to his classes daily. He taught me physics, chemistry and all of my high school math courses. I believe he is the one who is inspired me to become a math major in university. This teacher was always organized, and prepared for all of his classes. He was prepared to not only teach us but to teach us in fun and engaging ways. In chemistry we were constantly doing experiments, and in physics we were always building things.   I remember laughing at least once a day in his class. If I was to see this teacher today he would remember who I am and ask how life was going. He is very empathetic and has a ton of patience. He was very personable, humorous, confident in his learning, and respectful to all. I believe that he influenced me to become a teacher.  I have always wanted to be an elementary teacher, however I may teach high school after having this high school teacher. :)

One day I hope to be a successful teacher. I am going to be creative in the classroom and make learning fun. I want to be the teacher that inspires students!  I am going to be there for my students on an academic and personable level!  Teachers have a huge impact on their students and it is important we play the role professionally.  

Fish Philosophy - Why Not Make Your Day Better?

The Fish Philosophy is a completely new concept for me! It is amazing that the fish philosophy can be used to make a difference everywhere in the world. It is completely true that everything we do can have some fun and positive effects to it. The video was full of inspiring ideas. It really made me think about how I act in the classrooms and at work. We all have bad days but I am sure there is something that happens in our bad day that we can look at and be happy about.

The fish philosophy's four main practices:

1. Be There

2. Play

3. Make Their day

4. Choose Your Attitude

When I am a teacher, I will definitely incorporate the fish philosophy into my classroom schedule. I believe that it is important to allow the students to have fun. School is about learning but there must be some fun to keep the students engaged. I think it is also important as a teacher and as students to be there.  If we are all there for each other, the days will go much smoother and everyone will be happier.  

My favorite practice of the fish philosophy is: Choose Your Attitude!  You can use this practice everywhere you are such as school, work, sport events, and meetings.  No matter where you are you should choose your attitude to make your day better!  I think you should always focus on the positive instead of being negative about everything.  I actually used this fish philosophy the other night at my hockey game. There were only 8 players and we were playing a tough team.  The girls were so negative about it and were thinking that we were going to lose badly. So I decided to step in and I said to them: "Choose your attitude". We need to think positive and go out there and try our best! We also need to be there and keep our heads in the game!  I felt it was a good attempt! 

The Fish Philosophy will help me build stronger relationships with everyone around me! I love the idea of incorporating the fish philosophy into our Professional Teacher class! The fish philosophy is amazing and will be a great addition to my classroom when I begin teaching! The students will know about these four practices and will hopefully make a difference :) The Fish Philosophy will make the students happier, leaving a smile on their faces!