Professionalism of teachers

I'm writing this in response to Simon Marcus Gower's article titled, Bolstering continued professional development, dated April 10, in The Jakarta Post.

A school asked me to run an English course for its teaching staff. Oh, I was impressed by the initiative, commitment and vision to develop its teachers. I thought that, maybe, investing in the lives of the teachers would contribute to an improvement in the country's educational system.

I started the course in high spirits, expecting good results, looking forward to a great time of learning together with the teachers.

But what happened was what Simon described in his article: "complacency and poor commitment to continued professional development amongst those teachers".

At first, I thought that they just didn't understand me. During class sessions, some were not attentive. They copied each other's homework, they did not behave responsibly in submitting course requirement, etc. I couldn't see any evidence of a wholehearted commitment to improving themselves, their love of learning or a quest for excellence as expected from an educator.

The article was timely for me to learn that this is a sad reality here, and it comforted me somehow after such a negative experience. I needed to realize that I couldn't expect from some, supposedly educators, the kind of conduct of those who are truly committed to developing themselves.

My questions are: How can these teachers be good role models for the children they are teaching? What will be the implications of this unbecoming behavior for the country's educational system? How, then, can continuing professional development be possible?

JANET VILLANUEVA BUELBA, Tangerang, Banten