Professionalism of teachers

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