In my humble viewpoint I believe that I am a professional because of how I conduct myself towards my students, fellow teachers, other staff members and administrators. For instance, a non teaching staff member called my room and I was in the middle of a very important lesson. I became very hot once the phone rang but I taken several calm and deep breaths to maintain my cool. Then I immediately answered the phone and politely answered the phone. I said, "Good morning Mr. Lumumba." instead of being frustrated saying, "WHAT?!" as I heard other teachers say from time to time at other schools. Another example of my displaying my professionalism was when a mother of a student I had previously was verbally attacking me and our school for not being pro-active in her child being bullied. I immediately took several deep breaths and became very calm and sympathetic towards the parent and offered and solicited solutions. She became very calm and we worked it out. The bottom line is no matter how mad someone makes me I try to calm down and keep it professional and hopefully the problem goes away. If it still bothers me I try talking to person and express my concerns in a civil manner. And if I feel I can't through to this person I use the chain of command. This is where I hold myself to a higher standard.
There's always room for improvement especially as a professional. I believe that I have to participate in conferences, professional development classes, and seminars. This is how I can grow as a teacher.
Thank you for sharing.
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