The Importance Of Teachers In Todays Society Education Essay

The Importance Of Teachers In Todays Society Education Essay The words of the General Teaching Council (GTC) statement that teachers inspire and lead young people, helping them achieve their potential as fulfilled individuals and productive members of society (GTC, 2004) highlight the importance of teachers in todays society and emphasize that teaching is a demanding profession. This mission statement is reinforced by the Professional Standards for Teachers which outline attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills required of teachers at each career stage (TDA, 2010). Both understanding of theory and practical experience are required to enhance a teachers development. Different theories and philosophies have been used to explain the progression to becoming a good teacher and I aim to analyse the manner in which these theories have contributed towards my own professional development whilst critically analysing different philosophies. In my view, a teacher requires both self-confidence and humility, the former to plan and implement projects whilst being undeterred by difficulties and the latter to prevent self-confidence from becoming arrogance. Similarly, Hoyle (1995) has suggested that professionalism can be defined through a persons knowledge, autonomy, and responsibility. In other words, a profession should base its practice on specialist knowledge which is beyond the reach of lay people. This knowledge should be both theoretical in the form of examinations and practical in the form of experience. Autonomy correspondingly follows the principle that every class is different, as is every child, and the teacher should be empowered to use their better judgement to act in the best interests of their pupils. Responsibility is the reciprocal of autonomy. The freedom of autonomy must be expressed responsibly. Nevertheless, a more in-depth analysis considers the key attributes which are associated with professionalism by Hoyle. Hoyle (1980) distinguished between restricted professionals and extended professionals. Restricted professionals have their focus in the classroom with the priorities being teaching methods, their own didactic behaviours, and subject matter. The extended professionals, however, are concerned with professional collaboration and locate their classroom teaching in a broader educational context whilst functioning as a dynamic team. Although employing professionalism is vital, a teacher should also be one who at regular intervals, examine and monitor the work they have done. They should take into consideration the improvements that could be made by reflecting on the work that has been done and the problems encountered in the course of doing it. According to Donald Schon (1996), the concept of reflective practice can be described as a critical process of enhancing ones field or discipline. Reflective practice is a way for beginners to recognise the link between their own individual practice and those of successful practitioners (Ferraro, 2000, p.1). This concept allows for thoughtful consideration into ones own experiences and the application of knowledge to practice whilst being guided by professionals. Hopkins and Antes (1990) and Lawrence Stenhouse (1975) demonstrate a similar view that reflective practice can be classified in terms of action research and the concept of a teacher as a researcher respectively. It encourages teachers to put theories they have learnt into practice in their classroom. This has re-constructed my beliefs of what constitutes as a teacher of mathematics, as research is an imperative factor in education. A parallel approach indicates that portfolio development has become a preferred tool used in pre-service teacher education (Antonek, et al, 1997; Hurst et al, 1998). Portfolios are significant in the development of inexperienced teachers, as it allows for resources and materials that worked well to be collated. This can then be modified during a teachers career as their style of teaching adapts and their knowledge enhances. The above theories are similar in that they focus on either pre-service or beginners in a discipline and outline the reflection which is used to gain knowledge and to overcome weaknesses. These approaches are summarised by educational theorist and psychologist Jerome Bruner (1987) when he stated that self is a perpetually rewritten story (Bruner, 1987, p.54). I feel this is an accurate representation of a teachers career as development of a professional reflective practitioner is an ongoing process. In the broadest sense, a teacher can be defined as someone who not only imparts knowledge but also gives them skills that they can apply to everyday life. The skills that have been taught can then be enhanced throughout their time in schools and taken with them to university and finally used in their career. A good teacher possessing superior interpersonal skills has the potential to shape a pupils life to ensure they can take with them the skills and knowledge to exceed the pupils expectations. An effective teacher of mathematics continues to investigate new mathematical knowledge and explore effective teaching strategies. An effective mathematics teacher wants to eradicate the fear and anxiety that mathematics may represent to many students. As stated in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for school mathematics, an effective mathematics teacher will be able to motivate all students to learn mathematics (NCTM, 1989). My philosophy about what constitutes an effective mathematics teacher may best be illustrated by an example which came to my attention observing a newly qualified mathematics teacher. The mathematics teacher was portraying fractions in a fashion easily comprehensible by the majority of the class, with various assessment techniques used to ensure the pupils understood. However, one pupil failed to grasp the topic and not surprisingly struggled to answer the questions. As the teachers attention was occupied by the rest of the class, this one pupil was unable to proceed with the questions. At the end of the lesson as the teacher had not watched over the class for any pupils that struggled, the pupil left the class still uncomprehending and uninterested in the topic. Therefore, the teacher was unable to help the child as he had omitted to watch for pupils in difficulty and this runs counter to the philosophy that every child is important. In this particular instance the teacher lacked th e experience to observe the difficulties that the pupil was facing. The dimensions of reflective practice (Zwozdiak-Myers, 2009) have shaped my thinking as to the concepts of reflection especially when assessing my course experiences. The dimensions of reflective practice relate to the ideas in which teachers reflect, improve and try out new ideas. This allows for teachers to be able to see the types of techniques which are successful and unsuccessful in the classroom. The nine dimensions each have a fundamental aspect in which to approach reflection and this proves to be a fundamental theory in constructing my philosophy about the role of a teacher. John Dewey (1933) observed that reflective thinking is called for when people recognize that some problems cannot be solved with certainty. Drawing from this observation, King and Kitchener (1994) chose the term reflective judgment to describe the kind of epistemic cognition that includes the recognition that real uncertainty exists about some issues. These theories have re-constructed my philosophy, that the profession of teaching is not black and white. There are problems which have no perfect solution; however it is up to the judgement of the teacher on how to respond, in the primary interest of the students. Effective teaching has been constantly debated over the last two decades linking reflection to professional growth (Harris, 1998). Reflective practice is a significant and beneficial form of professional development, as it allows for errors to be noticed and improvements to be made. This can enhance teaching styles and methods, which leads to better performance and more self-awareness of ones strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. The teachers role has now changed, from the traditional picture of a didactic lecturer dictating an indigestible quantity of facts, to a classroom of pupils who solemnly inscribe the words and subsequently learn them by heart to regurgitate them in the form of an essay in response to a question on a termly or yearly examination paper. These changes are due to a new view being taken on curricula, pedagogy and the organization of teaching and learning, as well as changes caused by broad socio-political trends in the society (Hoyle, 1974). The teachers autonomy, control and professionalism (Hoyle, 1974, Pollard et.al.1994) are no longer beyond dispute both in the classroom and in society as a whole. As a result, the teachers responsibilities are no longer limited to the classroom but range more widely than hitherto. A modern teacher must now acquire a wide range of knowledge and skills to cope with the new demands of their challenging responsibilities. A teacher must therefore develop professionally so that enhanced knowledge and skills from the process of development can be put into practice, both in the classroom and outside, to benefit their pupils. This constitutes as an extended professional.

Essay --

Introduction Today’s marketers are looking for other approaches to communicate and connect with their target audience and a technique that is receiving more and more attention over the past decade is product placement. Product placement is not a new concept, but it has become much more prevalent in recent years. It is not only due to the changes to the way viewers are watching television, but also for the advent of new technologies. This marketing communications technique is evolving. While before companies tended to sponsor a film, or TV series, now they are buying space within the programme. With this new concept, companies can cut money on very expensive advertisement, and film producers and TV networks can get extra sources of funding for production. Moreover, advertisers are aware that seeing your favourite TV series character sipping a Coca-Cola, using an iPhone or driving a Toyota, can have a far more persuasive effect on viewers due to the emotional connection to the story and characters. Car manufacturers are one type of company that are making the most of product placement, and are signing deals with broadcasting networks and film producers to have their vehicles appearing and characters talking about all the amazing features of a specific car model. Toyota is by far, the company investing the most in the use of product placement, and in fact is trying to impose their presence, not only during episodes of certain TV series, but also dictating the rules to certain TV networks to have dedicated pages on their websites. Marketing Communications It is difficult to find a universal definition of marketing communications, and there are many different orientations regarding the subject. The table below summarises the main ... ...tial effects on consumers’ memory and brand attitudes. Prominent placements are most likely to be remembered, but they have a positive influence on the consumers’ attitude toward a brand only if they are consistent with the plot (Wilbur, Goeree and Ridder, 2008). American consumers, for example, are more likely to buy a product that was shown in a movie, and American students prefer product placement in films to traditional advertising (Lee and Chung, 2009). Moreover, households appear to have better attitudes to product placement, followed by adults 25- 54 and adults 18-49 (Wilbur, Goeree and Ridder, 2008). Overall results of recent studies indicate that consumers are incline to have positive or neutral attitudes towards product placement and that the effect of it can differ depending on consumers’ specific differences in their personalities (Ju and Tinkham, 2011).

Ap English Certainty vs/ Belief

Certainty Certainty is the belief in yourself that you can empower anything. Doubt is the fear of failure and is what the mass majority are overcome with. Certainty is the inner strength that everyone has, just not many want to express, that is why there are leaders and followers, strong and the weak, living and the dead. With inner strength your capabilities are limitless but when there is doubt, there is nothing. Doubt is one obstacle in a world filled with a plethora of them.Doubts are what control you from succeeding, they hold you back, tie you down , and strangle you from what you want , and just in the final seconds when your pulse lowers, your blood circulation is stopping , and you feel your hand trembling out of the fear, you grasp onto the only thing you have left , certainty. Certainty is your life support, it’s all you have left to live for, you cling onto and your ride through the storm on certainties back. It’s in that moment when you realize your life is ahead of you, and you’re certain of that. Doubt is your glutinous sin, and Satan is its master.You have to break free from its reins all that you’ve ever known and cling to certainty. With certainty you’re either in or you’re out. There is no equilibrium that you can find. Certainty is having 100% faith in something. It is the same as life, if you are certain with your life you are successful and can move mountains; doubt makes you weak and you are succumbed by the mountains. Leaders like this were Aristotle, a philosopher in physics, Benjamin Franklin, the inventor of electricity, and more modern leaders such as FDR, and JFK, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. They saw the world through eyes of certainty.Certainty gave them the power to discover a new world. They took what others saw as impossible and made it possible. There was never a doubt in their mind that they wouldn’t conquer. Doubt overcomes many in the world today and it really is like an epidemic. Many doubt themselves before they try. This creates the 80% of the world and the 20%. The 80% are those consumed in doubts about their lives, but the 20% will conquer the world if they had the means. Certainty is the only inoculation for doubt. Take a little bit of certainty since there is much to go around and achieve what you never thought possible.

FTC and Paxil essays

FTC and Paxil essays Patenting constitutes the best way to secure intellectual property from undue commercial exploitation by others. The United States government allows the original inventors of any product or concept to patent it for a period of 17 years. During this period other competitors cannot duplicate, create or sell the patented product. Though patenting protects the hard earned results of the original inventor it has a crippling effect on the society at large. Patenting creates a monopolistic market, which is not consumer friendly at all as it gives more market power (domination)to the firm. Any idea or invention is useful to the society only when it is easily accessible and affordable. Patenting seriously limits the scope of the product or invention. Alongside patenting, health care industry is seriously affected by tariffs and import and export restrictions on generic Theoretically all monopolies are profitable for the firms while consumers are at a great disadvantage. However in the case of Paxil there are some serious legal infringements. Paxil continues to heap huge profits for GlaxoSmithKline because the company manages to extend the patent indefinitely by claiming and securing new patents for the different ingredients used in the drug. It is estimated that Paxil earns around $4.4 million each day that it manages to prolong its monopoly by keeping the SmithKline's revenue from the sale of Paxil amounted to $2.1 billion in 1999 which can be attributed the monopolistic market it enjoys. If a bottle of Paxil costs $ 50 then SmithKline has sold 42000000 bottles in 1999 alone, which is a measure of the huge demand for the product. It is natural for the firm to prolong the monopoly in order to amass huge profits that accrue from a non-competitive market. As we discussed earlier the longer the monopolistic trend is prolonged the greater the profits for the ...

Review of Literature on 1972 Munich Olympic Terrorim essays

Review of Literature on 1972 Munich Olympic Terrorim essays Review of Literature: 1972 Munich Olympic Terrorist Attack On the morning of 5 September 1972 eight members of the Palestinian group Black September broke into two apartment buildings in the Munich Olympic village that housed the Israeli Olympic team. In the process of Black Septembers storming of the apartment two Israeli athletes were killed and nine more were taken hostage. The German government attempted to negotiate with the terrorists, after several hours of failed negotiations the terrorists and their hostages were loaded on to helicopters and transported to Furstenfeldbruck, a nearby German airport. At the airport the Germans attempted to rescue the Israeli hostages but were unsuccessful. After the failed rescue effort all nine hostage were dead, and Germany was left to answer the questions from the stunned world. The story seems simple enough it has all the making of a good Hollywood drama, good vs. evil, a hero to rout for, and tragedy. However after reading literature on the topic I have come to the conclusion that there is noth ing simple about this story. Every author has his or her own point of view about what really happened, and for every articles depiction of events there are three more that contradict that point of view. What is left in the works I have read are authors who either give an overview of the event, or articles that are slanted to one point of view or the other, i.e. pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. The attack on the Israeli athletes in Munich was so horrible that it may be easier to just report the facts. Facts are exactly what are given in the Wikipedia, free online encyclopedia, article Munich Massacre. This article is a nice overview of the chronology of the Black September terrorist attack. However the article leaves readers with several questions about the details of the event. For instance when describing how two Israeli hostages were initially killed the article gives little ...

Analysis of a television, online or radio talk show argument Essay

Analysis of a television, online or radio talk show argument - Essay Example The main argument of the pro-group is that the issue of same sex marriage has been tarnished by lies and black propaganda. The opposite camp responds with a religious nuance—God only allowed a marital union between opposite sex, and it is a sin to do otherwise. There are three components of argumentation—the claim, the support, and the warrant. The claim is the argumentation’s component that responds to the issues. A claim can be categorized into three: claims of policy, claims of value, and claims of fact (Phillips & Bostian 239). The claim of policy is a form of claim that stresses the enforcement of a specific policy thinking that the specific policy will be able to resolve a specific issue. In this talk show, the claim of policy is a policy supporting same sex marriage, like that in California. According to the pro-camp, policies guaranteeing the rights of homosexuals are ought to be constitutionally justifiable for they safeguard human equality. On the other hand, the anti-camp believes that such policies will only further undermine the already threatened institution of marriage. The claim of fact is the form of claim that emphasizes that a particular situation has confirmed to have existed, remains existent, or will continue to exist. The claim of the pro-camp is that discrimination against gays and lesbians has existed, still existing, and will continue to exist if the right to marry is denied to them. On the other hand, the claim of value is the form of assertion that is regarded as an effort to show that a specific issue is less favorable or more favorable than the others. The anti-camp claims that it is immoral or a sin to allow same sex marriage. They refer to the Bible or religious teachings to support this claim. The support of both the pro- and anti-camp is strong. The pro-camp uses legal, scientific, and practical evidence, whereas the anti-camp uses religious, cultural, and societal values. Lastly, the warrant

International Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Law - Assignment Example States may also uphold the principle of international law, even when national interests do not benefit from it, in order to protect universal and common human values. Treaties and their effectiveness can be measured using their success in ensuring all parties abide by the agreement (Chayes & Chayes, 2008). Nations enter into international treaties with other states because of the need. Nation states enter into treaties for political and military alliances, territorial exchanges, international violence control, creation of new states, and peacemaking. Treaties set out the rules  in a clear version, compared to other forms of international law. Nation states also find it to be easier to achieve the consent with treaties, as compared to other international laws. Question # 2 2. With regard to the 2009 military coup in Honduras, it appears that the national Congress, Supreme Court, attorney-general and military supported the detention or removal of an elected leader on constitutional g rounds. In such a case, does the "international community†, or outside States have the right to condemn the coup? How does UN Charter Article 2(7) fit into the picture? No foreign authority or power recognized the coup leader’s presidency. ... Despite the widespread condemnation of the Honduran coup, and suspension of the country from receiving aid from the EU and the US, efforts to reinstate Zelaya to power have failed. President Zelaya’s removal and replacement was an interruption of the country's constitutional democratic order (Halperin, 2011). If this coup were to stand, it would portend a dangerous democratic precedent for other countries. Thus, the international community needed to act to protect themselves from the possibility of a recurrence in their own country. Article 2(7) of the UN charter states that the UN can not intervene in matters within an individual state’s domestic jurisdiction. Since the Honduran coup did not breach chapter Vii of the UN charter, the article stands. Despite the precedent the coup set, the international community could not intervene in the matter. Question # 3 3. What sorts of reservations do signatories insist on in, for example, an agreement such as CEDAW? A reservatio n is a unilateral statement made by a nation state when ratifying or approving a treaty, whereby they purport to vary or exclude certain provisions and their legal effects in that state’s application (Blanchfield, 2009). The reservation must be rejected or accepted by other states for it to be valid. In the case of the reservation's rejection, that the state must first withdraw its reservation to be part of the treaty. Article 19 of the Vienna Convention allows reservations unless the treaty impliedly or expressly prohibits reservations. If the reservations requested are not compatible with the purpose and object of the treaty, then the reservation is invalid. In CEDAW, the United States signed, but did not ratify the multilateral convention. CEDAW defines women discrimination as: Any