Teacher

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In education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school or academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a tutor.

The objective is typically a course of study, lesson plan, or a practical skill, including learning and thinking skills. The different ways to teach are often referred to as the teacher's pedagogy. When deciding what teaching method to use, a teacher will need to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals. A teacher may follow standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher may interact with students of different ages, from infants to adults, students with different abilities and students with learning disabilities.

Contents 1 Teaching as a profession 2 Teaching around the world 3 World Teachers’ Day 4 Salaries 4.1 United Kingdom 4.2 Republic of Ireland 4.3 United States 4.3.1 Improving Salaries in the United States 5 Religious Teacher 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Teaching as a profession

Teaching may be carried out informally, within the family (see Homeschooling) or the wider community. Formal teaching may be carried out by paid professionals. Such professionals enjoy a status in some societies on a par with physicians, lawyers, engineers, and accountants (Chartered or CPA).

A teacher's professional duties may extend beyond formal teaching. Outside of the classroom teachers may accompany students on field trips, supervise study halls, help with the organization of school functions, and serve as supervisors for extracurricular activities. In some education systems, teachers may have responsibility for student discipline.

Around the world teachers are often required to obtain specialized education and professional licensure. The teaching profession is regarded for having a body of specialised professional knowledge, codes of ethics and internal monitoring.

There are a variety of bodies designed to instill, preserve and update the knowledge and professional standing of teachers. Around the world many governments operate teacher's colleges, which are generally established to serve and protect the public interest through certifying, governing and enforcing the standards of practice for the teaching profession.

The functions of the teacher's colleges may include setting out clear standards of practice, providing for the ongoing education of teachers, investigating complaints involving members, conducting hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and taking appropriate disciplinary action and accrediting teacher education programs. In many situations teachers in publicly funded schools must be members in good standing with the college, and private schools may also require their teachers to be college members. In other areas these roles may belong to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Education Agency or other governmental bodies. In still other areas teacher unions may be responsible for some or all of these duties.

[edit] Teaching around the world

There are many similarities and difference among teachers around the world. In almost all countries teachers are educated in a university or college. Governments may require certification by a recognised body before they can teach in a school.

The process for becoming a teacher in Canada is somewhat intricate in all provinces. In France the teachers (professeurs) are mainly civil servants, recruited by competitive examination. Currently there are moves on both sides of politics in Australia towards a National Curriculum.

In the United States, each state determines the requirements for getting a license to teach. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 1.4 million elementary school teachers^[1], 600,000 middle school teachers^[2], and 1 million secondary school teachers employed in the U.S.^[3]

[edit] World Teachers’ Day

UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers’ Day on 5 October 1994 to celebrate and commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on 5 October 1966. World Teachers’ Day also highlighted the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel adopted in 1997.

Some countries or regions such as Taiwan also celebrate Teacher's Day as a national holiday, while others ignore it completely. In Brazil and Chile, it is celebrated on October 15, while in India it is celebrated on 5 September, in honour of a thinker and President Dr. Radhakrishnan.. In Brunei, it is celebrated on September 23. In Turkey it has been celebrated on 24 November since 1928. Northern Cyprus also celebrates this day. In Malaysia and in Colombia, it is celebrated on 16 May. Teachers' Day is a school holiday for students in primary and secondary schools and junior colleges/centralised institutes in Singapore celebrated on 1 September.In China, it is celebrated on September 10. Although it is not a national holiday in China, it is a custom for students to visit teachers that have taught them before on this day.

[edit] Salaries

Teachers' salaries vary from country to country.

Many teachers purchase items for their students and classroom out of their own wages and (in Canada) receive no tax deduction for these purchases.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] United Kingdom

Nursery, Primary and Secondary School teachers ranged from £20,133 to £41,004 in September 2007, although some salaries can go much higher depending on experience^[4] preschool teachers- £20,980 Public school teachers must have at least a bachelor's degree, complete an approved teacher education program, and be licensed. Many Counties offer alternative licensing programs to attract people into teaching, especially for hard-to-fill positions. Excellent job opportunities are expected as retirements, especially among secondary school teachers, outweigh slowing enrollment growth; opportunities will vary by geographic area and subject taught.

[edit] Republic of Ireland

Salaries for primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland depend mainly on seniority (i.e. holding the position of principal, deputy principal or assistant principal), experience and qualifications. Extra pay is also given for teaching through the Irish language, in a Gaeltacht area or on an island. The basic pay for a starting teacher is €31,028 p.a., rising incrementally to €57,403 for a teacher with 25 years' service. A principal of a large school with many years' experience and several qualifications (M.A., H.Dip., etc) could earn over €90,000. [1]

[edit] United States

US teachers are paid on a graduated scale, starting at the low end and moving up on the pay scale with experience. Salaries vary greatly depending on state and grade taught.The median salary for all primary and secondary teachers was $46,000 in 2004, with the average entry salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree being an estimated $32,000. Median salaries for preschool teachers, however, were less than half the national median for secondary teachers, clock in at an estimated $21,000 in 2004.^[5]

For high school teachers median salaries in 2007 ranged from $35,000 in South Dakota to $71,000 in New York, with a national median of $52,000.^[6] Some contracts may include long-term disability insurance, life insurance, emergency/personal leave and investment options.^[7] The American Federation of Teachers' teacher salary survey for the 2004-05 school year found that the average teacher salary was $47,602.^[8]

Further information: Paraprofessional educator

[edit] Improving Salaries in the United States

In Alan Greenspan's book, The Age of Turbulence, an interesting solution is offered for the problem of comparative deficiencies in mathematics and science for U.S. Secondary School students. International testing results clearly show the majority of High School students in the United States lagging behind their peers in other developed countries around the globe^[9]. An economic response to this issue would allow "free market" forces of supply and demand to set teacher salaries, thereby attracting more highly qualified educators in these disciplines.

In Greenspan's opinion, a highly skilled workforce is essential to the future of the economy, with math and science serving as the foundation for highly skilled vocations like medicine, engineering, and finance. A logical "first step" for improving student performance in these subjects would be to increase the quality of math and science educators within the system. According to Greenspan, the tenured pay scale used by most public school districts within the United States essentially injects "price controls" that oppose the fundamental tenets of the free market economy which they serve.

[edit] Religious Teacher

In Hinduism, a spiritual teacher is known as a guru. Traditionally, a spiritual seeker would revere his or her guru highly, and demonstrate utmost submission and humility through menial service in order to prove worthy to be a recipient of esoteric knowledge from the guru. There are many sayings on the teacher like "Guru devo bhava" (Guru is God) -- reflective of the esteem associated with a guru's role.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, teacher is an office in the Aaronic priesthood.

[edit] See also

• Certified teacher
• Paraprofessional educator
• College of Education
• Student teacher
• Teacher's union
• Substitute teacher

[edit] References

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