Teacher

File:Teacher writing on a Blackboard.jpg

A teacher writes on a blackboard.

A teacher is someone acknowledged as a guide or helper in processes of learning. Teaching is manifest in all things living; from the most basic transitions of form and matter via an organizing aggregator which imply some sort of meaningmaking & meaningful relation inhabited by the current who is involved in the learning process and its umwelt. A teacher also learns from his or her students. A teacher is consequently an eventual progenitor (or possibly epigenitor) of situations involving the experience of teaching.

Systematized ways of teaching is a core phenomena in all culture, and is synonymous with cultivation in all cultures. All human cultures seem to develop basic concepts and teaching practices of virtue. Whether virtue here is understood as in craftsmanship, in spiritual practices, or in regard of the virtues involved in becoming a responsible community member, or simply skillful in the art of living and respectful in the art of dying.

Those who become looked upon as helpful for the whole of a community in regard of an evolution inherent in all ways of teaching are looked upon as teachers for those cultures.

In modern schools and most contemporary occidental societies, where scientific pedagogy is practiced, the teacher is defined as a specialized profession on the same level as many other professions. The teacher is herein performing a professional role which is possible and required of the professional teacher to take off when not in his or her professional context; or if moving further to other jobs in the market of work opportunities.

The teacher from a modern scientific pedagogical perspective

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.

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.

Teaching around the world

There are many similarities and differences 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.

Canada

The process for becoming a teacher in Canada is somewhat intricate in all provinces. Also teachers who purchase items for their students and classroom out of their own wages and receive no tax deductions for there purchases.

England and Wales

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. Preschool teachers may earn £20,980 annually. 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.

France

In France the teachers (professeurs) are mainly civil servants, recruited by competitive examination.

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.

Scotland

In Scotland, anyone wishing to teach must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). Teaching in Scotland is an all graduate profession and the normal route for graduates wishing to teach is to complete a programme of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) at one of the seven Scottish Universities who offer these courses. Once successfully completed, 'Provisional Registration' is given by the GTCS which is raised to 'Full Registration' status after a year if there is sufficient evidence to show that the 'Standard for Full Registration' has been met.

For salary year beginning April 2007, unpromoted teachers in Scotland earned from £19,878 for a Probationer, up to £31,707 after 6 years teaching, but could then go on to earn up to £38,868 as they complete the modules to earn Chartered Teacher Status (requiring at least 6 years at up to two modules per year.) Promotion to Principal Teacher positions attracts a salary of between £34,566 and £44,616; Depute Head, and Head teachers earn from £39,207 to £76,527.

United States

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, 600,000 middle school teachers, and 1 million secondary school teachers employed in the U.S.

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.

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. Some contracts may include long-term disability insurance, life insurance, emergency/personal leave and investment options. The American Federation of Teachers' teacher salary survey for the 2004-05 school year found that the average teacher salary was $47,602.

Further information: Paraprofessional educator

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. 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.

Misconduct

Misconduct by teachers, especially sexual misconduct, has been getting increased scrutiny from the media and the courts. A study by the AAUW reported that 9.6% of students in the United States have received unwanted sexual attention from educators sometime during their educational career. A study in England showed only a 0.3% prevalence of sexual abuse by any professional, a group that included priests, religious leaders, and case workers as well as teachers.

World Teachers’ Day

UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers’ Day on 5 October1994 to celebrate and commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on 5 October1966. 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.

Spiritual teacher

In Hinduism the 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 the knowledge the guru has attained by initiation practices. There are many sayings on the teacher like "Guru devo bhava" (Guru is God), which reflects of the esteem associated with a guru's role.

In the Latter Day Saint movement the teacher is an office in the Aaronic priesthood, while in Tibetan Buddhism the teachers of Dharma in Tibet are most commonly called a Lama. A Lama who has through phowa and siddhi consciously determined to be reborn, often many times, in order to continue their Bodhisattva vow is called a Tulku.

In Islam there are many concepts of the teacher. Islam is in contrast to many westerners understanding an explicitly non-hierarchical spiritual community, but the concepts and names for spiritual teachers and secular functions are often mixed and confused:

• The Marja is a label. used by the Shia community, meaning source to follow.
• Allamah is the most respected of the Marjas are entitled Allamah. This Persian name for Teacher is also used by some Sunnis to denote a teacher of extraordinary respect.
• Ulema/Ulama is the title that indicates that the teacher has come to awareness of the consensus, the ijma, of the Umma. Umma is the universal community of all the children of God as understood by the Muslim community (cf. Sangha, Ecclesia)
• Mufti is a guide on the Path to the Source of living Water (the divine sharia law) is called Mufti.
• Muhaddith is someone who has profound knowledge of the Haddith, and teaches by Narration, or storytelling.
• Mullah is often the title of the teachers at the Madrasahs, Islamic schools. Mullah is a teacher in regard of being respected as a vicar and guardian of Qur'an and the Islamic traditions.
• The Shia believe that an Imam can lead mankind in all aspects of life. The Imam is appointed by God. Muhammed informed that the number of Imams after him will be 12. The majority of the Muslim world are awaiting the 12th Imam: The Mahdi, either as a first time appearance or as a reappearance after a long occultation. The Mahdi is the greatest teacher, the Messiah of the Islamic World, and the Maitreya of Buddhism.
• Mawlawi is a Persian word for teacher meaning Master.
• Sheikh is sheikh is an Arabic honorific term that literally means Elder. It is a long historic debate in many cultures whether the elder in itself denotes the role and status of a teacher.
• Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Shi'a clerics. Someone who can be said to be a sign of God, or conducting his (or her) life as asign of god is an Ayatollah.
• Mujaddidis someone is sent by God to aid the Umma and revive Islam at the beginning of every century .
• Maraboutis a spiritual teacher of Islam as it is taught in the West Africa and Maghreb, The word comes from the Berber concept of Saint. The "marabout" is known as "Sayyed" (سيد) to the Arabic speaking Maghribians

See also

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