“Educators engage in professional learning”
Teachers do not stop learning.
I believe a teacher is the one profession where you can never stop growing and learning. There is something called professional development imparted to teachers all year long. This is known to parents as “PRO-D”. I have heard before, “Why do teachers need more days off?”. This is not a day off for us. It is a day to spend with other professionals who have done the career for a long time and might have found better ways to navigate education. We need this time to grow and also feel seen by our peers.
My times at the PRO-D’s have been wonderful! From learning about combating racism, and understanding kids and their emotions better. They have also given me tools to bring to my classroom and how to implement them. Some teachers have been in the classroom so long that some things become automatic. However, the world and technology are growing constantly and FAST! These days of development are essential for some of these teachers to see other ways of doing things and get some help from their peers uninterrupted by instruction. This is all for the benefit of all the students and how we can navigate their education more efficiently.
I know that if you have read these standards in order you have seen that it takes a lot of work outside of the classroom to be a good teacher. To be an educated individual to the level of a teacher is already a lot of work, and new things are constantly evolving or arriving. We appreciate the time we spend learning with others who have an interest in learning to do our job better. All for the benefit of the students!