QUALITY OF A TEACHER

Teachers as we call them are people whom we labeled as agents of information

transfer. Little that we know that the label carry with it tonnes of responsibility. Call them
what we wish, educator, lecturer, instructor, tutor, mentor, guru or plain teacher, they
are the leader of a sacred and holy foundation we call learning institution. It is where a
teacher carries his or her duty with full responsibility to build a well-balanced of physical,
emotional, intellectual and spiritual nation. In the vast development of globalization,
additional changes in educational technology especially the use of the internet and
other virtual gadgets have contributed to the growth of distance learning. These
involved highly individualized forms of learning. They allow people from different parts of
the world to explore and be involved in a wider form of information, knowledge and
interchangeable facts and data. It also engaged people in the same programme and
student contact can be across great physical distance. People are more interested in
getting all the information and knowledge but at the same time limit or shut down the
interaction with surrounding neighbours, community or any social agencies. As the
educational systems becomes more marketized, colleges, schools and non-formal
education agencies seeks to build relationships based more on viewing learners as
customers rather than learners. The main role of the teacher has turned from classroom
manager to agents of delivering subject matter and focused issues.

Qualities of a teacher.
I believe the conventional teachers are the true agents of change. They abide
by the code of ethics which puts their students as the main domain of their practice. The
teacher should exercise authority in accordance with the law evolving the pupil's needs
and rights where teachers should recognize that each child is an individual and that
children can differ in what is required for the promotion of their education. Only a
classroom teacher is able to recognize these factors and choose or regulate his or her
teaching strategies to accommodate each individual.
Veenman, 1984; Knowles & Cole, 1994; Calderhead & Shorrock, 1997 states
that a majority of teachers do encounter problems in managing the classroom,
maintaining good relationship with the students and parents, planning and organizing
their lesson and structuring pupils to fit into the community. These are the challenge of
being a teacher. Since teachers are leaders who can inspire and influence students
through their expertise and skills acquire, teachers should know their students well, be
kind and be respectful towards their students. Teachers should set high standards and
expectations, provide encouragement, support and flexibility in order to motivate their
students and get them to do things which they did not think they were capable of. Apart
from being the disseminator of knowledge and skills, they should be the role model to
their students who expect them to practice what they preach. They should also uphold
moral values and humanitarian principles in all their actions. Teachers conduct their
day-by-day doing in such a way that their behaviour can be seen as a good example by
the learners and also the community. Teachers as human model should be innovative,
creative, resourceful and encourages diversity and individuality among his students.
They must uphold all codes of ethical conduct that are necessary and essential in
human modeling and moral education. Furthermore, in our Malaysian society, teachers
are still seen as a respectable public figure which the society has high expectation
upon.
Ethical responsibility towards the students
Abiding by the Code of Ethics assist teachers in managing their challenging
tasks. The main objective for teachers is to educate students to their highest standards
of achievement. Teacher shall use their best professional practices, materials and
knowledge to deliver the standard-based curriculum in accordance to their students
proficiency. This includes engaging in practices and selection of materials that include
all students, promotes diversity and giving them equal opportunities regardless of their
race, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, language, ability social status, behaviour
or beliefs of their parents. A teacher should always make changes and find other
resourceful manner and innovation to enhance her pupils understanding, thus keeping
up with the current learning development. Teachers are always creating opportunities,
strategies and conduct studies to keep up with the current education flow. According to
Dewey (1929) teachers investigations not only lead to knowledge about the school but
also led to good teaching. Good teaching results in good understanding and
consistently improving the schools achievements.
Even if a teacher is preoccupied with personal matter, their utmost priority is the
students performance. Every teacher is committed in developing the skill sets needed
to best accelerate the learning of the students in their classrooms as well as creating a
classroom environment that is respectful, emotionally secure and physically safe for
their students.
Ethical Responsibilities towards the community
Teachers are also expected to fulfill their responsibility towards their teaching
profession such as carrying out curriculum and co-curriculum activities, following
precise job procedures and observe internalize work ethics. In carrying out these duties,
teachers are expected to be accountable and responsible and perform their duty with
full dedication and commitment. Teachers are trusted as a knowledge practitioner to
educate the citizens of Malaysia, therefore, they are responsible for inculcating moral
values, developing and preserving our culture and tradition, instilling national integration
and developing a progressive generation in realization of the national philosophy of
education and vision of the country.
Not only must a teacher provide essential information to students famililies and
the community but they are also expected to deliver vital and crucial such as accidents
involving their student, the risk of exposure to contagious disease that may result in
infection and of occurrences that might result in emotional stress among their students.
By doing so, they are also required to maintain confidentiality and shall respect the
familys right to privacy and refraining from disclosure of confidential information. The
teacher shall be objective and accurate in reporting the knowledge but at the same time
exercise care and passionate in expressing views regarding students. It can be
achieved by making statements that are respectful and based on firsthand knowledge,
rather than considering gossip or rumours as source of information.

Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues
Not only that a teacher holds responsibility towards his or her students and the
community, they are expected to maintains a good relationship with their colleagues
too. Teachers are required to show respect for personal dignity and for the diversity
found among staff members, and to resolve matters collegially. They should also
exercise care in expressing views regarding the professional behaviour or conduct of
co-workers or students.
Within the school, teachers should carry out the programmes which they are
assigned to. Certain programme such as Kursus Peningkatan Profesionalsime,
distinguish teachers who do not meet program standards and are informed of areas of
concern and, when possible, assisted in improving their performance by attending
course, seminars or even classes.
Through these assessments and recommendations, teachers are able to make
judgements and based on fact and relevant issue to overcome their problems.
Appropriate measures should be taken to benefit the interests and consider the welfare
of the students. Teachers are also encouraged to upgrade their skills and knowledge so
that they are more competent and professional in their field. They should not only
focused on the increment of salary and cash incentives but also pay attention towards
the increase in productivity and efficiency of their teaching and learning strategies. In
some cases, teachers should be able to accept the authority of senior professional
colleagues while retaining the right to express professional opinion. They should also
recognize their obligation to advance the causes of education and hence the causes of
the teaching profession. They must recognize their obligation to improve their
effectiveness as a teacher in every possible way in order to cater to the needs of their
students.
Updating to the current knowledge and skills not only boost a teachers self
esteem but also promote more knowledgeable and skillful students which is essential in
the development of the nation. He would be able to understand how students learn and
develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and
personal development. Through research or studies he might also understands and
uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students development of critical
thinking, problem solving and performance skills to equip them for future challenges in
life.

Ethical issues among teachers.
Teachers nowadays are not only burden with ethical and disciplinary problem but
also financial problems. Some teachers are known to have second jobs to
accommodate the rising cost of living in big cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru
and Penang. What cause them to violate the code of ethics? Financial burden is the
main answer, followed by personal interest. In my personal opinion, it is not immoral for
teachers to have second job as long as he or she is able to observe strict time
management and set priorities over professional ethics. Teachers are known to hold
other career such as part time lecturers or tutors in higher institution of learning. Some
even have their own tuition centers or other knowledge based institution. Some
teachers do not desperately need the money from these activities but as I see it, these
teachers have deep passion over teaching that they are driven to giving more
knowledge than what is expected from them in school. These teachers are very
dedicated and willing to go to tuition centers to supplement what is lacking in the
students learning activities in school. They realised that the limited interaction hours in
school had caused the deterioration in students performance in school. Yes, they are
handsomely reward but we cannot deny the major roles tuition centers played in
upgrading students performance especially for UPSR, PT3, SPM, STPM,
MUET and etc. Its a money making industry but we do observe the progress and
development of students when they enrolled for tuitions.
Nevertheless, there are also teachers who have great interest in hobbies such as
cooking, sewing, artwork and etc. These hobbies, with support of stable financing, allow
teachers to pursue their interest by opening their own boutique, bakery or shops. In a
way, it becomes an escapism for these teachers from their stressful daily job. Venturing
into entrepreneurship, they can learn to manage a company, deal with financial
arrangement and also meeting people from different walks of life to exchange ideas and
share information. These teachers can help support their family and even provide luxury
for them. As an individual, they can evaluate how far and how good they are at
managing and organizing their own business. These chances might not be given to
them at school. It also promotes self development and motivates them achieve what
they could not achieve when they are attached to school.

Conclusion
However, as human, a teacher cannot defy the work loads, tension and heaps of
non-teaching duties they have to carry out in schools. These odd jobs had cause
teachers to lack planning hours as most of their time had been occupied with school-
related matters. It results in teachers having poor time management when they chose to
have a second job. Sometimes, a second job requires more time and attention that the
teacher obviously overlooked her main duty in the education system and constantly
neglecting her core business. The limited hours of the day which the teacher can use to
plan strategies and create fun learning for her students had been wasted used out by
his and her greed for self-satisfaction. This is against the professional ethics for teacher
that is to put her teaching and her students as her upmost priority. Stress can lead to
depression and the number of depression cases among teachers is on the rise. This is
alarming because as parents too, we are putting our childrens faith in them. Teachers
are not robots and they have emotions and feelings just like any human being. It is
therefore, unpredictable what they can and cannot do when placed under a lot of strain
and pressure. We often read about the misconducts, immoral behaviour, violence,
sexual harassment and even homicide cases among teachers. The news were
highlighted and some cases were brought in for justification in the court of law.
Unfortunately, some of these cases are found to have basis for conviction.
I believe, when a teacher follows the code of ethics and have accountability in
their teaching profession, they can restrain from getting involved in conducts which
violates their teaching ethics. As teachers who believe in God, I am sure, we are
fulfilling our duty full-heartedly with all the knowledge, skills and acquaintance as
professionals in our field. It is only that sometimes as humans, we are easily diverted
and constantly challenge by greed and social demand that we overlooked our utmost
crucial responsibility.