When a child or adolescent is asked what profession he is interested in and would like to choose later, he usually replies that he would like to become a businessman, banker, (civilian) administrator, journalist, lawyer, judge, doctor, footballer… He rarely thinks of the teacher who nevertheless takes care of his education and training.
This widespread lack of interest in the teaching profession in our country has deep roots. It finds its origin in the ignorance and superficiality of many malevolent observers as well as in the very irresponsibility of some teachers who underestimate their profession and call it the “poor mother” of all professions. This degrading idea has spread everywhere, reinforced by the abusive development of materialism and the impoverishment of the majority of teachers.
Furthermore, teaching has become a “catch-all”, a professional “dump”. Many job seekers who have failed everywhere or are waiting for a more lucrative job come to try it and sometimes make a career there against their will as mercenaries or “bounty hunters”. Devoid of vocation and lacking in conviction, they are often responsible for the most reprehensible acts such as prolonged absences from work, manipulation of grades, exam fraud, influence peddling, scamming of parents and students. during recruitment, embezzlement of minors and rapes… They are real white-collar “prostitutes” who smear the teaching staff and paradoxically assume the right to speak officially in the name of the teachers.
This is why, at the present time, it is becoming difficult to give credit to the teacher in certain localities or in certain circles. The honorable place once occupied by him, his sense of duty and patriotism, are increasingly mortgaged by this “professional gangsterism”. And yet, on closer inspection, any serious observer can distinguish the real teachers from these bad apples that plague educational environments and jeopardize this noble and beautiful profession. After having defined the notions of teaching and ethics, we are going to identify in the following lines the essential human values ​​that should be embodied by anyone who engages in the profession of teacher.
DEFINITIONS OF TEACHER AND ETHICS
What is a teacher?
According to the dictionary Le Petit Robert 1 (1991), a teacher is an individual “who teaches, is responsible for teaching”; teaching is a “precept which teaches a way of acting, of thinking… An action, an art of teaching, of transmitting knowledge to a pupil”. To teach means to make a person acquire theoretical or practical, literary or artistic, scientific or technical knowledge. Teaching is also defined as the profession or career of the teacher. It always requires the effective presence of a teacher and learners.
What are ethics?
The 2009 Encarta dictionary defines ethics (from the Greek ethos “custom”, “use”, “character”), as a set of “principles or criteria for evaluating human conduct, sometimes called manners (Latin mores) and, by extension, study of such principles”. It can also be defined as a set of rules of conduct to which an individual must submit in his family, professional or social environment. It is the theoretical part of morality. This is why Robert Misrahi writes in The Meaning of Ethics (1995) that ethics is “the set of purely human principles which should enable the greatest number of people to have access to a fully satisfying and fully meaningful existence, that is that is, to a happy realization of the personality”.
Since human beings are very different due to the plurality of “egos” and the diversity of socio-cultural universes, ethics serves as a “crucible in which the behaviors and attitudes of each other are based”.
What are professional ethics?
On the professional level, ethics is defined as a set of values ​​that human beings practicing the same profession, having common interests, aspiring to the same ideal, set themselves and adopt to better promote their activities, their personality, their image. and to achieve the goals they have set themselves.
WHAT ETHICS FOR THE TEACHING PROFESSION?
More than any other profession and because it shapes and molds childhood and youth, the teaching profession must embody the values ​​that underpin society, guarantee its stability and influence.
What makes humans different from other living beings?
The special statute of the civil servants of the bodies of National Education published on December 05, 2000 redefines the missions devolved to the teachers of Cameroon in its article 3 of Title 1st. These assignments are:
- Ensure the intellectual and moral formation of the future citizen;
- Preparing for integration into working life;
- Impregnate it with the socio-cultural values ​​of Cameroon;
- Open it to the outside world.
The accomplishment of such important missions requires that applicants for the teaching profession have adequate intellectual training in universities and specialized training institutions in Cameroon or elsewhere (normal schools for teachers, the ENS of Yaoundé, Bambili and of Maroua, ENSET of Douala, INJS of Yaoundé,…) according to the education cycle (nursery and primary, secondary or higher) or in specialized training centers approved by the State (ex: language centers , hotel schools, etc.). This training allows the future teacher to develop intellectual skills, to acquire methods of public communication, to immerse themselves in the rules of the art provided for in the regulatory texts, to learn and get used to classroom situations. often complex,
The applicant must first love the profession and the children, have a vocation and great moral qualities. The development of these human values ​​already predisposes him to dispense his lessons efficiently. But what do we see on the ground? Many well-off teachers who have diplomas rarely manage to do so, because they simply ignore the fundamental element that should make them quality teachers: professional ethics.
What ethics for the teaching profession?
The elaboration or adoption of a way of being and of living – a code of conduct – specific to the teacher is not intended to standardize the behavior of each other, as some might imagine it. It simply aims to channel and make profitable the enormous and different potentialities of the thousands of teachers whose zeal often deployed “indiscriminately” discredits the profession and leads to all sorts of excesses.
Indeed, the teaching profession should be based on this natural and psychological resource that is the vocation, because in addition to in-depth knowledge in the chosen field, he must consent to the “gift of oneself” and sacrifice himself on all levels. .
Physical appearance
The teacher has the delicate mission of instructing and educating based on what he says, what he does, what he is and what he has. To do this, the deontology of teaching imposes from the outset an irreproachable outfit and presentation. “The habit does not make the monk”, says a popular adage; but another adds that one recognizes the monk by his “habit”. As for the teacher, his dress should be dignified, decent, simple and clean. The cut of his clothes and the choice of colors (colour harmony) should reflect a humble, noble and welcoming personality. Extravagant, vulgar and immodest hairstyles and outfits must be prohibited.
In the street, in class, in a meeting or with the family, in short in society, the model teacher expresses his dynamism and his mobility through a light gait, flexible gestures, harmonious movements and a lively and frank gaze. In public or in front of the students, he is warm, polite, severe and rigorous when necessary, but not rigid.
To these different rules of conduct must be added an important faculty: human speech. This is the permanent tool of the teacher. He must use it as a sharp weapon against all the obstacles of oral communication. For this purpose, his voice must be clear, strong enough to be heard by all the pupils. The delivery must be regular and not very fast, the intonations rhythmic with a particular accent on the new or important concepts having to hold the attention of the pupils for a better comprehension of the course. The integration of these luminous principles into his daily life earns the teacher the love of his pupils, the sympathy of his peers, the esteem of his superiors and the respect of those around him.
intellectual qualities
The teacher is an intellectual in perpetual activity. His job requires an excellent general knowledge and a good capacity for memorization, reasoning, analysis and synthesis. He must be diligent and orderly in everything he undertakes. The work sessions in which he participates and the isolated meetings with his colleagues are all opportunities for exchanging experiences, opinions and pooling educational resources. This requires great availability, a great ability to listen, a good ability to adapt, a strong sense of collaboration and intellectual honesty.
In addition, the teacher must have a critical mind, a perfect mastery of the subject taught and the language of communication. The language used must be correct, fluid, explicit, accessible and adapted to the intellectual level of the pupils; words and sentences read clearly, words pronounced clearly, avoiding as much as possible slips, syntax errors, misinterpretations and misunderstandings.
Indeed, the teacher must be aware that the pupils observe him attentively, that they judge his way of being down to the smallest detail (his way of speaking, his eloquence, his temperament, his attitude, his look, the expression of his face, the slightest movement of the body…). For this reason, he must be vigilant and develop conviction in everything he teaches, do research constantly, enjoy great inner mobility, control his emotions, maintain a warm climate and eye contact with learners. throughout the course, elicit their reactions through questioning and methodical use of documents. In general, these reactions indicate interest or disapproval and provide an opportunity to re-specify the concepts used, to make its expression more concrete,
Moral and spiritual qualities
The qualified and fulfilled teacher must assert his ability to objectively manage the problems of the class, to understand and to tolerate the weaknesses of the pupils. Through this dignified and noble attitude, he arouses in learners the birth and development of a similar behavior and a particular interest in his discipline.
Each of us carries in the depths of his being the good or bad memory of at least one teacher. This memory is indelible because of the influence that the teacher exerts on the learner and on his entourage. To this end, moral probity, attendance and punctuality in classes and educational meetings are the golden rules in the profession.
With regard to the pupils, the teacher must be welcoming, attentive, patient, understanding, friendly and tolerant. He must listen to his students. His wise advice and his sense of fairness generally arouse in them respect, a love of work, a nostalgia for kindness as well as the aspiration to become better.
However, the action of the teacher must not stop in the classroom. For an ever more effective pedagogy, the teacher must also ensure compliance with the rules of morality and civic values ​​within the establishment, sanction good and bad actions, provide support to students in difficulty.
With regard to his colleagues, the teacher must be receptive, dignified, open, warm, simple, humble and courteous. He must create by his nobility of soul a friendly and peaceful work climate, even with people with a bellicose temperament. Whatever the difficulties encountered in the accomplishment of his mission, he must have self-control, be objective, coherent and thoughtful in all his initiatives.
Bad taste jokes and offensive remarks are to be avoided as well as denunciation, slander, slander, provocation, presumption, vulgarity and intolerance which poison professional circles. In his dealings with the hierarchy, he must demonstrate availability, respect, honesty, fidelity, reserve, balance and above all loyalty.
His sense of fairness, his devotion and his aspiration to serve better, combined with righteousness, love of neighbor and modesty, must make him a serious partner for the education of children and for the edification of the society.
CONCLUSION
Human beings live and evolve in a specific environment. He accomplishes good or bad works which arouse either contempt, resentment and rejection, or envy or admiration. His way of serving, his sense of humanism and his radiance leave a certain impression on those around him, a specific image of him. This is how he can become a reference, an example in society. But he can also become a marginal, even an outcast because of his escapades.
At a time when our society is confronted with the harmful effects of globalization through the invasion of audio-visual images which present a decadent vision of humanity, the teaching body should remain one of the guardians of high human values. Despite all the reprehensible acts attributed to him, the teacher still carries enormous resources capable of positively transforming Cameroonian society.
To encourage reflection on professional ethics is becoming a vital necessity in this era when the profession, plagued by many adventurers, attracts fewer and fewer young people with noble aspirations. Without claiming to give lessons here, this presentation has proposed some avenues to explore in order to restore our profession to its former glory. It calls for a deep cleansing of the profession.
Like his illustrious predecessors, without trumpets or drums, and braving the innumerable difficulties of the materialistic world, the current teacher must once again become a model for his students, a loyal collaborator for the hierarchy, a good citizen for the State which employs him, in short an icon for society as a whole.
