From childhood to young adulthood, teachers play a profound role in people’s lives. Unfortunately, society has, over time, allowed these professionals to become undervalued in many keyways. Specifically, many institutions don’t offer their teachers resources or opportunities for professional development.
Thankfully, the tides are beginning to change and many people are waking up to the fact that teachers must be provided for and supported in meaningful ways. Understanding the impact that affording teachers more opportunities for growth can have on the education sector is an important aspect of gaining more perspective on the ways education is evolving.
Here is the importance of professional development for teachers.
How Teachers Impact Students
Before understanding how important professional development is for teachers, it’s important to understand the immense impact they have on students and their futures. In particular, their role in helping students build the skills, confidence, and self-belief to pursue roles as leaders and professionals.
Teachers can play a significant role in helping students learn how to regulate their emotions and cope with struggles. These lessons can be incredibly valuable as these skills will be applicable in a variety of contexts beyond academic pursuits, such as in professional and home life. This indicates the significant importance of teachers learning and understanding how to support students in ways that make them more emotionally resilient.
In addition, when children, teenagers, and young adults are in school, the support they experience from teachers can have a substantial impact on them. Teachers who show students support in various ways help them develop academically and feel capable of pursuing lofty career roles. Conversely, bad teachers can have the opposite effect on students, making them feel less able and, as a result, less motivated to excel academically and professionally.
Given the profound role that teachers can play in their students’ lives, they too should be given support and resources that help them grow. The more teachers are able to gain skills and develop as professionals, the better suited they’ll be to assist students on their educational journeys.
Education is Constantly Evolving
While there are some aspects of school that have stood the test of time, many aspects of the student learning experience have evolved significantly over the past several decades. Unfortunately, teachers aren’t always trained in updated ways of educating students which can cause them to be less effective in their roles.
One specific way in which teaching has evolved in recent years is through the use of technology. From digital learning spaces to online tests, technology has taken a more central role in schools in recent times. However, veteran teachers may not have the proper training with this technology, making it difficult for them to teach students efficiently.
By offering more opportunities for teachers to develop professionally, they’ll have more chances throughout the tenure of their careers to learn new teaching methods and become better suited to the modern educational climate. As such, providing teachers with more of these opportunities has the chance to make an impact on students’ lives and teachers’ lives alike.
Teachers Aren’t Being Paid Adequately
Believe it or not, teachers are making less money today than they were a decade ago when adjusting for inflation. This paints a grim picture, with the professionals tasked with helping the children and youth of the country develop being shown that they aren’t valued. In addition, this means that teachers may grow less happy with their jobs over time, potentially resulting in them being less effective as educators.
Thankfully, there’s a potent solution that can help many educators overcome this disheartening obstacle. Namely, professional development opportunities that can help them become more skilled and, as a result, able to command higher salaries. The more training that teachers are able to experience, the more fulfilled they’ll be in their professional roles.
One exciting path for teachers is that of becoming a professor. This offers teachers an opportunity to grow into a more laudable role with a higher salary potential. Furthermore, it offers teachers the ability to pursue more education themselves and become more well-rounded and developed educators. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for many teachers to fit in time for furthering their education and pursuing part-time roles as professors. However, it doesn’t have to be.
Educational institutions intent on allowing a robust culture of professional development to be cultivated have the ability to make these opportunities more available to teachers. Whether it’s sponsoring training events for teachers during summer or allowing more flexibility for teachers pursuing a professorial career path, educational institutions have the power to imbue their staff with more professional opportunities.
Teachers Deserve Opportunities for Growth
Teachers play a crucial role in helping the future generation develop and grow into productive professionals and impactful leaders. Given this consequential impact, it’s important to provide teachers with all of the resources and opportunities they need to grow and thrive.
By giving teachers more chances to develop professionally, teachers and students alike will benefit in a myriad of ways. Hopefully, as we progress deeper into the future, more educational institutions will prioritize offering these types of opportunities to teachers and help craft a more robust and effective educational system.
