Internet Exercises

Is teaching a profession? As Chapter 10 notes, there is no clear agreement about whether teaching meets the criteria of a profession, and no clear mandate that it should. Below you will find some sites that approach teaching as a profession from different perspectives–one describing it more as an occupation, one disdaining the notion of teachers as professionals, and one describing, from a teacher's viewpoint, numerous obstacles to being truly professional.

What is even more enlightening is simply to type in any combination of "teaching" and "profession" on the search engine of your choice and see what comes up. There are a number of listserves and teacher chat rooms, and there is a lot of discussion about teaching as a profession. Whether you simply read what others have to say or join the discussion, you're bound to have your thinking challenged about the varied perceptions of teaching that exist.

• The Breakdown of the Teaching Profession
• EdWeek: Teaching as a Profession
• Professionalism v. Teaching