The 7 Responsibilities of the teacher in the community

This post will help us unravel the ultimate Responsibilities of the teacher in the community. Beyond the walls of the classroom, a teacher has also got some responsibilities towards the learners they have in charge, as well as other members of the community the teacher lives in. Teachers are the most respected people in the community and this high respect comes as a result of their expectations from the very same community.

The value we, as teachers, place on learning and on knowledge is directly communicated to children, and indirectly to the adults in our community.

Within the school, we can also represent the best values and attitudes of the community, standing as examples of fairness, compassion and concern.

Often, we are residents, and even natives, of the communities in which we teach. When this is the case, our longstanding relationships can be enriched and deepened as we assume responsibility for the well-being and success of the children of a neighbourhood or village.

Sometimes, however, we, as teachers, are assigned to schools (and neighbourhoods or villages) with which we are unfamiliar. Sometimes, we may not even live in the community, we may travel every day from a neighbouring town, or we may even board at the school and return on weekends to see our own families in distant cities.

As teachers, it is our responsibility to open lines of communication to families and other members of the community.

We can use many different means. These include:

1. – conduct group meetings
2. – schedule discussions and informal gatherings with parents
3. – guide learners in tapping the knowledge in their homes
4. – initiate field visits for learning
5. – cultivate volunteer aides
6. – invite community experts to address the class

 A teacher’s roles and responsibilities in a community are to implement the guidelines for teaching students the relevant materials they’re provided with during lessons. They also have to ensure the text they provide the learners with is accurate and necessary to the subject being taught. After they have built the processing strategies for the lesson it is required to provide a debrief and plan for future action.

Teachers have got among other responsibilities, the one to keep each and every child safe while they are in their care. Teachers run the classroom by following the lesson plan, setting the children to work and helping them do the classwork in the best possible way. For this, the teacher is supposed to develop some managerial and administrative skills. These skills should be acquired by the teacher him/herself, but should also be developed in learners, for they constitute the prerequisite for responsibility uptaking as well as proper problem-solving.

The teacher should also possess the advanced Communication skills, necessary for successful interaction in the classroom or in school. This is because communicating ideas clearly is a vital part of the learning experience for a communication failure is likely to hinder the learners’ understanding of the teacher’s information, hence blocking the learning process at large.

Teaching and learning are not limited to the prescribed curriculum and syllabus, they go beyond that, and it could not be an exaggeration to say that the hidden curriculum contributes almost equally to the learning taking place both in and outside the classroom. This is the reason why among the teacher’s responsibilities we should include the following:

1. Serve as a Model in lifelong learning: Teachers recognise the importance of deep content and pedagogical expertise. They never stop learning. They also agree they want learners to become lifelong learners. One way for learners to recognise the value of lifelong learning is to see their teachers as lifelong learners and to hear their teachers talk about its influence on them.

2. Engage in effective collaborative learning: Teachers are experts in their domains of specialisation. They are able to engage in collaborative planning, give feedback, offer perspectives, and advocate for changes because they understand what is required for excellence in teaching to grow on a daily basis.

3. Assume collective responsibility for student success: Teachers accept responsibility for the success of their learners. Teacher also promotes collective responsibility for the learners served by the other members of their team. To achieve this, they commit to work together through a cycle of inquiry that enables them to clarify learners’ learning needs and their learning agenda, implement new strategies across the team, assess the impact on learners, and refine their plans until all learners are experiencing success.

4. Support their newer colleagues: Teachers recognise the challenges newer teachers face and do not wait for invitations to welcome them and acknowledge the importance of the job these new colleagues have accepted. Teacher remember their first few years on the job and what was most helpful to them and are ready to offer their colleagues similar support.

5. Contribute to the school-wide improvement agenda: Teachers should extend their impact beyond their team to the entire school. They will understand that success in one grade or subject can be erased by limited success in another grade. As a result, teachers should feel a responsibility to help build a culture of continuous improvement, trust, and respect across the entire school. They serve on school improvement, curriculum, instruction, leadership, or other important leadership teams.

6. Impact system performance: Teachers should step up and volunteer to serve on district committees as well. When they have the opportunity to work in a great school, they must feel a commitment to making sure all teachers and learners across the system have the same. By serving on district planning, professional development, professional association, curriculum and extracurricular activities, and other committees, they impact what happens across the school system for all teachers and their learners.

7. Build relationships with policymakers: Teacher are in the best position to impact the decisions of policymakers. They have the authentic experience and insights to provide practical examples to people who make decisions that affect them and their profession. They are among the most trusted members of the community. Teacher should get involved in the political process and build relationships with candidates and those elected to govern because they know how to invest in early positions and then for influence later.

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