How is Reflection Relevant to My Professional Standing

The question I chose to answer is "How is reflection relevant to my professional standing?" First I have to think about what I mean by "My Professional Standing". I'm struggling with this idea, especially after everything that has been going on lately.

As a professional educator, I have always focused my attention to be innovative while I create teaching and funding ideas, develop presentations, find and apply educational tools, and employ funding and strategies to benefit teachers and their students.

Time always kills excellence when you have so many tasks to complete. Let's be honest, I would rather teach and research than be involved in administrative tasks. Unfortunately, I've been asked to do so and I'm a sucker for opportunities to help others. This involves plenty of work and time.

Some people think of me as a negotiator, but I don't really see myself this way, especially lately. We have our limits and I am certainly reaching them. Not that I don't attempt to learn what I can to see if there is a theory, a model, or a strategy to break the gridlock of competing ideologies.

How much should we give in to others ideas for the sake of moving forward? You can negotiate yourself out of existence or ruin the work you've done to build programs to a level that has given you and others the opportunities to gain respect.

If my professional standing is to be a negotiator, is it dependent on ideas that have worked? If it is to develop and expand the programs we have, do we have to maintain what has brought them such acclaim. Or, do we change our viewpoint. Of course, you may wonder "What acclaim?" If you do, then I've failed to communicate how the programs we've worked to do which is to implement programs that have elevated the thinking and careers of its participants.

It's possible that the best way to promote a "professional standing" is to get the word out by promoting oneself and the work we have done. We need to get people talking about our work, the challenges, and the reasons why we want to be considered as professional educators. We have to overcome the public's notion that anyone can be a teacher. This is a serious problem and its probably because we haven't done a good job of letting others know what it takes to be an excellent professional educator. When we do then we'll have reached that level of professional standing. Everyone around us need to see that we are thinking about how to help students learn what they need to get through life and elevate ourselves in the process.