The Crosby Chronicles: How teachers can appear more professional

A few blog posts ago I discussed how important it is for teachers to dress professionally on the job rather than dress for a backyard barbecue in order to garner respect for themselves as well as for their profession. I’d like to add a few additional pointers for my teaching brethren on how to be proactive in their professionalism.

Every teacher should have mounted on his or her wall copies of college diplomas and teaching credentials. Think of a doctor’s office. In each examination room, plaques adorn the walls of that physician’s credentials. Teachers should do the same. Not many people are aware that nearly half of all public school teachers have a master’s degree.

Additionally, a teacher’s name should be at the top of every document a student receives. It takes long hours developing a lesson, writing up an assignment, then an assessment. Each part should show the student who created all the work. I actually learned this from a film professor at L.A. Valley College years ago.

So many teachers are kind-hearted people who don’t like to brag. Showing one’s students (and their parents) the work a teacher puts into the profession is not bragging — it’s stating the truth.

BRIAN CROSBY is a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District and the author of “Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher.” He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.