Roles_Responsibilities_and_Boundaries

Ptlls Course Jimch25 Task No 3 - Roles, Responsibilities and Boundaries, Lifelong Learning Sector a) Role as a Teacher The role of a Teacher or Lecturer spans a wide field, in addition to the fact that they are required to share their knowledge, in their given subject, in a clear and understandable fashion, they must also ensure that their teaching methods are relevant to the students needs, that they are conveying the information on a level that suits all of the students, with constant assessments that each are following the course to an acceptable level, giving aid to those who may be falling behind. Another role of Teacher is to keep accurate records of student progress , attendance, and to carry out research to ensure the lessons are up to date and in line with current affairs and modern changes. I personally work as a part-time lecturer in Welding and General Metalwork, I see my role as one to carry out tuition in an efficient and professional manner, ensuring the safety of the students at all times, structure each lesson to suit all students, to find out the requirements, and to concentrate on each individual needs, to explain each procedure, and demonstrate, then, as the courses are mainly practical, to encourage them to imitate the processes that been shown, and also to ask any questions that they may have. I read an article that was written after the Earthquake in Haiti, January 2010, about a lady called Gailyn Cornell, who travelled there to teach welding to the victims of the disaster, so they could start to rebuild and repair their belongings, I found the following quote quite inspiring, “The students were so enthusiastic and the look of excitement when they mastered their first weld was unforgettable and incredibly rewarding! Our first project arrived on the second day. It was a bed with almost every existing weld broken. Then more beds, grills (the primary form of cooking), chairs, and other items began to roll in. The students took so much pride in being recognized as welding students that, even when we were not in class, they kept their welding jackets and gloves on until it was time to pack everything up at the end of each day.” ( Gailyn Cornell, Welding Design and Fabrication March 16, 2010) b) Responsibilities Further to the main role of the Teacher come responsibilities, which although may not be directly akin to teaching, they form an important part of the career. A large responsibility is the need to keep accurate records, these may be student attendance, monitoring the problem of absenteeism, through to achievements and levels of learning. Other responsibilities may be keeping up to date with information linked to the subject in hand, by researching current affairs and changes, making an effort to treat all students equally and allowing diversity within the class or group, generally to “do a good job”, to the best of your ability, for all students. A large responsibility comes with the need to comply with current legislation, e.g. • The Government green paper “ Every Child Matters” (2003), which promotes the following points for children, from birth, to age 19 • Be healthy • Stay safe • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic well being • The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), containing rules and regulations for responsibility in the workplace. • Manual handling Regulations (1992) • RIDDOR, reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations (1995) • Health and Safety at work Act (1995) • COSHH, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health ( 2002) • DDA, Disability and Discrimination Act (1995) • SENDA Special Education Needs and disability Act (2001) • Sex discrimination Act (1975) • Race relations Act (1976) amended (2000) • Human Rights Act (1998) • Equality Act (2006) Also after following these legislations, a responsibility arises to research into any special legislation appertaining to the Teachers chosen specialist subject. c) Boundaries Boundaries, in my opinion, must vary from person to person, depending upon, personal expertise and knowledge, levels of experience, general personality and of course confidence. One person may be quite at home taking a lesson to another level, or touching upon a different subject that may be closely linked with the subject in hand, and others may be comfortable with sticking to the basics, concentrating on putting over the essential elements of the subject. From a non teaching point of view, the way you deal with problems or situations that may arise from the students directly, would form a large boundary that certain individuals may be happy to exceed, and others not, so the need arises to become familiar with all the points of contact around the establishment that are tailored to deal with certain situations, whether it be financial, family issues, religion, absenteeism, drug or alcohol related situations, there are usually departments, or individuals, that handle all of these issues so a need to source these is a great advantage. In all of these issues you must decide upon your own individual boundaries to a certain extent, or a lot of valuable time carrying out the job in hand may be lost.