The doctor speaks: Julius Irving

Defining what it means to be a professional can be a challenging task, but I think basketball great Julius Irving may have been on to something when he said:

Being a professional is doing the things you love to do on days you don't feel like doing them.

Perhaps it is also true that being a professional is knowing when to stop doing the things you love, so you can improve on the things you don't feel like doing.

It can be tempting for teachers to fall into a rut and teach in a regimented preplanned manner. After all, many teachers might have a hard time listing even one educational theoristist that they model their teaching after. Rather, it's pretty safe to say that most teachers simply teach the way they were taught.

But it is important to remember that a rut can be no different than a coffin without the head and foot boards, so the solution to succumbing to professional mediocrity is to always consider yourself a learner first and a teacher second - and that is what professional development should be all about.