Just Five Letters Away
Professionalism is a powerful word. It has intrigued me for years and it wasn’t until just recently that I began to investigate why this was. Why does it catch my eye when I see it, my ear when I hear it? In order for me to find out, I decided to go to the root of the word, profession.
The definition of profession is: any vocation or business. The word “any” stands out to make this word very uninspiring. To be in a category of “any” implies that anyone can participate. It is common, average. In fact, it appears to be far different than the word professionalism.
The word professional is a little better as it is defined as: following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain, which I suppose expresses a desire for a person to participate in a specific occupation. That said, just about anyone can be a professional as well.
Professionalism on the other hand is defined by dictionary.com as: the standing, practice, or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur. “Distinguished from an amateur” projects a sense of pride in the work that one does. It declares that the half-ass need not apply. In other words, everyone can have a profession, most can be a professional, but only the best can display professionalism.
This business of education is seen as a profession, but far too many of its members lack professionalism. We allow the two or three naysayers in a school to breed dissent and foster negativity in a way that stifles professionalism. Slowly but surely, professionalism is erased, letter by letter, leaving us with a word that defines every job and anyone. It’s time to add a few letters. Let’s help our staffs move from working in a profession, to becoming professionals, and finally to displaying professionalism. Many see this as an insurmountable task, but in reality is just five letters away.
