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.