I learned that professionalism as a CTE instructor is considerably different than what is considered professional in my previous job as a I/E Technician. The image and reputation of CTE, your program, and your Institution can be tarnished in one night of you letting your guard down and having a bad encounter with a student, parent, or the public in general. As you develop your program into state renowned program, which should be everyone’s goal, the number of people that “know” you will increase to the point where no matter where you go you will be judged on your actions in public. Even on social media where a simple grammatical error can get criticism because you are considered an educator, so you must never make spelling mistakes again. We all know that most of us came from professions where we weren’t judged on our writing skill or the occasional night of letting our hair down. Now we are picked over with a fine tooth comb every time we write something go somewhere or post something. It will be a transition for sure. Maintaining a “professional” relationship in education is also glaringly different than what it looks like in a shop full of Mechanics at a manufacturing facility. You really have to change the way you have operated for years. At the very least you have to be conscious that how you did things in your previous career are different than what is ok now.
