ABSTRACT
It is easy to have some sympathy with the frustrations experienced by Alice. I have similar feelings over the much abused word ‘professional,’ a word that often means whatever the person using it wants it to mean. When we attempt to defi ne our identity by setting clear boundaries that enable us to have a genuine work-life balance, it is not unusual for someone to suggest that something we have or haven’t done is unprofessional. This chapter looks at what the word ‘professional’ may mean when applied to teachers and some of the things that it shouldn’t mean.
