What does it mean to be a professional teacher?

Charlotte Danielson wrote a book entitled Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. In the book, Danielson speaks of four domains that are essential for professionalism in education. Danielson’s four domains are Planning and Preparation, The Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. In summary, Charlotte Danielson holds that teachers need to be organized and plan efficiently, while selecting objectives that are aligned with the district's curriculum and national/state benchmarks. Teachers need to build nurturing, caring environments where all students are safe and motivated to learn. Teachers need to display an enthusiasm towards their content and be able to instill this enthusiasm into their students. Teachers need to know their content and be able to relate to their students. Teachers need to work well with others in the classroom, school, community, and beyond. Furthermore, teachers need to be open to new ideas, flexible, energetic, be prepared for the unexpected, be able to multi-task, advocate for their students, personable, and be able to select from many options the one that is most appropriate for any given situation.