As a teacher the only thing you have that can make or break you is your reputation. How you conduct yourself with your boss and with your students, parents and fellow faculty says a lot about you.

Here is a key factor in your growth: If you are not conducting yourself in a professional manner, then you jeopardize your worth to your employer and your very employment.

Here are ways to make sure your reputation is impeccable:

1. Always-and I mean always-be on time! Even better, always be fifteen minutes early. Being late is the one factor that will drive your boss crazy. I don't care if you are the best teacher on the planet. If you can't be on time, I wouldn't hire you for anything, and I wouldn't recommend you to anyone either. In the dance school business, classes must start and end on time. Our clients are way too busy, running around shopping, picking up other kids and working. If a child's class is always starting late or finishing late, this will be an irritant. If you are always late, this will signal to your employer that you are not serious, that you can't be counted on and that you are unreliable-not the kind of reputation you need to have following you around. If you have been late in the past, make it your business to change or you will never achieve the kind of success you truly desire.

2. Always be reliable. This one pretty much goes in hand with the one above. If you fail at these two things, then nothing else will matter in your development as a dance teacher. Being reliable will show everyone that you are serious in what you do. It will make you a professional in the highest degree. Think about any successful person, and I will show you one that knows you must be on time, reliable and a person of your word.

3. Do not befriend the students. This is so important nowadays. The last thing you want is for your students to know all about your personal life. This is a surefire way for you to have problems with the students, their parents and your boss. I hear about teachers e-mailing students, sending them text messages and having them be friends on one of the social networks. BIG mistake! If you have a Facebook page, I recommend that you set one up just for you as a teacher, where you can promote your classes, your work and your students. Use it as a tool to relay messages about who you are as a professional. Do not friend students on your personal account, where they can see you partying, making off-color comments, read about your daily woes or see what you do behind closed doors. I like Facebook, but it can be very dangerous to you as a professional if you are not careful. In any event, do you really want the students you teach to know what you are doing? This will not enhance your reputation as a professional. If you need to have children or teens as your friends, then you'd better find a new line of work!

4. Always be prepared. This may take you some time each week, but it will be a BIG key to successful classes. Think of it this way. If you were a surgeon, would you walk into surgery without any thought as to what procedure you were going to follow? Of course not! Make a plan each week, and proceed with the plan. Make it flexible so you can change direction if needed, but I recommend that you never go into a class not knowing what you are going to do. A well-thought-out class plan will make you a star at your school!
   
   

5. Continue to learn! It is one of the reasons Angela and I created Dance Teacher Web.com. For many years, we have taught for different teacher-training organizations and at teacher workshops and conventions. We have heard over and over how being a teacher can be very isolating and draining. It is easy to get a bit burned out if you are not careful. And it can come at the most inopportune time! Keep your creativity alive by finding out what your hot buttons are. Aside from watching dance, training videos and shows, find out where you are most at peace with yourself. Where do you feel the most freedom? Go there and bring a note pad and just think! You may even want to bring along your iPod music that stirs your creative juices. Go to seminars, conferences and any other place where like-minded professionals gather. Network, exchange ideas and learn. The best teachers are the ones who never stop learning!

6. Don't be a complainer! This is a real turnoff to any employer. If you have an issue then you need to believe in yourself and in the fact that you control change, and meet face-to-face with your employer to fix what is broken. You may be someone who does not like confrontation. Well guess what? No one wants confrontation. Who wakes up in the morning saying, "Oh boy, I really hope to have a real knock-down drag-out confrontation with someone today!" In life, things happen, but not everything that happens has to be a big drama unless we make it that way. If you have an issue and you can work to fix it, how empowering do you think that will be to you?

7. Never try to take your employers' students! This one really is a no brainer, but you see it time and time again. If you would like to open your own place, do it on your our own dime. Do not try to take the current students with you and especially not in the backyard of your current employer. Remember, you didn't spend any time or money to acquire those students. If you would like to open your own school, do it the right way. You may even want to consider approaching your current employer to talk to him or her about what you would like to do. Your employer may even be interested in being a part of your new venture. If you are a good teacher and have built a following, then you can do the same thing somewhere else. Keep in mind that if you do it the wrong way, then the same thing that you are doing to your employer could very possibly happen to you down the road. Think about how that would make you feel. I believe that what goes around comes around.

Make A Choice That From This Moment Forward…

You will be committed to being all you can be. That you will have the right mindset and you will always do what is right for your students and your employer. Your attitude is a big key to how you will be treated and how far you will advance. It will also determine how successful you are and how much earning power you will have. Now let that sink into your head for a while.

So the question is how is your attitude?

Do you need an attitude adjustment?

The good news is that you are in control of your thoughts, acts and deeds! Look, the reality is that if you are not happy where you are working, you need to get together with your employer and see if you can work it out. If not, it is probably best for all parties that you move on. No one is putting a gun to your head or saying that you must work for one person. If you are bitter, unhappy and unproductive, who is that really hurting? Mostly your reputation!

There is an old saying that "your reputation will precede you." Since it gets there first, let the news about you be a headline that reads, "You are a wonderful, caring person who is reliable, professional and top-shelf in every way!" Now how does that sound?