Being a teacher is not an easy career option whatsoever. It
requires patience, dedication and effort to perfect. What’s more, being a
teacher requires a lot of commitment. In other words, you’ll find it more than
difficult to juggle teaching as a side job. After all, you get a chance to
educate someone else and influence their lives to some degree. That’s why you
should either do it properly or not do it at all. You can expect your career to
be demanding and, at times, daunting even.
However, seeing your students learn something new every day and helping them make the right decisions in life can be quite rewarding. Before you start out, take the time to talk to other teachers and take a look at their insight. Any information will be valuable as you progress in your career. With that in mind, here are a few tips to jump-start your journey in the education business.
1- Do some research first
Deciding to become a teacher or starting any other type of education business is a major decision. Still, the decision itself is not enough to get you started. You must first consider your options and determine what kind of a teacher you really want to be. As an example, will you teach a foreign language or English, for instance, or will you opt for other subjects, such as science, math, history, etc.?
In addition, do you want to work with kids, high school or college students? Perhaps you even want to consider a freelancing career of tutoring others over the Internet. Needless to say, your path forward requires some planning and careful consideration. After all, you don’t want to reflect back on your past decisions and wonder if you’ve made the right choice. Once you’ve done your research, you can decide what the next step should be.
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- How learning on internet has changed the education business
- How startups today are solving decades old problems in education
2- Get some experience
Teaching others is not an easy task. You have to get
students interested in what you have to say and even hold their attention in
order to make them actually learn. This can be very challenging, especially
since people of any age today get easily distracted by technology and their
surroundings, let alone younger generations. That being said, if you want to
jump-start your teaching career, you’ll need some experience under your belt
beforehand.
There are a number of ways you can gain proper experience.
As an example, you can volunteer at a local school or attend a course. Also, if
you’re an English teacher who’s just starting out, you can even join one of the
English
learning centers such as Monkey Tree in Hong Kong where you can
learn how to teach others. In any event, consider the best way to get the
experience you need so that you can give your teaching career a much-needed
boost.
3- Complete your degree
More often than not, becoming a teacher requires you to earn
a college degree. In most cases, you won’t need more than a bachelor’s degree
to teach others. Which degree you should peruse depends on the grade level you
want to teach. As an example, teaching kids in elementary school requires a
major in education.
Also for subjects that are more advanced, such as science or
math, the state may require of you that you major in those subjects as well. In
other words, it’s not uncommon for teachers to double-major in both education
and the specific subject they want to teach. Therefore, make sure you know what
you need, so that you can become a licensed teacher.
4- Get certified
Based on what you want to teach and the grade level of your
teaching, you’ll need to get properly certified. This involves passing a state
test or an education program for teachers. The requirements, however, are based
on the country or state you wish to get certified in.
These tests are designed to measure your competence, as well as test your skills, such as reading, writing, knowledge of the subject and other core skills. What you’ll be tested for may vary based on subject, age and grade level you wish to teach. That’s why it’s important to obtain proper certification aside from getting a college degree, so that you can teach a class of your choosing without any inconveniences.
The Bottom Line:
Becoming a teacher is not simple in any way. You’ll have to
commit to it and obtain the proper paperwork, as well as experience, so that
you can pass your knowledge onto others. That’s why you should do some research
first and determine the best course of action.
