Teacher - As a career option
Introduction
All of us have a special place for some teachers from our school life. A thought of them could just randomly pop up at any time of the day. Why is that? Teachers are our guides through life’s first chapter.
They teach us to receive knowledge and prepare for life as it further unfurls. As knowledge becomes currency over centuries, it is teachers that help us keep in good fortune by giving us the knowledge. It’s a matter of great command and mastery over the art and not everyone can be a teacher.
As demand and need for a civilized and educated are one a forever rise, the need for teachers consequently increases too. The job requires excellent interpersonal skills, and of course knowledge.
Since communicating correctly is more important along with the academic pursuance, one needs to have great confidence and vigor for the profession. So if you think you can really help students with your style of teaching there is no reason you should not pursue a career in the teaching profession.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Teacher
Teachers and professors have a wide variety of responsibilities, including developing classroom curricula, teaching courses, proctoring exams and helping guide students toward academic success.
Although all teachers have the same basic work functions, their jobs may vary significantly depending on their classroom placement and specialty. Teachers can choose between several classroom settings, and the students’ age helps determine the direction of their instruction.
The most common teaching levels are elementary, middle school, high school, early education, special education and post-secondary education. Some teachers might also choose to work with students in online courses
Teaching as a profession is divided into many areas of specialization, each requiring different skill-set and method of training. Some of the major areas of specialization include teaching at nursery schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges-universities, institutes, special schools (for students with specific needs, for example- physically challenged ones etc.
The teaching profession is a highly specialized field and hence requires comprehensive training to gain expertise in the field. It has some myths about it. It is commonly believed that anyone can teach, provided he has some knowledge of the subject.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Knowledge is just one thing that a teacher should have among other things. The fundamental qualities required are excellent communication skills, the ability to hold the attention of young minds, to inspire confidence and finally, the ability to set an example by word and deed.
One requires a blend essential attributes like patience, confidence, liking for and an understanding of children/students. Teachers must also have organizing capacity, friendly and helpful nature and skill to communicate well, to initiate a liking in their students' minds even in the case of most boring subjects.
A Teacher has to be a friend, philosopher, and guide to his wards. The candidate should be initiative driven, passionate about the cause and role of teaching in society. A potential teacher should be always eager to learn continuously.
How to become a Teacher?
To enter schools, you should have a Bachelors in Education(B.Ed) degree. Colleges across the country offer these degrees. Some universities offer B.Ed courses by correspondence too. One can do a Masters in Education(M.Ed) later, to add to qualifications.
As a matter of fact, M.Ed is only required to enhance your possibilities of promotion or getting the next higher grade. In case you want to specialize as a nursery teacher only; you must undergo a special nursery teachers' training, available in various universities.
Basic Training Certificate (BTC), Diploma in Education (D.Ed) and Teacher Training Certificate (TTC) are other courses that can help you get a teaching job. In case an individual plans to be a games/physical fitness instructor, he/she will require obtaining a certificate/ degree or diploma from any one of the sports institutes located around the country.
One can also appear for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) conducted by the CBSE for appointment as a teacher for classes I - VIII in government and state schools as well as unaided private schools that accept CTET scores.
Teaching has been among those career options that have different specializations. Students can become teachers in nursery schools, middle schools, high schools, senior secondary schools, colleges, institutes, universities etc.
They can join any of the educational institutes in both public and private sector, after acquiring the desired skills and qualifications. Many educational institutes have been offering courses in teaching, at different degree levels.
A day in the life of a Teacher
Hello. I’m a secondary school teacher. I teach Math and English at a public school under the CBSE board. I start work before the kids arrive at 7:30 AM and stay well after they go home at half past one. In between, I take four classes, teaching mainly to 6th and 7th standard students. Here’s how it all goes down on a typical day:
7:00 AM: The children have just started coming in. The morning assembly is still an hour away, and I’m in the teacher’s lounge preparing the material for a sketch I’m going to have my sixth graders try in the afternoon.
7:30 AM: The morning assembly is underway, and I’m required to be there with the seventh-grade students of whom I’m the class teacher. I ensure that the students are standing in a line according to increasing height, as is the school norm.
9:00 AM: The first class has just ended. In our school, they call this the ‘zero period’, where students can interact with their class teacher about both academic issues and issues that are peripheral to studies. This is where I take the morning attendance and ensure that the class is maintaining discipline.
9:15 AM: I’m in my 6th grade English class now. I’m teaching them a small excerpt from Gulliver’s Travels. Children tend to like fantasy, so I’m trying to make it as animated as possible. One of my prime objectives is to get these students to read for pleasure early in life.
10:30 AM: I’m taking my second class now, and it’s 7th-grade mathematics. We’re doing some Euclid today – triangles, particularly.
The CBSE syllabus is quite extensive when it comes to triangle properties, and I sometimes feel that children this young are right to struggle and find difficult to grasp. However, I maintain a composure and assure them that it’s easy with a little hard work.
11:00 AM: The children are having their lunch break. I’m having tea and toast as I re-touch the sketch due in the afternoon. The teacher’s lounge is full, and many teachers have interesting stories to share about their morning classes – some funny, some fascinating.
11:30 AM: My 7th English class has requested that we do a quick role-play of Normal McKinnel’s play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’. I’ve simplified the plot to several degrees so that it can be performed in the classroom with minimal efforts. I do a passable job as the director of the play, by assigning roles and encouraging candid expression.
12:00 PM: For my last class, I teach mathematics to the same a 6th grade English class. They’re learning basic arithmetic, and I’m paying particular attention to a handful of children who have performed unacceptably below the required standard.
The final exams are in a few weeks’ time, and I am worried that even if they pass this year, they most certainly will bite the dust in 7th grade. I’m not a believer in punishment, so I sit with them and give them all the extra attention they might possibly need.
1:30 PM: The kids have gone home. I’m going to stay on for a while – check their notebooks, have a staff meeting if it is necessary, just wrapping things up for the next day.
Do you like sharing your knowledge with other people? Are you interested in teaching?
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