What are the qualifications to become an educator?
When I graduate from College, I would like to become an elementary or middle school teacher. #science #educator #math #communications #communication #books #middle-school
3 answers
Vernon’s Answer
First, decide that you love children and will give them the best you have every day - even when it's not your best day. Tell them that. Second, become an expert in child development and the social issues surrounding your environment. Be especially vigilant for abuse and emotionally disturbed children from the first day.
Your techniques MUST include manual dexterity for writing cursive. The iPhone nonsense is damaging communication skills every day, something you probably suffer from today. Language skills and vocabulary are CRITICAL these days since the kids' parents probably sat them in front of The Cartoon Network since they were old enough to sit up. Television provides a vocabulary of around 2,500 words even if you watch PBS. As a family is more educated, the vocabulary that a kid hears goes from those 2,500 words on up to around 10,000 words. So, if you're teaching in a low socio-economic environment, you'll be doing the kids a favor to emphasize word games and vocabulary extension.
Be patient and show love every day. Our country is sliding toward private schools, but that will not serve the poor kids any better. Our politics are bent on destroying public education. If you don't want to fight that trend, investigate Canada, New Zealand, or other countries. Many of them, surprisingly, are begging for good teachers of everything.
Jordan’s Answer
Darcy’s Answer
First, choose a school that has a reputable education program. You will need a bachelor's degree in order to teach in a public school, but most schools will ask as a condition of hiring, that you get your master's degree in education within a certain amount of time - so be prepared to have ongoing education throughout your career.
Second, you want to think about what sort of concentration do you want - do you want to focus on special education? Do you want to focus on physical education? Maybe on the arts? Many schools will have areas of concentration that you can choose, and some of these can make you more marketable when looking for a job.
Third - consider the area you are in when you do student teaching. For me, I ended up doing student teaching in an area where kids were disadvantaged and didn't have a lot of the opportunities that I did growing up. You may want to research the area you will be doing your student teaching in to get an idea of the day to day issues the kids you will be working with are facing.
Finally, one thing I didn't think much about until I did my student teaching was the parents. Sometimes the parents will make your job easier, but many times they will make it more difficult. I worked constantly at making sure I had an open dialogue with the parents so I could leverage them to help me in class with how they were reinforcing the message at home with the students.
Good luck! I have always found working with children to be inspirational, and it is a field where you truly have the opportunity to give back.