Teaching Jobs

How Teaching Jobs Change the World One Student at a Time

Teaching jobs are often ones in which there is a greater amount of input than return. Working with students, especially children, can be an emotionally and physically demanding job for teachers who will often take the extra steps to interact with and relate to their students both inside and outside of the classroom.

A good teacher is considered to be one who has produced a lifelong learner; however there are a number of variables that will determine how a student will learn and what they will take away from their education.

Double Duty

To be successful, teaching jobs must extend beyond the classroom. A student’s home life is the foundation for good learning. A teacher who is familiar with the cultural and familial situation is more likely to reach students who may have problems stemming from interactions at home. More often than not, a teacher must not only keep on top of a student’s progress, but must also work to ensure that parents are doing the job of providing that student a support system at home through reading, homework help and even proper nutrition.

Salaries

Many teachers make what is considered to be a good salary, although salaries can range significantly from state to state. In larger states, a typical teacher could start out by making around $35,000 per year, however in smaller states, a public school teacher may start out making as much as ten thousand dollars less.

In private schools, salaries for teaching jobs are often much less than even the lowest pay rates in state funded schools. Paid through tuition money and donations, private school teachers must often also work with fewer resources, smaller spaces and fewer in-school support systems, such as aids. One advantage for teachers working in smaller, private schools is the smaller class sizes. This has been shown to increase a teacher’s ability to reach students and sooner identify any learning needs or issues that may arise.

Education

A teaching job requires that teachers have experience in the area they wish to teach in before going into the classroom. Usually a teacher will have spent time student teaching under the supervision of a more experienced teacher before taking over a classroom. While all teachers who teach in state funded schools must be certified by that state, most state also require that teacher hold a certificate for the specific area in which they are teaching. For example, an English Language Arts teacher would not be allowed to teach in the Sciences in certain states because of the lack of special training, however, this standard is not true in all states and maybe set aside during times of understaffing and great need.

Special Education

The greatest demand for teachers is in the area of special education. Teaching jobs are often abundant in this area due to its high turnover rate and difficult requirements emotionally and physically for the teacher. In some states, all teachers regardless of the teaching job they wish to fill must be educated to some degree in special education, as ‘mainstreaming’ – the act of placing special needs children into the general classroom setting – is becoming an increasingly popular education plan.