My Advice for Potential Teachers

I am a Middle School teacher who has been around for a long time. Here are my words of wisdom for new teachers looking to get a job.

I landed my first teaching job in a parochial school. I knew someone who got me an interview. Teaching in a private or parochial school may not pay as much as public school, but it will get you experience.

I landed my first teaching job because I possess these qualities.... I have good people skills. I have the ability to talk to people and am very friendly. When you are working with children, you need to be able to relate to them. You need to have a rapport. Administrators look for teachers that they feel can not only relate to the students, but to the parents. You need to be able to talk to parents about the good things, and about the bad.

Finding a teaching job can be hard, but here is some advice to make it easier. Be sociable. Talk to people. Develop a rapport with anybody that knows somebody. Keep your name out there. Substitute in as many districts as you can, and get people to know you. Make friends with the secretaries, as they are the first ones to know if a position has opened. Network! Network! Network! And don't be afraid to ask the principal to observe you substituting, so they will see what a great job you do.
This post is part of the Teaching Jobs Portal: “How to land a Teacher Job”. What was your journey like to become a teacher? If you’d like to share your experience with other aspiring teachers please see this post for more information

Training Teachers for the 21st Century

This year, from January to November 2009, I was involved in a special training at my school. The purpose of the training was to better prepare today's students to function in the 21st century. We learned to apply strategies and techniques that adults in the work force need to have to be successful. Such traits are working with others as a team, problem solving, using technology effectively, having better communication skills and being able to think out of the box. THis made me very hopeful that American Education is on the rise. It is frightening to know that schools in India and other foreign countries are producing better students. We need to step up our education to produce better thinkers and problem solvers. We learned that the jobs our students will have and the technology they will be using aren't even invented yet. How frightening is that????????? But it is great to know that there are things we can do in the classroom to raise the bar for our students. That gives me hope for the future of education.
This post is part of the MAT@USC Hope for the holidays event. Did you have an experience or witness something in 2009 which gave you hope for the future of American education? If so, please see this post for more information on how to share it.