Why Consider Becoming a Teacher?

Teaching is a challenging job with many unique frustrations, but the rewards of teaching are numerable. Some of the many benefits include the following. Experience the Joy of Making a Difference Teachers get incredible joy in seeing the difference they make as students gain new insights, become more interested in a subject and learn about themselves. E very day, teachers mold the future through impacting their students views and und erstandings. Teachers foster creativity, develop character, give students lenses with which to view the world and provide students with the skills they need to reach their potential and lead productive lives. Many individuals are attracted to teaching by a sense of service, because they want to make a clear, tangible d ifference in the lives of others. As a teacher, you see the fruits of your effor ts everyday as you use your intelligence and creativity to help students become excited about and learn about the science in their lives. Have a Vocation, Not a Job For many people, their work is a means to an end. They work for a paycheck in o rder to live their lives. But those called to teach have a true vocation. To tho se with whom you interact most during your day of teaching - the students - you are not an employee but a friend, a mentor and a guide to the world. A teacher m akes a difference in the world by enabling each of his or her students to fully maximize their talents, imagination, skills and character. Enjoy Interpersonal Interaction Teaching science provides those people who want to work in science the ability t o do so while also enjoying a high level of interpersonal interaction. Teachers interact with their students, other teachers and community members regularly. Ma ny students decide to pursue teaching over other science careers for this person al interaction. Benefit From Variety Many people cringe at the idea of doing a job that involves repetition of a spe cific task over and over. Teaching is a job that offers a great deal of variety. Each year, teachers get to work with a new group of students with unique person alities, experiences and ideas. Teachers can introduce new topics into the cours es, change the way they teach a particular topic or design new classes to teach to keep things new and exciting each year. Be a Lifelong Leaner You will never learn a topic better than when you start to teach it. Students a lways ask the most interesting questions, prompting you to dig deeper and learn more about the aspects of science they are most curious about. Teaching science allows you to be a student of science throughout your career as you incorporate new research findings, technologies and science events into your classroom. Laugh Every Day Adolescents are both easily amused and very amusing so working with them provide s many opportunities for laughter. Sometimes it will be silly jokes you will mak e up as you teach that will make your students laugh. Sometimes it will be funny statements that your students share with you that make you laugh. A day of teac hing when you do not laugh at least a couple times will be quite rare. Have a High Level of Autonomy While required classes have mandated curricula that teachers are expected to fol low, it is the teacher who decide what will happen in the classroom each day. Te achers teach their curriculum in very different ways depending on their knowledg e, personality and beliefs. Not many jobs provide an individual with so much roo m to be creative and autonomous each day. Spend More Time With Your Family One of the great perks of a teacher s schedule is that it matches up with a child s school schedule. While you will likely bring some work home with you, you will be able to be home with your children in the afternoons. If you teach in the sam e school system that your children attend, you will have the same vacation sched ule and will be able to spend your summers home with your children. Speaking of vacation .

Enjoy Lots of Vacation While some schools have moved to a year-round schedule, where teachers vacation i s divided up throughout the year, most teaching jobs allow you to have a couple of months off in the summer where you can choose to get another job, teach summe r school, or just relax and revamp for the next year. In addition to summers off , teachers typically get two weeks off during the winter and one week during the spring. II Many people would happily switch profession with a teacher. Contrary to the popu lar belief, that teaching is a stress-free vocation, teaching actually can be qu ite demanding at times. A teacher has to don the mantle of a lucid communicator, a fair evaluator, an adept manager, a strict disciplinarian, a healing therapis t and a skillful team leader. Moreover, at times, a teacher also plays the role of a surrogate parent. Thus, a teacher should possess certain requisite qualitie s expected of him. This will help him elicit the best from his students and enjo y a rewarding career too. In the following lines, we have mentioned a few charac teristics that make good teachers. Characteristics of a Good Teacher One of the most important attribute of a good teacher is to be a good communicat or. He should be comfortable explaining things and enjoy doing the same. At times, a teacher might feel like yelling or shouting at students, but a good teacher is one who knows how to keep the temper in check and act calmly in such situations. A good sense of humor is another great tool that helps a teacher to simplify his task. Wit and humor, when applied in the proper manner, can form an important p art of a successful teaching program. A good teacher must have good time management skills and always value the import ance of time. In fact, wise utilization of time is the hallmark of a good teache r. A teacher should always adopt a fair attitude, when it comes to making any form of evaluations. He should be fair to his profession and assess students on their performance, instead of personal rapports and likings. A good teacher should have the necessary command over the subject matter he teac hes. This way, he can be comfortable while explaining things. Besides, he will b e equipped with answers of any possible questions that might crop up during the lecture sessions. A teacher should be dedicated towards his work. He should not kill his time in t he classroom and wait for the school bell to ring. Instead, taking out time and engaging in after-school meetings and activities is what suits him. A good teacher should be meticulous and have an eye for detail. In fact, a disor ganized person would find the vocation unsuitable and unfulfilling. Well thought -out plans and programs for teaching will assist the productivity of a teacher. A good teacher should be a good leader and a good friend. He should also be a di sciplinarian and the students must look up to him. However, this should not stop him from acting like an ally under certain situations. III To some, teaching is the only rewarding profession to be part of, whilst to othe rs it can be their worst nightmare. As with all professions, teaching is not sui ted to everyone. However, even within the profession itself there are those who fail and others who excel. Those who excel in this role do so because they posse ss a range of unique characteristic, either inherent or learnt well. The followi ng are just seven of the most important characteristics and skills that go towar ds the making of a good teacher.

1. LEADERSHIP Either from a natural ability or through a process of learning, good teachers wi ll have leadership qualities and skills. They will use this attribute to encoura ge students to follow the path of learning that has been set for them, and to ge nerate a real interest in the subject. Therefore, instead of viewing the topic a s simply a part of the daily timetable, students will look forwards to the exper ience. Good use of leadership skills can build a leaning culture, with which every stud ent in the class will desire to be a part of and want to become involved. As man y leaders within the commercial world are called visionaries, so the teacher wit h good leadership skills will make their subject come alive in the minds of the student, making it a real experience rather than a journey through hard copy of text books and journals. 2. ORGANISATION Organisational skills are extremely important to good teaching. This has to be o bvious in the way that the teacher has prepared for the lesson they are giving a nd, in addition, the structure of the lesson, providing a natural flow for devel oping the subject being taught. Similarly, if equipment needs to be used or spec ial arrangements made during the lesson, a good organisor will have prepared thi s in advance. Students will react to the level of organisational capability displayed by the t eacher. For example, they are less likely to take a topic seriously if the teach er has to spend part of his or her time lesson trying to work out what they want to do or say next. Displaying this level of disorganisation will lead to studen ts becoming distracted and not taking the learning process seriously, thus limit ing the knowledge they receive. 3.COMMUNICATION Underst anding the art of good communications is essential for anyone in a posit ion of delivering knowledge to others. This skill involves speaking, listening a nd watching. With regard to speaking, the teacher has to be able to deliver the subject in a voice manner that will generate interest and response from the stud ent. The changes in tone and emphasis in the voice and the delivery will stop th e tutoring from becoming a monotonous dirge, and will compel the students to pay attention. However, communication is also about listening. There needs to gaps of silence w ithin the delivery to allow students the opportunity to digest the information t hey have received and construction questions they may wish to ask for the purpos e of clarification, further explanation or to give an opinion. When the student is speaking, the teacher has to use his or her own silence to concentrate upon w hat is being said, as this will help them to assess how successful they have bee n at imparting knowledge. The good teacher will learn as much as the student fro m this interaction. Watching is another aspect of communication. Often a teacher may have up to thir ty students attending their lesson, but it is important that he or she makes a c onnection with each. By watching students, good teachers will be able to notice if any are being left behind in the learning process, or if confusion is arising . Using communication skills the teacher will be able to address these issues if

they occur, therefore ensuring the effectiveness of the message delivery. 4. RELATIONSHIP A good teacher will build relationships with his students; relationships that co nsist of mutual trust and respect. This can be seen as an essential element of t he learning process. If a student respects and trusts his or her teacher, they w ill trust and respect the message and knowledge that teacher imparts to them. Si milarly, a good teacher has to respect those being tutored to enable them to del iver the subject matter in a positive manner. 5. DISCIPLINE To excel at his craft, a good teacher will also know how to maintain discipline within the classroom, without which the opportunity of delivering a positive and heeded message will be seriously undermined. However, the discipline exerted wi ll be built on the back of the relationship that they have developed, with the s tudent. In this case, the disciplinary culture for the class will become an almo st automatic reaction of students, making the task of teaching and learning a gr eat deal easier. 6. HUMOUR Just as humour is a part of life, so it plays a role in teaching when used appro priately. It can add texture, realism and life to even those subjects that many students might consider mundane. Humour can also enhance the connection between the teacher, student and the subject, creating a sort of bond between these elem ents. Furthermore, it can provide much needed relief in subjects that have an in tense nature. 7. COMMITMENT Finally, a good teacher has a commitment to their work. Many will say that it is a vocational calling. Whether others agree with this or not, there is no doubt that the best teachers have a passion for their work and for imparting knowledge to those willing and ready to learn. Good teachers disavow all the trappings of wealth and success that might attract to other careers in which they could probably be equally successful. To him or her wealth and satisfaction comes solely from the knowledge that they are helpin g to train and build solid foundations of knowledge and understanding for the ge nerations of tomorrow. IV QUALITIES OF A GOOD TEACHER Empathy You have the ability to bond with your students, to understand and resonate with their feelings and emotions. To communicate on their level. To be compassionate with them when they are down and to celebrate with them when they are up. Positive Mental Attitude You are able to think more on the positive and a little less on the negative. To keep a smile on your face when things get tough. To see the bright side of thin gs. To seek to find the positives in every negative situation. To be philosophic al.

Open to Change You are able to acknowledge that the only real constant in life is change. You k now there is a place for tradition but there is also a place for new ways, new i deas, new systems, and new approaches. You don't put obstacles in your way by be ing blinkered and are always open and willing to listen to others' ideas. Role Model You are the window through which many young people will see their future. Be a f ine role model. Creative You are able to motivate your students by using creative and inspirational metho ds of teaching. You are different in your approach and that makes you stand out from the crowd. Hence the reason why students enjoy your classes and seek you ou t for new ideas. Sense of Humour You know that a great sense of humour reduces barriers and lightens the atmosphe re especially during heavy periods. An ability to make your students laugh will carry you far and gain you more respect. It also increases your popularity. Presentation Skills You know that your students are visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners. You a re adept at creating presentation styles for all three. Your body language is yo ur main communicator and you keep it positive at all times. Like a great orator you are passionate when you speak. But at the same time you know that discussion and not lecturing stimulates greater feedback. Calmness You know that the aggression, negative attitudes and behaviours that you see in some of your students have a root cause. You know that they are really scared yo ung people who have come through some bad experiences in life. This keeps you ca lm and in control of you, of them and the situation. You are good at helping you r students de-stress. V Teaching is a special calling. It is not a job well-suited to everyone. In fact, many new teachers leave within the first 3-5 years of teaching. However, there are many rewards that come with this oft maligned career. Here are my top ten re asons why teaching can be a great profession. 1. Student Potential Unfortunately, not every student will succeed in your class. However, this fact should not keep you from believing that every student has the potential for succ ess. This potential is so exciting - each new year presents new challenges and n ew potential successes. Every Student Can Succeed Sponsored Links Top MBA College KolkataJoin IIBS for Great Placement Ranked College in India, Ap ply Nowwww.iibsonline.com/kolkata Earn BS in Math EducationTeach Math to High School Students Florida Institute of Technology-USAwww.fit.edu/download-free-catalog

Course for TeachersInternational Teachers Training TESOL @ Best Pricewww.TeflCou rse.in 2. Student Successes Closely related to the previous pick, student success is what drives teachers to continue. Each student who didn't understand a concept and then learned it thro ugh your help can be exhilarating. And when you actually reach that student that others have written off as being unteachable, this can truly be worth all the h eadaches that do come with the job. Fostering Student Success 3. Teaching a Subject Helps You Learn a Subject You will never learn a topic better than when you start teaching it. I remember my first year teaching AP Government. I had taken Political Science courses in c ollege and thought I knew what I was doing. However, the student questions just made me dig deeper and learn more. There is an old adage that it takes three yea rs of teaching to truly master a subject and in my experience this is the truth. Curriculum and Lesson Plan Menu 4. Daily Humor If you have a positive attitude and a sense of humor, you will find things to la ugh about each day. Sometimes it will be silly jokes you will make up as you tea ch that might get a laugh from your students. Sometimes it will be jokes that ki ds share with you. And sometimes students will come out with the funniest statem ents without realizing what they've said. Find the fun and enjoy it! Humor in the Classroom 5. Affecting the Future Yes it might be trite, but it is true. Teachers mold the future each day in clas s. In fact, it is a sad fact that you will see some of these students more consi stently day-to-day than their parents will. What Is Your Teacher Personality? 6. Staying Younger Being around young people everyday will help you remain knowledgeable about curr ent trends and ideas. It also helps break down barriers. Top Ten Ways to Manage Teacher Burnout 7. Autonomy in the Classroom Once a teacher closes that door each day and begins teaching, they really are th e ones who decide what's going to happen. Not many jobs provide an individual wi th so much room to be creative and autonomous each day. How to Write Effective Lesson Plans 8. Conducive to Family Life

If you have children, the school calendar will typically allow you to have the s ame days off as your kids. Further, while you might bring work home with you to grade, you will probably be getting home close to the same time as your children .