“Love yourself, Respect Yourself, Never sell yourself short.  Believe in yourself, regardless of what other people think.  You can accomplish Anything, Absolutely Anything—If you set your mind to it.”            (Marcus Allen)

 

 

 

Starting with this post and going forward, we will be looking at various career paths young people may want to consider.  The first career path we’re going to present is in the field of education.

There is no disputing that education is the key to preparing young people for the world awaiting them.  To get those future innovators, laborers and leaders of tomorrow we need dedicated and committed individuals willing to step into the role of teacher/educator.  Please be mindful of the fact that the profession is not for everyone.  So in considering this career path  you may want to do some self evaluation to understand what is motivating you toward the profession.  From what I can understand, in order to be a good effective teacher/educator, you will need to possess most of the following attibutes :

• A passion for teaching
• A love for children
• A love for the subject matter you teach
• An understanding of the role school plays in a child’s life
• A work ethic that does not quit
• A willingness to always seek ways to improve
• Courage to get through the hard days
• Organization
• A skill for communication
• Enough humility to remember that it’s not about you.

In years past teachers/educators were given the same respect and social standing as doctors and lawyers because of the importance of the job they performed.  Today teachers have to endure many adversities related to their profession—namely, the inability to make an income comparable to the duties they perform, being blamed by elected officials, parents and the general public when students do not perform as expected academically,  having to deal with unruly students and parents, and in some instances  coping with non-cooperative administrators .    The profession is no longer glamorous but it is an extremely important one.

To the general public, it may appear that teachers have it easy because they have a shorten work day of approximately 5 to 6 hours, two holiday breaks (at least a week for Christmas and Easter), and the summer off.  But keep in mind that teachers spend a lot of their at home time and family time creating lesson plans for their students, reviewing and grading student’s classwork and conferring with parents.  Summer breaks are often filled with teaching summer school, participating in continuing education classes to improve their skills, and also working in other employment to compensate their teacher’s salary.

So after hearing all of that, if you feel teaching is the career path  for you then please consider the following:

Educational Requirement:

All states require at least a 4-year college degree if you are going to teach in K-12 public schools.  In addition to the degree, aspiring teachers must also have a certain number of hours of supervised educational experience in the classroom (referred to as student teaching) in order to qualify for licensing.  If you do intend to teach in a public school, then you must be licensed or certified.  Private school teachers are not required to be licensed by the state.  Preschool teacher are usually required to have a 2-year associate degree.

If you hold a bachelor degree in another field and lack the education courses necessary for immediate certification, then most states do have alternative routes for you to become a certified teacher.

Type of Jobs:

As a teacher/educator you can expect to work in one of the following areas:

• Preschool Teacher
• Kindergarten Teacher
• Elementary Teacher
• Middle School Teacher
• High School Teacher
• Special Education Teacher
• School Administrator
• Post-Secondary Teacher (community college, college, technical school, on-line, etc.)

Salary:

Salaries for teachers in public education settings differ between states and regions.  Currently the highest entry level salary is for New York at approximately $42,770 with the lowest for Montana at approximately $19,320.  Most states entry level salary is in the $30,000 range.

Teacher salaries will also differ depending on whether they teach in public or private school, the subject they teach, and the degree they hold.

The median salary for most post-secondary teacher is approximately $62,330.  School administrators enjoy a median income of approximately $77,020.  Preschool teachers median salary is approximately $28,120.

Job Outlook:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job growth rate for preschool teacher between 2014 and 2024 is 7% .  This is due to  continuous emphasis being placed on early childhood education.  The expected growth rate for kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school and special education teachers is 6% with most of that growth happening in the southern and western states as populations continue to increase in those areas.  Post secondary teachers will see a job growth rate at 13% as enrollment at the post secondary institutions continue to rise.

Teaching can be a very fulfilling and personally rewarding career that offers excitement and growth.  It all depends on you and what you bring to the table for your students.  That is why I was so excited about the video below when I first saw it.  It shows me an educator (Ron Allen, founder of the Ron Allen Academy in Atlanta, GA) who totally enjoys what he does.  It also shows me an educator who respect his students enough to share in and enjoy those things that are important to them.  His academy set high standards for student yet they still incorporate excitement and fun.  Most of you have probably seen this video already.  If not, Enjoy!

                                                                                            

 

Please Note:  Important Information Below

Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

If you’re planning on attending college (community college, 4-year college, etc.) and you want to be considered for financial aid, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid  (FAFSA).  This application is required for consideration for federal financial aid, state aid , college/university scholarship sources, as well as some private scholarship sources.

For the 2016-2017 school year, students and their parents can submit the FAFSA starting January 1, 2016.  The deadline for submission is midnight (CST) June 30, 2016.  Even though the federal deadline for submission is June 30th, please keep in mind that each state has it’s own deadline for consideration for state aid and most states do require the FAFSA as well to consider you for state aid.  To determine the deadline date for your particular state, please click  state deadlines.

You can submit your FAFSA by one of the following three methods:

1. Completing an online application at:  fafsa.ed.gov
2. Printing a paper copy of the FAFSA form at fafsa.ed.gov, completing the paper copy and mailing it to the address indicated.
3. Calling 1-800-433-3243 (1-800-730-8913 for the hearing impaired) and having one of the customer service representatives assist you with completing the application via the phone.  Customer service representatives are available to assist you from 8am-11pm (EST) Monday thru Friday and 11am-5pm (EST) Saturday and Sunday.  (**Please note:  A customer service representative can assist you with completing the application, but the student and parent(s) will still be required to sign the form prior to submission.)

FAFSA applications submitted online are processed within 3 to 5 days.  Mailed applications are processed within 2 to 3 weeks.

Regardless of the method you chose for completing the FAFSA, it is recommended that students and their parent(s) go online to fafsa.ed.gov and register to receive the SSA ID.  This ID will be required to complete the online application, to process an electronic signature for the online application, and to make any necessary changes to your application online.  Once requested, the SSA ID is provided to you in 1 to 3 days.

Note: Please also read the information on The Siemens  Competition under Quick Links.