When the Student Wants to Become the Teacher - The Snapshot

"Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students." -Solomon Ortiz

    According to Merriam-Webster, a teacher is someone who helps a person or group learn about a subject or how to do something by giving lessons or showing how it is done. When it comes to a career in education there are many specific careers to choose from. At the very beginning of a child's educational journey is a preschool teacher, ending with high school teachers or a college professor depending on their final destination. By the time a child celebrates their eighteenth birthday, he or she would have spent fourteen years in the educational system and sat in the classrooms of about sixty-three different teachers. To just be you of those teachers is a responsibility only a few truly understand, educators have the task of facilitating their students along their journey to greatness. Each one of the sixty-three are as important as the next, although their tasks differ, their ultimate goal is to educate their pupils.

Early Childhood Educator

    Researchers from Emory University have determined that our early childhood experiences can influence our personalities and behavior for the rest of our lives. When you think about it, early childhood educators can’t just play games and babysit. Early childhood educators or ECEs, work with children in nursery schools, daycares, or similar settings. Most ECEs work with children between the ages of two and five. ECEs need to understand how children learn and develop, not just mentally, but physically, socially, and emotionally. They are trained to design games and activities that are fun, but educational in specific ways. Teaching small children the alphabet requires a different and more strategic lesson plans than teaching them how and why they should share toys with others. ECEs need to be creative and resourceful in planning activities that will help children develop and build their self-esteem, as well as keep them interested and motivated. It's also important for them to establish routines that will allow children to feel comfortable and secure. Educators often use arts and crafts projects to encourage children to be creative and learn to express themselves in healthy ways. Effective educators build close relationships with the parents of the children they care for. It's important for them to talk to parents to learn about a child’s home environment, including culture and language. Educators and parents also share information about the children’s personalities, social skills, general development, and physical health. Some ECEs specialize in working with children with physical or developmental disabilities, or behavioral problems.

Elementary School Teacher

    Elementary school teachers or primary school teachers, teach children from kindergarten up to the fifth grade. They introduce children to the educational basics like numbers, language, science, and history. They also help children develop into healthy, confident, socially aware members of society. Working closely with parents to help the children reach their full potential in a huge part. Teachers in elementary schools often teach a wide variety of subjects to one class of students, but some specialize in a couple of subjects and teach several different classes of students. When they are not in front of the class, teachers spend a significant amount of their time putting together lesson plans for upcoming classes and grading students’ papers. Part of their job is figuring out interesting and innovative ways to approach educational topics to make them fun. They use lectures, group discussions, hands-on activities, and computer programs to engage their students. The knowledge that teachers pass on to their students includes not just academic subjects, but also values, attitudes, and life skills. In many ways, teachers are like stand in parents to the students in their class. Elementary school teachers monitor children’s social skills and try to resolve any problems they see, such as shyness or aggressiveness. Teachers meet with other teachers, to do administrative paperwork, in addition to that, they also supervise school clubs and playground activities, take students on field trips, meet with parents, and keep parents informed of students’ progress through report cards, conferences and phone calls home. In elementary school, teachers introduce students to academic learning by providing instruction in the basic principles of each subject, and giving them a good foundation of knowledge. 

Middle School Teacher

    Middle school or junior high, teachers have the important task of building on a student's previous foundation by delving further into these subjects with their students. Not all areas have middle schools. In these regions, elementary school teachers instruct students until grade 8 and then the students move directly to high school. However, in places that do provide a transition between elementary and high schools, middle school teachers prepare students for their high school educations. The exact grade levels taught by middle school teachers vary by state. On average, they teach students in grades six to eight. Because students start to learn more complicated and technical subjects in middle school, teachers at this level usually specialize in specific subjects. For example, they may teach History, Art or Math. Middle school teachers teach four or five classes a day. For each class, it may include about fifteen to forty students. They prepare a lesson plan that includes the information they want to provide, as well as the assignments they will give out to the class. Often there is a government-mandated curriculum that they must cover and state standardized testing, like the S.T.A.A.R. test in Texas. Education isn't just about memorizing and regurgitating information. Teachers aim to motivate and energize their students, and instill a passion for education. To aid them in this process, they often use multi-media presentations, such as movies, they organize group projects, and use computer-based presentations. During the course of the semester or school year, middle school teachers hand out assignments, quizzes, and exams in order to test their students’ knowledge. They are responsible for grading these assignments and keeping track of each student’s grade in an organize electronic or paper grade book. They monitor their students’ progress, making sure that each one is acquiring the knowledge needed to pass the course. If a student begins falling behind, the teacher may discuss the problem with a parent and counselor, or work with the student on an individual basis during a private tutoring session to help improve his or her grades. Teachers support students in non-academic activities as well. They are often called on to help students resolve social problems, like bullying, and advise them while they are developing education and career goals. Many teachers are also involved in extracurricular activities. They supervise student clubs or coach sport teams. These activities include responsibilities such as arranging and supervising trips and games.

High School Teacher

    The next time you complain about how much homework you have tonight, think about the amount of work your teachers have put into preparing it, and how long they’ll have to spend grading it. High school teachers or secondary school teachers, usually work with students from grade nine to twelve. Unlike elementary school teachers, they usually specialize in teaching just one, like math, English, history, wood-shop, or fashion design. High school teachers teach three to six different classes a day, depending on their school’s scheduling system. Class sizes usually range from fifteen to forty students. Despite a larger number of students, teachers try to meet the needs of individual students. This can mean tutorials after and bore school for those who need additional help. Good teachers are creative, and find interesting and varied ways to teach information and motivate students to learn. They organize group work and research activities, and make use of technology. They are usually involved in extracurricular activities as well. Some coach teams, supervise clubs, and take students on field trips. Teachers sometimes have to deal with serious problems among students, such as fighting. They also need to be on the lookout for signs of drug and alcohol problems, abuse, and depression. These things affect students’ attendance and class work, so teachers can be the first adults to notice when a young person is in trouble.

College Professor

   Being a college professor is a career that combines teaching with life-long study and research. Colleges hire professors in the traditional fields of the arts and sciences as well as in professional fields such as law, medicine, and business. Interdisciplinary departments bring together professors with different backgrounds so that a subject can be studied from several different perspectives. For example, professors trained in literature, sociology, and medicine may all teach in a department of women’s studies. Teaching can involve lecturing to a few hundred students or running a small seminar group. Professors also develop course plans, meet with students individually, grade papers and exams, and oversee teaching assistants. In addition, professors conduct research and publish original essays, articles, or books. Professors are also responsible for some of the administrative work in their department and in the college as a whole. A professor might be on a committee that reviews the applications to the department’s graduate program, or on a committee that decides on purchases for the college library. Some choose to do less teaching and more administrative work as a department head or the dean of the faculty.

Whether it be an early childhood educator or a college professor, people with a career in education, shape the minds of the next generation. Every type of teacher of different but one thing stays the same. Students are like sponges just waiting to soak more knowledge through this journey we call life.