Are you thinking of becoming a qualified teacher? Becoming a teacher in California is exciting and it’s not as hard as you think. You can achieve this goal without any problems and wasting your precious time with the proper guidelines – and that’s exactly what we have shared here.
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Get the Background Knowledge About Teaching
Teaching demands a high level of knowledge. It is advisable to familiarise yourself with this occupation’s requirements beforehand. One needs to be persistent and passionate enough to pursue this role.
Analyse your personality in detail and whether you have what it takes to be a teacher. Conduct interviews with some experienced professional teachers and clear your thoughts. Ask them about their professional life and how they manage their work.
Get yourself educated in the latest e-learning teaching methodologies and techniques. Talk to your friends and family and ask for any advice to help you out. Finally, analyse your personality with total honesty and make the final decision. After making a decision, be determined toward your goal of becoming a successful teacher. Congratulations! You are now one step closer to your goal.
Analyse Your Educational Basis and Interests
Analyse your educational background and which subjects or areas you want to teach. See if your teaching interest is matching with your area of qualification. It is necessary to select the teaching area which is specifically related to your qualification. Review your past experiences. If you have prior experience in teaching or teaching-related areas, it would be helpful in your career in the future.
Get an Idea of your Abilities to Handle Specific Age groups of Students
Every individual is different when it comes to handling and managing kids. It requires a lot of patience, calmness, persistence, and discipline to handle a class of naughty students. Not everyone is capable of that because of their personality traits. See if you have anger management issues. You cannot get angry all the time while managing a class of naughty students.
Also, decide if you want to teach college students, high schoolers, middle schoolers, Pre-schoolers, or disabled students. If You want to teach disabled students, there are some specific requirements. Teaching different level students requires specific objectives. Getting yourself educated in that regard is required by the state.
Get the Field Experience
Your next step should be enrolling in some teaching preparation programs like TESOL and TEFL. These programs will help you to polish your teaching skills and resume. Also, start teaching internships in some public schools and national institutions to get the best and high-level experience in the field. Remember two things, your focus on theory and practice makes you an unbeatable successful teacher. A teacher full of knowledge is a teacher full of confidence. That is your way to go.
California Teaching Credential
Get done with your required teaching certification process. Several certifications are highly required to apply for teaching in California. For instance, tests like California Basic Education Skills (CBEST), California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET), California State University Early Assessment Program (EAP) / the CSU Placement Examinations.
You should have a high score on the SAT or maybe ACT. There are subject matter competency exams too. You can appear in the exam several times, but there is a registration fee to pay every time you want to attempt.
These certifications, as mentioned above, are some of the important credentials you need to acquire to become a certified teacher in California. You can search and educate yourself regarding your area of interest in teaching and its required credentials. The best California Teaching Credential is to apply the best strategy while teaching.
Hunt for Your Dream Job
Finally, you are almost there to start your dream job as a teacher. Often, after putting in a lot of hard work and consistent effort, people would not get the motivation to hunt for a job. Job hunting is very draining, although it’s your last step after all the work and efforts you put in. Stay put. You are almost there.
You can make a portfolio or maybe an e-portfolio of your work and assemble your credentials. Now be very clear about your path, where you want to work, and with whom you want to work. Get ready to use your research skills. Start researching job opportunities and your preferred work environment.
After winning all your required credentials and teaching-related exams, now you have a clear perspective of what you want to teach. Maybe, now you have some friends from the same field. Please do not underestimate the power of connections, which are always worth having.
Be clear that sometimes job hunting can be very much time taking. Stay connected to research and be consistent. Continue working on your internships to gain knowledge and stay polished throughout your job hunting journey.