[institute_for_career_research]_career_as_a_kinder(bookfi.org).pdf

7/30/2019 [Institute_For_Career_Research]_Career_As_a_Kinder(BookFi.org).pdf

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CAREER AS A

KINDERGARTENTEACHER


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In st it u te Re search Nu m ber 10 6

ISBN 1-58 51 1-10 6-6

DOT Nu m ber 092.227-014 O* Net SOC Cod e 25-201 2.00

CAREER AS A

KINDERGARTEN TEACHERA CAREER IN TEACHING KINDERGA RTEN CAN BE REWARDING, AN D CAN AT THE

sam e t im e of fer challeng es som e of w hich you w i l l be prepared f or,

and o t hers t hat w i l l catch you by surprise.

Kinder garten t each ers guid e chi l dren t hro ug h th eir f i rst fo rm alschool exp eriences. The child ren b egin schoo l w i th w idely varyingabi lit ies and apt itu des, and are f rom every socioeco no m ic, cul tural andet hnic b ackgro un d. The vast diversit y p oses op p ort un it ies andchal leng es al ike fo r t he t each ers t rained t o help t ho se you ng st udents.

Chi ldren at tend ing k in der gar ten are f ou r and f ive years old . At

th at youn g age, chi ld ren st i l l learn m ainly t hr ou gh p lay. Becausechildren learn th rou gh play and ac t iv it ies, and th rou gh son gs andrhym ing g am es, kind erg arten teachers tend to develop creat ive lessonplans w hich allow for p lenty o f in t er act ion w i th t he t eacher, as w ell asth e oth er chi ldren, gam es w hich t each social and acad em ic skil ls.There is also plent y of t im e fo r u nstru c tu red play and learn ingexp eriences.

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A kind er garten teacher m ay help chi ldren b ui ld social skills byen cou rag ing t hem to w ork to gether to bu i ld a sandbox castle. Theym ay lay the fou n dat io n of m ath and sci ence ap t itu de by ask ing th echi ld ren t o ba lance blo cks to bu i ld a br idg e, or b y m ixing p aint s ofpr i m ary col ors to create new colors. Son g s and sing ing gam es can helpchi ldren learn th e basics o f sp elling, geog raph y and even t he basics ofast ronom y. Typ ical teach ing t oo ls in t he classroom includ e g am es,m usic, art p roject s, m ovies, com p u t ers, alon gsid e th e st andard crayonsand paste.

Al th ou gh in m ost stat es k inder gar ten at t en d ance is no t required(only 12 st ates and t he Dis t r ict of Co lum bia m an date k inder gart enat t en dan ce fo r 5-year-old chi ldren), m ost experts agree on th e

im p o rtan ce of t his f i rst fo rm al learn ing exp er ience. Generally, ch ildrenw ho have posit ive learn ing exp er iences in kind er g art en have a m uchg reat er chance at ac adem ic success t hro ug h grad uat ion f rom h ighschoo l and beyond.

For m any chi l d ren, kinder gar ten is th eir f i rst op p o rt un i t y fo rco op er at ive p lay an d learn ing. So, no t on ly d o k in der gart en teacher slay the fou nd at io ns fo r lesson s in m ath , read ing, w r it ing , sp ell ing ,science, social st ud ies, p hysical ed ucat ion , m usic, art , and t echno logy,th ey also are charged w ith th e task of teach ing social skills andbui ld ing self-esteem.

M ost k in der gar ten stu d ent s re q uire les son s in even m or e b a sicp ersonal skills, as w ell. Kind erg art en teachers, in ad d it ion to academicles sons, t each children abo ut go od heal th and hy g iene hab its,ind epend ence (r igh t dow n t o t y ing sho elaces and zippin g jackets), andnu tr i t ion . They also t each chi l dren abo ut ne go t i at ion , self con t ro l and

f o llow ing rules.

Kind erg art en teachers also d eal w ith st udent s w ho m ay be lessable to exp ress th em selves as w ell as old er ch ildren, so t hey mu st beable to id ent i fy physical illnesses (fro m cold s and in f luenza to headlice). They m ust b e very aw are of p sych o log ical issues, such as ch ildrenw ho are cop ing w i th negat ive fo rces such as st ress at ho m e du e top arents pro b lem s, or even a p osit ive hap p en ing , l ike th e arr ival of anew sib l ing . They also can b e th e f irst p erson to spo t in d icato rs ofd evelop m ental prob lem s, vision p rob lem s, and adjust m ent i ssues.

A chi ld s f i rst educat io nal exp erience is a fam ily af fair, sokind er g arten t eachers in t er act f requent ly w i th parents and g uard ians.They also are th e f irst t o assign t heir st udents hom ew ork, teachles sons and g ive t est s, g rad e p apers and project s, and w rit e repor t

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cards. They of ten w ork w i th par ents to help t he stu dent im p rove his orher skil ls at t h is early and very crit ical st age o f educat ion .

On top o f t h is abun d ance of class roo m tasks, kin der gar t ent each ers also m ust keep pace w ith t he ever-chang ing pr o fes sion of

t each ing . Phi los oph ies abo ut learning change over the course of acareer, and kin der gar t en teachers, alon g w ith al l t eachers, m ust keepabreast o f t he m ost ef fec t ive t each ing method s. Cu rr ic ula chang e f ro myear to year, and even t he g oals and d esired ou t com es are alteredbased on n ew research.

For exam ple, one of t he t rends on th e hor i zon w hich af fectskind er g ar t en t each ers includ es an in crease in t he n um ber of fu l l -daykinder gar ten pro g ram s. Th is is a resul t o f recent st ud ies w hich h avefou nd t hat th ose stu dents w ho a t tended fu l l -day p ro gram s performedbet t er by th e t ime th ey reached t he th i rd and fou r th grades th an th osestu dents w ho at tend ed t ra di t ion al h al f -day pro gram s. How ever, evenas p hi losop hies chang e, p ract ical m at t ers d icta te m uch o f w ha thap p ens in t he classroom . Dou b l ing the am ount o f t im e youn gst udent s spend in k ind er g art en classes also in creases costs to scho o ld is t rict s. Teachers are o f ten caug ht in t he m id d le of such con f l ictsb etw een ideo log y and p ract ical reality.

M any teach ers b ecom e f rus t rated by th e un pre dict able na tu re ofth eir job s, gener ally low pay (depend ing upon locat ion and cost o fl iving) and h igh ph ysical and em ot ion al dem and s. The f inancial straincan m ean sub stand ard salaries as w ell as t eachers shel l ing ou t t heirow n m on ey for classroom sup p lies. M any t eachers give up on th eircareers in educat ion as a result . Ap proxi m ately on e- th i rd of newteachers leave th e class roo m s w ith in t heir f i rst f ive years of t eaching.

The aver age t im e a t eacher st ays in t he p ro f ession is just over 15 years.

But fo r t ho se that choo se to stay, the rew ards abound . A l tho ught he t asks are seem ing ly en d less, k in d er gart en teachers w ho rem ain inth e f ield f ind i t t rem en d ou sly reward ing. Accord ing t o p ro f essionalsur veys, t ho se w ho feel success f u l at t eaching also re po rt t he hig h estlevel of sat isfact ion w i th th ei r careers.

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HISTORY OF KINDERGARTEN TEACHING

THE FIRST KINDERGA RTEN IN THE UNITED STATES WAS OPENED IN WATERTOWN,

W isco nsin, in 18 56 , b y M argareth e M eyer Schu rz. The f irst A m ericanp ub lic kin der gar t en, t he Des Peres Scho ol, w as op ened in St . Lou is in18 73 , by Susan Elizabeth Blow.

Blow fo llow ed t he mo del est ab lished som e 40 years ear l ier b yGer m an ed ucat or Friedr ich Fro ebel. Fro ebel d e signed a p ro gram fo ryoung chi ldren w hich w as cen tered aroun d art , d esign, m ath em at ics,and nat u ral hist or y. The pro gram focused m ainly on free self-act iv ity,cr eat ivit y, social p art icip at i on and m o to r expression.

Froeb el t ho ug ht self-act ivi ty set t he d irect ion for ch i ldrensd evelop m ent and enab led t hem to be act ively creat ive and socialp art icipants. M o to r expression referred to learning by do ing rath erthan by fo l low ing instruct ion s. Froeb els m eth od s represent ed ad ep arture f rom the ed ucat iona l ph ilosoph ies and pract ices of t he d ay.Fro ebel d evelop ed t he f i rst chi ld-cen t ered ed ucat io nal cur r icu l um .

Fro ebels kind er g art en st ressed so cial skil ls and p lay as a m eans oflaying th e bu i ld ing blo cks fo r academ ic perf o rm ance. Un t i l tha t t im e,

ed ucat io n w as a far m ore str ic t exp erience, and acad em ic achievem en tw as the p rod uct o f m uch m ore form al in st ru c t ion .

Froeb els kin d er gar ten b ecame po p u lar at a great t im e of changein the w ay people v iew ed chi ldho od . Chi ldhood becam e a valuedp eriod in l i fe, and chi ld ren b ecam e app reciated as b y nature good andfu l l o f p o ten t ia l , rather t han as sm all adul t s w ho needed to be m old edas soon as po ssib le to f i t in t o c ivilized society.

The con cept caug ht on q uickly in Europ e, and by th e ear ly 1870skinder garten at ten dance f or chi ldren un der t he age o f six had b ecomea re q uirem ent th rough out the Aust ro-Hun g arian Em pire. By t hat t im e,instruct ion in t he Froebel meth od had b ecom e requ i red for stu dent s inteach ing colleges (th en called no rm al schoo ls).

A lt houg h k ind er garten at t endance w as po pu lar throug hou tEurop e, m idd le class f am il ies in t he Un ited St ates w ere slow er to

w elcom e th e idea, because it st ressed t he im p o rtan ce of placing t h edu ty of t each ing you ng chi l dren int o th e hands of t ra ined p ro fes sionalteach ers, rather th an w i th m ot hers in t he hom e.

How ever, im m igrant fam ilies f ro m Europ e em braced th e con ceptas a m eans of help ing t heir chi ldren accl im ate to Am er ican l i f e andlang uage. Th is w as esp e cial ly t rue in ur ban areas, and m ost t rue in t he

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slum s of Am ericas larg e cit ies. By t he late 187 0s, fr ee kind erg artensw ere in p lace in m ost urban com m un it ies, and th ey w ere v iew ed asessen t ial in h elp ing t o socialize ch ild ren f rom poo r fam il ies in t hehab it s o f cleanliness and d iscipl ine. M any k ind erg arten prog ram s alsohad c lasses fo r m ot h ers, in or der t o teach t hem th e pr in c ip les o fFro ebelian ch ild ed ucat ion and nu rt u r ing .

The idea beh ind parent and chi ld educat ion w as th at the fam ilycou ld be taught m idd le-class ideals at t he sam e t im e and l if tthem selves ou t of p ov erty an d crim e.

A sho r t t im e befo re k inder garten program s became po pu lar, o reven co m m onp lace, p ub l ic schoo ls w ere also gr ow ing , as w as t he riseof fem inism . Prior t o t he early 18 00 s, Am erican t eachers w ereg en er al ly m en, and m ost teachers w or ked in sm all , ru ral schools.Teachin g at th at t im e w as no t a specialized career, and t eachers usuallyhad l i t t le i f any pro fession al t rainin g . Teachers w ere very of t enoff-season farm ers or inn-keep ers, w ho w orked in t he classroomd uring slow m ont hs.

Pro fes sional t eachers w ere a m ino r i ty, and w ere usu ally you ng andam b it iou s m en w ho ho ped on e day to be schoo l m as ters, or to pu rsue

careers in law or t he clergy t each ing w as a tem p orary rung o n t hecareer lad der.

Af ter 1820 , re form ers (m ost no t ably Hor ace M ann ofM assach uset t s) fo ug ht to create m ore dem ocrat ic, un iversal,non-sect ar ian, f ree, bu t t ax-fun ded, pu b lic scho ols. The new scho olsw ere know n as co mm on scho ols. As new scho ols w ere b ui l t veryqu ick ly aroun d th e cou n t ry, th ere w as a gro w ing n eed fo r t ra inedteachers and schoo lm asters.

Because th ere w as already a w ell-est ab l ished t rad it ion o f youn gm en w ho en tered careers in schoo ls as t eachers, and w ou ld soo n af terleave th e classroom s for b et t er paying, or m ore pres t ig iou s po sit ions,th ere seem ed n o rel ief fo r th e na t ion w ide t eacher sho rt age. At least ,no t f rom the t rad it ion al, m ale t each ers.

In t he late 18 30 s, as p ub lic scho o ls requ i red m ore and m oreteachers, w om en w ere recruited t o lead t he classroo m s across t hecoun t ry, and th e career t i t le schoolmarm w as cre ated . Fo rt unately,l i t eracy rates am on g A m erican w om en w ere very hig h, so a read y andcap able poo l of t eachers w as available. Gener ally, scho o lm arm s didno t have to be very w ell ed ucated (an eight h-grade educat ion w asco nsid ered b asic qu alif icat ion for th e pro f ession). High m oral charact er

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w as consid ered param oun t am ong qua lif icat ion s. They w ere of t en veryyoun g (as youn g as 14 or 1 5 years old ) and w ere paid con sid er ab ly lessthan th e $20 a m ont h w hich m en in the same pro fession cou ld earn.

In t he 1 84 0s, scho o ls sp e cif i cal ly f or p rep aring new teachers w ere

est ab lished across t he coun t ry. The scho o ls w ere called n or m alschoo ls, and w ere in tended to prep are t each ers b eyond b asicgram m ar schoo l l i ter acy and m ath em at ics. The no r m al schoo l soo ngave w ay to for m al col lege ed ucat io n, b ut i ts value cann o t b eoverstated in t erm s of th e develop m ent of teacher ed ucat ion and t het each ing career as a w ho le.

A l tho ugh co lleges be gan to ded icat e cour ses of st ud y t o pr e parestu dent s fo r th e teach ing pro fes sion, i t w as n t un t i l th e f em inistm ov em ent emerged that t eachers b egan to dem and p r o f essionaltreat m ent not only recog n it ion as pro fes sion als, b ut b ett er p ay an dw o r king cond itions. Teachers revol ted against adm in ist rato rs andbo ards of educat ion tak ing too m uch contro l f rom th e classroo m s, andresented be ing t reated m uch l ike fac to ry w ork ers. Fur th er, th e w ork ingco nd it ion s w ere of ten deplo r able. Overcrow ding in th e ear ly 20thcen tu ry (du e to u rb an izat ion and im m ig rat ion) con tr ib u ted t o t he poorco nd it io ns. Not on ly w ere th e c lass roo m s over crow ded, b ut th e w orkof teach ing w as seem ing ly im p ossib le, p art icu larly in larg e urb anschoo ls w here m any new im m igrant stu d ent s spo ke no Eng lish.

Wag es w ere po or, and discrim inat ion w as ram pant . M any scho oldis t r ic ts w ou ld no t even al low m arr ied w om en t o t each in t he irschoo ls. Wo rking m ot h ers had i t even w orse, since w om en w ere of t enp roh ib i ted f rom con t inu ing teach ing careers on ce t heir ow n chi ldrenw ere born .

Teach ers reb ell ion w as th e dr iving f orce beh ind w idespreadun ion izat ion . A lt hough the Natio nal Educat ion Associat i on w asform ed in 1857 , and the Am er ican Fed er at ion o f Teachers fo llow ing in1897 , i t w as n t un t i l t he f i rst qu ar ter o f th e 20t h cen tu ry th at un ionshad spread be yond urb an ar eas. These t w o un ions to day carry o n th esam e id eals th ey have had f ro m th e b e gin nin g a hig her level ofprofessionalizat io n, greater aut onom y for teachers, bet t er lob bying ona nat io nal level, and b et ter w ork ing cond it io ns, pay and benefi ts.

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WHERE KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS WORK

ON LY A SM ALL NU M BEROF STATES requ ire kind er garten at t endance(includ ing Alaska, Arizon a, Delaw are, the Distr ic t o f Co lum b ia, Flo rid a,Lou isiana, M aryland , Ohio , Oklaho m a, Rho d e Is land , Sou t h Carol ina,Tennessee and Vir g inia). M ost st ates con ta in a m ajo r i ty of d ist r ic ts th atdo o f fer k in der garten to young stu dents.

YOUR WORK DUTIES

KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS, LIKEM OST OTHER TEACHERS, PLAN LES SONS,ad m in ist er lessons, assign hom ew ork, grade assignm ents and tests,p rep are repo rt cards, and m ain t ain classr oom d iscipl ine. M ost stu dentg rades at t he kind er g arten level are b ased up on ho w w ell th e teacherth inks th e stu dent is perform ing . Teachers de t erm ine wh atp er f o rm ance levels are acceptable and evaluate w hether or notind ivid ual st ud ent s are m eet ing th ose levels.

They also w atch f or stu d ent s sp e cial skil ls in o rder to h elp th emd evelop th em , as w ell as w atch fo r st udent s academ ic w eaknesses inor der t o help cor rect t hem b e fo re th e stu dents mo ve on t o t he f i rstgrade.

Kind erg art en teachers give th eir you ng st ud ent s t heir f i rst lessonsin m ath , sc ience and read ing. A l tho ugh the instru c t io n m ay loo k verylit t le l ike act ual science, m ath or read ing lessons at f irst , it lays t he veryim p o rtant b u i ld ing b locks fo r m ore ad vanced skills.

Kind ergart en lessons are u sually han d s-on experiences m uch m oreth an learn ing by dr i l ls or b y m em oriza t ion , alth oug h dr i l ls and rot eles sons are cer t ain ly an im po r tant part of ear ly learn ing and are thesteppin g sto nes fo r lesson s in log ic and hig her learn ing . Elem entaryteachers in general are in creasing ly using m ore props or m anipulat ivesto help chi ldren learn d i f f icul t concepts and t o d evelopprob lem-solving skills.

Kinder gart en t each ers use play and m usic to t each lessons. Theyalso u se gam es t o h elp w it h such skil ls as let t er rec og n it ion , phonicsand b eg inning read ing skil ls, nu m b ers and early m at h skil ls, andles sons in science and natu re aw areness.

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Kinder garten teach ers w ork w i th on e gro up of stu dents, w hichstay w i th t he t eacher in t he sam e class roo m th rou gh ou t th e en t i reschoo l day, or half-day, w ith t he excep t io n of w hen t he stu dent s leavet he classroom for special lesson s in subject s su ch as g ym , m usic, art ,l ibrary and t echno logy.

Som e scho ols pair tw o o r m ore teachers t og eth er as a teach ingt eam , re sp on sible fo r a larger g rou p of stu dent s. They m ay teach f ortw o years in a row in a m ult i -level gro up . Stu dent s in t his typ e ofc lass roo m are m ore able t o w ork at con cept s un t i l t hey are m as tered,w i t hout the pressure of m oving a lon g to th e next sec t ion of stu dy andu lt im ate ly to th e next grade, w i th a new teacher.

Such teach ing arrange m ents are m ore cost ly to m ain tain, an drequ i re m uch m ore effo rt in sched ul ing and class size con fig u rat io n. Ina st ru ggl ing econ om y w ith i ncreasing ly scarce p ub l ic m on ey fored ucat ion , m any d ist r ict s have aban doned them, desp ite t heir vir t ues.

In creasing ly, kind erg arten teachers are expected to p ursue ext racourse w ork in tech no log y and con t inue to up grade t heir techno logyskills, in o rder to teach u sing com p u t ers and com pu ter g am es, as w ellas using sof t w are for t est adm in ist rat ion and g rad ing.

Teachers are also in creasing ly encouraged o r are even r equ i red toco n t in ue th eir t raining in cul t ural aw are ness. Teachers w ork w ithstu dents f rom every et h nic, ra cial and rel i g ious back grou nd in th eco m m u ni ty, and th e size of m ino ri t y pop u la t ion s is g row ing qu icklyth rou gh all part s of th e cou n t ry. Teachers need to in clud e m ult i cul tura lles sons in t heir classroom s to benef i t every st udent regard less ofeth nic, racial and rel i g iou s back gro un ds.

Kind ergart en teachers are increasing ly m oving aw ay f rom judg ingstu dent per for m ance based up on ind i vid ual grades and are m oreo f ten bu i ld ing or assist ing t heir stu dents to bu i ld por t f o l ios of th eirw ork. The st udent s over all b od y of w ork is th en evaluated, rathert han just a series o f g rad es. Th is t ype o f evaluat io n system has becomea pop u lar m eans of spo t t in g ar eas w here a st udent m ay need h elp. I ft here are academ ic or developm en tal pro b lem s, kind erg arten teacherscan b e instrum en t al in recom mend ing t est ing and in assist ing w it h

locat ing re sou rces o r agen cies fo r help and t reatm ent . M any learningd iso rd ers, sp eech d if f icu lt ies and issues such as hyp eract ivi ty diso rdershave begun to sur face by t he t im e a chi ld is f ive or six years old .

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The t eacher can also be a h elp fu l re sou rce t o par ents w ho w ish tohelp th ei r you ng sters (w i th or w i th out special needs or d if f icu lt ies) andcan recom m end act ivit ies t o cul t ivate talents and int erest s, and t oim p rove areas w here th e st udent m ay be acad em ical ly w eak.

Dur ing th e scho ol year, t eachers usua lly w ork m ore than 40 hou rsa w eek. They gener a lly w ork an e igh t -hou r day d ur ing scho ol ho urs(w i th one h our fo r prep ara t ion du r ing th e d ay), and grad e p a pers orp art icipat e in schoo l fu nct ion s or ext racu rricu lar act ivities several hou rsa w eek in th e eve ning s and on w eek ends.

Preparat io n t im e is on e area w here kind er garten teachers seem t obe sho r t changed w hen com pared t o t heir coun t er part s in up p erg rad es. El em en t ary schoo l t each ers in gen eral have abou t 10 m inutesof p rep arat ion t ime for every ho ur t hey teach, w hi le high scho olt each ers have 15 m inut es of p rep fo r ev ery h ou r of t each ing.

M ost teach ers w ork 10 m ont hs out o f the year, w i th t w o m ont hsof f in th e sum m er and t ime o f f f o r w in t er ho li days and sp ring b reak.Som e t each ers w or k sum m er job s dur ing th eir long break. Oth ersen rol l in col lege classes t o con t in ue th eir ed ucat ion o r m eet con t inu inged ucat ion requi rem ent s, teach sum m er schoo l, t r avel or p ur sue

p ersonal in t er ests.

Teachers w ho w ork f or schoo l dist r ict s th at h ave a year-roun dsched u le usually w ork eight w eeks, then h ave one w eek of vacat ion ,and an add it io nal f ive-w eek m idw in t er, sp ring or sum m er break.

M ost t each ers enjoy a h igh level o f job secu r ity and p ro t ect ionund er teach ing un ion s. On ce a t eacher has reached t en ured st atus,d ism issal g eneral ly needs to b e t he re sult of just cause, con t inued job

per form ance in ad eq uacies, or in som e cases t he result of an econom i clay-of f ( in acco rdance w i th un ion provi sion s). M ost st at es have law s ten ure law s w hich p revent teach ers f rom be ing f i red w i thou t justcause and d ue p ro cess. Teachers ob t ain t enure af ter a lengt hyp rob at ionary p e r iod , rang ing f ro m th ree t o f ive years.

Kinderg arten teachers sp end n early th eir ent ire d ay in t eract ingw i th th eir stu d ent s. They m ust en joy or at least have a hig h t ol er ancefo r t his level of in t er act ion every d ay. Kind erg art en teachers m ust bevery obser vant of studen t behaviors and academ ic perfo rmance,b ecause early pat terns or p rob lem s could b e easily m issed.

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M ost of t heir w ork is in do ors, ho w ever som e scho ols requi reteachers t o sup er vise ou t do or act ivit ies as w ell . W het her in side orou t sid e, kind er g art en teachers m ust b e on t heir feet for long per iod sof t im e, and t heir w ork is very physical in n atu re. They m ust be able tobend, st retch, si t o n th e f loor w i th stu dent s, crou ch t o be at stu denteye level, and sit in very sm all chairs (sized f o r 5-year-o ld b od ies).

They m ust b e pat ien t w i th stu dents w ho exp er ience everyth ingf rom runn y noses to bath roo m m is haps to just plain o ld w hininess.

Kind erg art en teachers m ust be able com m un icat e clearly and t obe heard b y the ent ire class. They m ust b e able to l ist en carefu lly, andto drow n out back ground no ises w hen fo cusing on on e stu dent .Kind er gart en teachers m ust also b e pat ien t w hen l ist en ing t o stu dents,som e of w ho m w i ll not be able to clearly enun ciate their w ord s.

KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS TELL ABOUTTHEIR CAREERS

I Have Been a Teacher for 24 Years I have beenteach ing k in d ergar t en fo r 16 years. Befo re t hat , I t augh t secondgrad e for eigh t years.

I w ent in to el em en t ary ed uca t ion m ainly b e cause I had al w aysw an ted to w o rk w ith young ch i ld ren. The ca reer ap pealed t o m eb ecau se yo un g chil d ren are st i l l so u n inhib i ted. They h ave so m uch

creat ivit y and self est eem . As th ey becom e m ore ind ependen t ,t hey can re al ly f lo ur ish and becom e f in e st u dent s.

Self reliance and ind epend ence are p ro b ab ly the m ostim p o rt ant t hin gs I t each t he st u dent s. Of cou rse, t hey learn ab ou tg et t ing a long w i th each o th er, and th ey star t t o learn h ow to read,and som e m athe m at i cal con cept s at t h is age, but t he m ostim p o rt ant t h ing is se lf reliance. Not on ly w i ll th a t he lp t hem

succeed in kin d er gar ten and t he ear ly grades, bu t i t w i ll he lp t hembe b et ter st u dent s and m ore con f i dent peop le as t hey g etolder.

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Is teach ing w hat I ex pected? Yes and no . The t each ing p art ofi t is p re t ty m uch w hat I thou gh t i t w ou ld b e. Of course stu den tsare all so d if fer ent , so th at can be un predict able. Som e st u den tsw i ll catch on and o t h ers w on t . Som e t im es you can g et th rough to

m ost of t he stu dent s, bu t som e t im es you can t . And I learned t hatI can t a l w ays f ig ure ou t w hich o nes are get t ing i t and w hich on esaren t !

W hat I re a lly w asn t p repared f or w as som e of t head m in is t ra t ion issues. Wh en I w ent in t o teach ing, along w i th a lo tof m y peers w ho st ar ted teach ing a t about th e sam e t im e,teach ing w as sort of l ike a cal l ing , a m issio n . Peop le w ere

p as sio nate abo ut reach ing out to youn g peop le, and t eaching w asone w ay o f d o ing th at . We w ere n t p repared f o r a lo t o f t hep o lit ics o f t each ing. And th ere w ere th ose that h ad p lent y o fin t er est in t eaching bu t no t alw ays t h e best skil ls.

W hen I say p ol it ics of t eaching, I m ean t here has been t h isshi f t in th e t ides w hen i t com es t o academ ic perf o rmance.Teachers an d scho o ls are p e nalized i f t heir st udents do n t per fo rm

w el l on stan dard ized t est s. Un fo r tu nat ely in t his st ate, th estandard ized t est s w e use are st i l l b e ing d evel op ed b y t he st ate soteachers feel l ike th eyre t ry ing t o h i t a m oving tar get . W e d on tfeel as m uch p ressu re necessarily in kind er g arten , bu t beg inn ing inf irst g rad e t each ers re ally b eg in t o f eel tha t p ressure.

On t op o f th a t , som e boards o f ed ucat ion w o rk w ith sta f fbe t te r than o t hers. Tho se are elect ed p o sit ions and so som e t im es

the board m em b ers have an agen d a. So m e have a ten dency tom icrom anage inst ead of leaving t he job o f teach ing up to th ep ro f ession als t hey hired. They w il l chan ge cur r icu la or po licy ort ext bo oks, at t im es even against t he sug ges t ion of t he t eachers.That can b e frustrat ing .

Anot her d i f f icult asp ect at t im es has b een d ealin g w it h t h ep arent s, o r w orse, no t deal ing w i th th e parent s. I am always

su rpr ised a t ho w m any parent s br ing t heir ch i ld ren fo r or i en ta t ionb efo re schoo l b e gin s, t hen I n ever see t hem again f or t he rest oft he year. It s so m uch b ett er w hen t he parent s are in volved, bu tno t every p ar ent is.

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You ng t eachers t o day are bet t er p re pared t han I w as w hen Ist arted. They are very w ell t rained and t hey have t echno log y skil lsand are know ledgeable on th e ory and prac t ice in w ays t hat w ejust w er e n t . Bu t f ew o f t h em t o day go in to i t because it s a

call ing . It s a pro f ession , and t hey are trained l ike pro fession alsand d em and to be reco g nized as pro fession als. Bu t very of ten it sth e job rath er th an a passion t hat d raw s t hem t o t he scho ols.

There h ave b een p ract ical reason s fo r m e t o st ay in t hep ro f ession . Once I had a few years in, and I had earned m ym ast ers degree I w as able t o m ake a go od l iving . But in t his area,th e cost o f l iv ing is very low . I don t know i f I w ou ld feel th a t w ay

if I w orked in a very ex pen sive city. Teachin g has w or ked o ut veryw el l fo r m e because it f i t in very w el l w i th raising m y ch i ld ren, to o .They at t ended schoo l in a d is t r ict t hat has t he sam e va cat ionschedule as t he on e w here I t each, so I have been able to b e hom ew it h t h em d u ring th e sum m er, and du r ing breaks, an d t hey u su allyhad to go to a baby-si t t er s ho m e for ju st an ho ur o r so af t erschoo l befo re I p icked th em up.

Yes, I sup po se I w ou ld choo se to t each i f I had t o st art over.It s very rew ard ing , and i t can b e a lo t o f fu n . I have w orked w i thsom e really terr i f ic pro f ession als. But , i t s of t en exhaust ing w o rk.As m uch as I h ave loved w ork ing in t his ca reer, I m real ly loo k ingf o rw ard to ret ir ing too .

I Am a Kindergarten Teacher WhoCouldnt Handle It At f i rst I fe lt sor t o f gu i lt y fo r

leaving. But I just knew af t er on ly one year I had t o g et ou t . Therew as just to o m uch t hat no one p re pared m e fo r. I w as n t p reparedto deal w i th th e stu dent w hose fa th er w ent to jai l because he h adst abbed h is m ot her. I w asn t ready to deal w i th ch i ld ren w hosep arents w ere drug ad d ic ts, or w ho had abandoned th em .

We had a po lice o f f icer com e visi t t he class t o t alk ab ou tsafety and on e l it t le boy w ou ldn t sto p crying. We had t o t ake h imou t of t he class be cause h e kept crying, You hu rt m y dadd y, youhur t m y dadd y.

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Then t here w as a gir l in m y class w ho could n t t a lk. She justcou ld n t ta lk at a ll , and her p arent s never cam e in f or con f er encesso I had no idea w hat to do o r w hy she w ould n t say anyth ing .W hat do you do in a si t uat ion l ike that ? There w ere a f ew st uden ts

in th e class t hou gh w ho m ade i t im p ossi b le f or m e to t each t herest o f t he class.

So, I know i t sou nd s terr ib le, bu t I had t o leave. I w ork in ap rivat e p rescho ol n ow , in a com m unit y th at is st i l l d iversecu lt u ral ly bu t is m ore af f lu en t . An d w i th a p r ivate scho ol, andb eing a preschoo l, w ell I hat e t o say i t b ut st udent s w ho ju st aren tf i t t in g in are usu a lly taken ou t of scho ol by t heir parents or t he

scho o l can ask t he p arent s to t ake th em out .In p ub l ic schoo ls you cant t ou ch th e chi ld ren at all. Th ese are

lit t le k ids, and I had a cou ple of stu dents th at w ou ld just c ling t om e, and I fel t b ad be cause I w anted t o b e ab le to hug th em , but Iknew th is w as n t perm it t ed. And t hen i f t hey are cl ing ing to m e, Ican t pay at t en t io n to th e ot her st u dent s. In m y new job , I can g ivea ll th e kids hug s i f th ey w ant m e to .

M y p ar ent s th ink I m ust be n ut s to have re ceived m y d egreeand t hen tu rn aroun d a year la ter and go to w ork in a preschoolfo r abou t ha lf the m oney and no w here near th e ben e f it s. Bu t It h ink i t h as been t he r igh t t h ing fo r m e. The k ids I have no w areju st so d if fe r ent th an th ose in t he p ub l ic schoo l. An d t he job isvery low -pressure. In t he p ub l ic schoo l, it w as al l I could do t okeep th e chi l dren in or der, let a lon e t each th em th e t h ing s I

w anted t hem to learn . I fe lt bad abou t th a t , like I shou ld havebeen ab le to do m ore. M aybe no bo dy could , bu t i f th ere is any on ew ho can t each un der t ho se con d it ions, I w as no t t hat per son .

I t h ink anyon e headed f or t each ing k inder gar t en in a pu b l icscho o l system shou ld be aw are o f m y negat ive exp eriences. Itm ight t u rn ou t b et t er fo r you. I hop e so.

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Im in My Third Year ofKi ndergarten Teaching Actu ally, t each ing is a lot

l ike w ha t I thoug h t i t w ou ld be . I love w orking w i th th e ch il d ren. Iw as n t sure i f I w ou ld l ike t each ing k in d er gar ten . I t hou ght I

m ight t each t h i rd grade. That seem ed l ike a really fu n ag e toteach, but w hen th is po si t ion op ened, I in ter view ed and got i t andI have enjoyed it ver y m uch .

Im no t sure i f I w ou ld have sur vived t he last t hree years i f i tw ere n t fo r th e ot her t each ers. Ou r scho ol has a great m ento r ingp rogram , w here an exp erienced t eacher coaches t he new t eacherfo r tw o years. That w as a b ig help to m e. I w ou ld have w orked

m y sel f to death i f I d id n t have m y m en to r.

It is a lo t m ore w ork t han I t ho ug ht . M y f i rst year re a llysu rp rised m e, even af t er stu d ent t each ing . I w as ex hau st ed. But i tg et s eas ier.

W hat h as been t he hardest part ? Well, I w ou ld h ave to saysom e t im es com m un icat ion can b e a chal leng e. These kids do n talw ays know how to say exact ly w hat t hey re th ink ing . Or t hey sayEXACTLY w h at t heyre t hin king, w h ich can b e pre t ty fun nysom e t im es. But th ey don t know how to te ll you i f t hey re havin gt rou b le w i th som et hing , so you really have t o w atch out f or signst hat t heyre st rug gl ing . M y f i rst year, I w ou ld l ie aw ake at n igh tw ond er ing i f I w ere see ing al l t he sign s. I w on dered i f I could reallyreco gnize th e kid s t hat have special ap t it ud es, and t ho se th at w erehav ing a hard t im e. You hear abo ut k ids th at sl ip t hro ug h t he

cracks, and I w or r ied abou t t hat a lo t .

The m ost re w arding part is w hen t hey st ar t learn in gsom e th ing new, and i t s d i f f icu l t b u t th ey keep t ry ing any w ay.Som e t im es th ey do n t even realize t hat t heyre learn ing i t , l ikew ith read ing. They learn ab ou t t heir let t ers and t he sou nd s t heym ake, and t o t hem i t s l ike a gam e. And th en t hey m ay star t t orec og nize a few w ord s up on sight . But t hey st i ll aren t really

read ing. But w hen t hey st ar t b e ing able to act u ally sou nd ou tw ord s, th ey get t h is sm i le because th ey really got i t . That m akesyour day!

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PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS YOU WILL NEED

KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS M USTNOT ONLY BE WELL SKILLED IN TEACHIN Gm et hod s, they also m ust be very in t un e w ith t heir stu dents in or der toadjust t each ing m eth od s to help every st uden t r each his or h erlearn ing po t en t ial. Alt houg h good k ind er gart en teachers have t rait sth at are un ique, and th ere is no sin gle p er son al i ty pro f i le fo r greatteachers, gen er al ly i t help s to b e o rganized, d epend able, p at ient andcr eative.

Kind ergart en teachers sho uld be very goo d at com m un icat i ng onm any d i f fer ent levels, thro ug h m any d i f fer ent m eans. I t is just asim p o rtant for t he kind er g arten t eacher to com m un icate ef f ectively

w i th ot her teachers, parents and adm in ist ra to rs as w i th a room fu l l o ff ive-year-olds.

Kind er g arten teachers shou ld also be very sensit ive t o t he needs oft heir st u d ent s. You ng st ers w il l exp ress t heir n eeds verb al ly andnon-verb ally, so kin der gart en t each ers sho uld rem ain keenly aw are ofbo th types of m es sages f rom th eir stu dent s.

M ost people w ho cho ose t o pu r sue a career in kin d er gar t en

teach ing have social in t er est s. They l ike w o rking around o ther peop leand en joy ac t iv i t ies w hich help ot hers. They f eel com fo rt able of fer inggu id ance t o ot hers and b e ing of serv ice to m any p eo ple.

They also usually have art ist ic in t er est s. They enjoy w orking onact ivit ies w hich are expressive, bo t h visual ly (in art p roject s), p hysically(in g am es and out do or p lay) and m usically (in sing ing and dancing asa m eans of t eaching ot her con cepts).

Kind er g arten teachers m ust b e exper t m ul t i - taskers. They m ust b eable to chang e act iv it ies q uickly to acco m m odat e sho rt at t en t ionspans, and th ey m ust be able to w ork w i th several grou ps of st udents,each w orking on d i f fer ent ac t iv it ies, at on e t im e. They m ust b e keenlisten ers, and able to drow n out th ose th ings that are backgroundnoise.

Kinder gart en t each ers sho uld b e excellent m ot ivators and h ave the

abi li ty to inspire you ng peop le to learn, as w ell as t he ab i li t y to d irectst udent s at t en t i on f o r def ined p eriod s of t im e.

They sho uld b e ex cel lent m e d iato rs and learn ho w to helpst u dent s re so lve con flict . They sho u ld b e sensit i ve and f i rm enough t od irect st uden t behavior and help t hem to learn app rop r iate behaviorsw i t hou t harm ing th eir self es teem .

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Kinder garten t each ers m ust be q uick on th eir f eet . Chi ldren at t hatage do n t a lw ays un d er stan d log ical conseq uen ces fo r certainb ehaviors and of ten th e be havio r o f a f ive-year-old is i llog ical w henview ed t hro ug h ad ul t eyes. Kind erg arten teachers m ust be able tounder stand t ho se behaviors and q uickly m ake sense of t hem . They alsom ust b e able to q uick ly jud ge th e benef i ts or neg at ive conse q uen ceso f ev ery act i on .

Kinder garten t each ers m ust , pro b ably mo re th an any oth erteachers, learn t o t hin k ou t side t he b ox. They m ust b e able to seeth ings th rou gh f resh eyes every day, to be able to see th ings f rom avan tage point closer to th e ground , and t o b e w i ll ing to con stant lychange, w heth er it s chang ing the posit io n of classroom fu r n itu re, or

d eco rat ion s, or even t eaching m od els, in or d er t o keep st udent s aw areand alert .

Kind ergart en teachers sho uld have som e m usical and art ist icabi l it ies, in or der t o teach th roug h m u sic and son g, and th roug h ar tp roject s. Kin d er g art en t each ers sho uld also have a h igh level ofphysical end u rance as w ell as agil i t y and m ob ility.

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ATTRACTIVE FEATURES

W ILLIAM BUT LER YEATS SAID, EDUCATION IS NOT THE FILLING OF A PAIL, BUT THE

l ight ing of a f i re. Kin der gar ten t eachers have t he p lea sure of b e ingth e f irst t o ig nit e t hat sp ark fo r m any chi l d ren. Teaching kinder gart enis p art career, and p art calling, and the decision to pur sue such avocat ion is of ten inspired b y em o t ion al as w ell as p ract ical w ishes.

Teach ing kin d er g arten can be a very re w ard ing career choice. Theop p ort uni ty to of fer stu dent s th eir f i rst taste o f academ ic learn ing canbe an exci t ing p rosp ect. Th is is p art icu larly t rue of career ist s w ho enjoyyoung chi ldren and th eir creat ivity, en t husiasm and innocent energy.

Teachin g can also b e a st ab le career f i nan cially. Nearly 90 p er cen tof t each ers belong to u n ions, and t each ing un ions are am on g t hestro n gest of all bar gain ing g rou p s. On ce teach ers earn t enure, t heirem ploym ent is generally excep t ionally st able, and th eir earn ing s canst eadily in crease w ith exp er ience and add it io nal ed ucat ion . Teachersalso enjoy excep t ion al heal th and ret i rem ent bene f it s, as w ell as abet t er th an aver age nu m ber o f days of f th roug hou t t he year. M anykind er g arten t eachers also ap p recia te w orking a schedule w hichm eshes very w ell w i th th eir ow n chi ld ren s scho ol sched u les, as t heyg en er ally w ork w hi le th eir chi ldren are in schoo l and can g ener ally b ehom e w i th the ir ch i ld ren du ring extended ho liday and sum m er breaks.

The w o rk is also at t rac t ive fo r m any k in der gart en teachers b ecausethey w ork in br igh t and w arm con d i t io ns. The w ork is bo th pract i caland creat ive, bot h p hysical ly and m ent ally engag ing , and is very of t enfu n. Generally kinder gart en t each ers also enjoy t he ab il it y t o w o rk inan en vi ron m ent w i th ot her pro fes sionals, w ho are also w ell-educated

and in t er est ing , creat ive people.

Kind er g arten teachers, l ike th eir peers w ho t each o t her g rades,usually enjoy co n t inu ing t heir ed ucat io n, and learning new andinnovat ive t each ing m od els and m ethod s as part of remain ingpre pared in th eir careers. They also o f t en enjoy t he op por tu n i t y tot ravel or p ur sue ot her in terest s d ur ing t he sum m er m ont hs.

Kind erg art en teachers g et t o exp ress t heir ow n creat ivi ty in

gu id ing students w i th art p roject s l ike f ing er-p aint s. They teachth rou gh play, so k in der gar ten t each ers of ten enjoy t h roughout the irw ork d ay sing ing son gs and playing g am es.

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UNATTRACTIVE FEATURES

ALTHOUGH TEACHING IS FOR THE m ost part a very re w arding career,teachers at every level, in clud ing k ind ergarten teachers, som et imesf ind t he job st ress fu l. Teachers reg u lar ly h ave t o con tend w i thunm o t i vat ed st udent s and stu dent s w ho be have badly and ared isrespect fu l .

M any schoo l d ist rict s have larg e class sizes, and kin d er g art ent each ers are fo rced t o m an age classes of 25 st u d ent s or m ore, w hich ispar t ic u larly dif f icul t w hen t he stu dent s are so youn g.

Som e t eachers also f ind i t d i f f i cu l t to w ork in com m un it ies t hatare econom ically d isad van taged, or w i th a w ide range o f cu ltu ra lbackgro un ds. Kinder gart en teachers w i th stu dent s of m any cul turesare charged w ith th e task of t each ing youngsters w ith w idely vary ingat t itu des to w ard educat ion . They also m ust eng age st udents w i thvarying b ackgrou nd s and langu age abi lit ies. The extra p lann ing t o dot h is ef fec t ively add s to an al read y h eavy w ork load in m any cases.

In ner-c ity schoo ls m ay be run -dow n and aging and m ay lack som eof t h e am en it ies o f w ealth ier com m unit y schoo ls. Schoo ls at t he

have-not end of t he eco no m ic spect rum po se special p rac t ical andem o t ion al d i f f icu lt ies fo r youn ger st ud ent s. It can b e d if f icul t to t eachst udent s in bu i ld ings th at are no t p rop erly l igh t ed, or h ave inad e qu ateheat ing and cool ing sys tem s, and in schoo ls that can no t spend m on eyon up- to-date m a ter ials and b oo ks.

Furt her, in econom ically challeng ed dist ricts, st udent at t en dancecan b e irreg u lar, an d very o f ten st udent s are em o t ionally d isturbed

and u nable to p rog ress acad em ical ly w hen t here are ot her issuesas so ciated w it h poverty in th eir ho m es. Kin der gart en teachers face anad d it io nal challeng e b e cause th eir youn g st udent s are no t alw ays asab le to clearly art ic u late w hat th ey are t h ink ing or feel ing.

Anoth er un at t ract ive featu re of th e career is f inancial. Teacherst yp ical ly earn less t han ot her p ro f essionals w ith sim ilar ed ucat ion andexp erience levels. The disp arit y varies great ly f rom com m uni ty toco m m unit y. In ru ral o r d isad van t aged ar eas, t eacher salaries are at par

or bet t er th an average w ages in t heir com m un it ies. How ever, in ur b anor af f lu ent areas, teachers m ay earn as lit t le as on e-th ird of t he sal aryas t heir neig hbo rs in ot her pro fes sio ns.

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIRED

EVERY STATE AND THE DISTRICT OFCOLUM BIA REQUIRE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERSto be licensed. Licensure is no t requ i red b y law for p r ivate schoo lteachers, bu t m any ind ivid ual pr ivate scho o ls as a m at ter o f po licyrequ i re i t .

The Nat io nal Cou ncil fo r Accred it at ion o f Teacher Educat ioncu rrent ly recognizes abo ut 50 0 t eacher educat ion programsnat ionw ide .

Requi rem ents fo r l icensure vary f rom st ate t o stat e, but al m ostevery st at e req uires com p et ency test i ng f o r basic skills such as read ing,wr i t ing , teach ing and subject m at ter pro f iciency. Licensure is gener allygrant ed b y a stat e board and is typ ically at tained af ter com plet ing abache lors d e gree in t each ing or an ot her subject and t hen passing astat e bo ard exam inat ion . Approxim ately on e th ird o f t he stat es alsorequ ire techno log y t rain ing in add it ion to teach ing classes. M ost stat esrequ i re new teachers t o h ave m ainta ined a m in im um grade po in taverage w hi le in col lege.

M ost accred ited t eaching colleges and un iversit ies requi re

stu dents t o w ait un t i l th e ir sop hom ore year to ap ply fo r ad m is sionint o a t eaching program . Kindergart en teach ing program s gener allyinclude classes in math, science, social st ud ies, m usic and ar t , as w ellas classes in teach ing m eth od s, phi losoph y of ed ucat ion , andp sycholog y of learn ing. A lm ost all teacher prep aratory programsrequ ire an appren t iceship , or stu dent teach ing cred its.

Kind erg art en teachers usually at t ain l icensu re in early ch ildhood

ed ucat ion , w h ich q ua lif ies t hem to t each p reschoo l throu gh grade 3.Som e t eachers, such as m usic or art t eachers, are licensed t o t eachkind er g arten throug h g rade 12.

Som e st ates o f fer sp ecial pr o vi sion s f or t eacher l icensure fo rp eo ple w ho have earned a b achelor s d egr ee in t h e subject t hey w illteach, bu t d o n ot have a teach ing li cense. In t hose cases, t eachers canbe g in w ork u nd er a pro vision ary or em erg ency license, and can t akecourse w or k t o earn a t each ing l i cense. Som e st ates have taken t his

idea a st ep fu r ther and o f fer scho ols w hich are based u po npar t ner sh ips b etw een un iver sit ies and elem en tary or pu b lic scho o ls.Prospect ive t eachers w ho hold a bachelor s d egree or m ast er s degreem ay en ter t hese on e-year p ro fes sion al develop m ent scho ols to earnteach ing cert if ica t ion . Generally t he p ro fession al develop m ent scho ol

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o f f ers an in t en sive pro gram of teach ing th e ory and pract ice as w ell ashand s-on o r appren t ice teach ing exp eriences.

M ost st ates requ ire cont inu ing ed ucat ion af t er teachers en ter th eircareer, and som e of t ho se req uire teachers t o earn a m aster s degree.

There are a nu m ber of sou rces of f i nancial aid fo r stu dent s w how ish t o pu rsue a t eaching career, includ ing : Pell Grant s, St aff o rd LoanProg ram s, Federa l PLUS loan s, Federal Supp lem en t al Educat ionalOp por tunit y Grant Prog ram , Perkins Loan Pro g ram , Federal W orkStudy Program , and ot her special scho l arship s and pro gram s. For m orein f o rm at ion about schol arship s and gran ts, consu lt The St udent Guideto a ll form s of f ed er al ly fu nd ed aid : Federal St u d ent Aid Info rm at ionCen ter at (800 ) 4-FED-AID or t his Web site h t t p ://w w w .fafsa.ed .go v/.For pr i vately f un ded p rogram s, con tact your local l i b rary, h igh scho o lgu id ance cou nselor or t he f inancial aid of f ice at your un iver sity.

Thirt y-on e stat es of fe r som e form o f loan forgiveness fo r stu den t sw ho w i ll com m i t t o teach in t hat state f or a nu m ber of years. Ford et ails, con tact your stat e depar t m ent o f ed ucat ion .

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EARNINGS

TEACHERS HOLD APPROXIM ATELY 3.8 M ILLION JOBS, AN D 1 75 ,00 0 AREkind er g arten t eachers. Nat ionw ide, k ind er garten teachers earn abo ut$40,000 to $45,000 on aver age. W hile t eaching salaries vary w idelyde pend ing upo n reg ion and t end to be h igher in ur ban areas, st art ingsalar ies range f rom aroun d $2 5,000 t o $3 5,000 p er year.

The g oo d n ew s is t hat t eacher salaries are im proving sl igh t ly inreact ion to t he na t ion w ide sho rt age. Low w ages have been fo r years aco n tr ib u t ing facto r in th e exodu s of g oo d t eachers t o p ri vate sec t orem ploym en t .

Even w i th t he som ew hat bet ter w ages, teacher salaries haverem ained low er th an th ose of new col lege grad uates in o th er f ields.An Am erican Fed eration of Teachers survey ind icat es th at t he aver ag eb eg innin g t eacher salary has reached alm ost $ 30,000, an increase overrecent years. The aver age t eacher salary is also u p , to alm ost $45 ,000.Th is is st ill lo w , com pared t o o ther prof essionals, such as accountan tsw ho earn m ore than $50,000 and eng ineers w ho earn n ear ly $75 ,000.

Salaries vary g reat ly fro m reg ion t o reg io n . Teachers in

Connect icut , Calif o rn ia, New Jersey, New Yo rk, and M ichigan earnf rom $50,000 to $55,000 annually.

Stat es th at p ay th e highest b e gin nin g salaries includ e Alaska,Calif o rn ia, New Yor k, Delaw are, and Con nect icut .

States where teachers earn t he least includ e Sou th Da kot a,M ont ana, Ok lahom a, M ississipp i , and No rth Dakot a, w i th salary rang esof $30,000 to $35 ,000.

Subst i t ut e t eacher w ages also vary great ly fro m reg ion t o reg ion,a sign if icant fact , con sid er ing t hat m any teachers, esp ecially th osew ho canno t m ake a majo r m ove t o a new ci t y o r st at e, begin t heircareers as sub st itu te teachers. Am on g t he nat ions largest cit ies, LongBeach, Calif o rnia p ays sub s t he h igh est dai ly rate of over $140 .M o n t g om ery, A labam a, pays th e low est rate of abo ut $50 per d ay. Theaverage subst itu te rate per day is about $100.

It is also a lit t le-consid ered fact th at t eachers f requ ent ly spendsom e of th ei r ow n salar ies (up t o $ 2,000 per year, but on aver age$400 ) on sup p lies fo r t he classr o o m .

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There is a fed eral go vernm ent p ropo sal for b roader stu dent loanfor g iveness p ro gram s for n ew teachers w il l ing to t ake as sign m en t sw here t he teacher sho rt ages are th e great est.

OPPORTUNITIES

ON CE W ORKING A S A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, CAREERISTS CAN INCREASE THEIR

incom e in several w ays. M ost t eachers q uali fy fo r a sub stan t ial raiseupo n earn ing a m ast ers d egree. M any teachers also have th eop p ort uni t y to earn ext ra in com e b y w ork ing as coaches, t each ingm en t or, or in stu dent ext racu rr icu lar act ivit ies. Dur ing t he f i rst f ewyears, w hen salaries are g ener ally on th e low end, m any teacher s

choo se t o w ork sum m er jobs or teach sum m er schoo l d ur ing th ei r t w om onths o f f .

The job ou t look is pro m ising at least t hrou gh ou t th e n ext de cade,as a larg e w ave o f t each ers is reach ing re t irem ent age at th e sam et im e that en rol lm ent s are exp ect ed t o r ise, creat ing a sho rt age ofteach ers na t ion w ide, alth oug h t here are no specif ic f ig ures for th ed e m and fo r kin d er gar t en t each ers. I t is est i m ated tha t du r ing t he next

10 years, th ere w i ll be up to tw o m i ll ion vacancies and new t each ingp osi t io ns na t ion w ide. The need f or n ew t eachers d ef i nit ely var ies f ro mreg ion to region bu t Sou th ern and W est ern st ates (esp eciallyCalif o rn ia, Texas, Ar izona and Georg ia) are predict ing t he great estneed, as are m ost u rb an ar eas.

Those kin d er gart en teachers w ho seek add it io nal t rain ing canw ork in o th er job p osit ions, such as librar ian, read ing specialist , orgu id ance cou nselor. W it h expe r ience and add it ion al classes at t he

post -grad uat e level, kin d er g art en t eachers can co m pete forad m in ist rat ion and sup ervisory p osit ions.

If a k in der gar ten t eacher cho oses t o m ove t o a di f fer ent st ate, veryo f ten t here w i ll be recip rocity agreem ent s to enable the t eacher tob ecom e l icensed w ith in t he new st ate. St ates usually requ i re som ead d it ion al course w ork t o at ta in a new l icense, bu t w i l l let t eachersw ork w it h a t em p orary l icense w hile taking t he classes. Ho w ever, som e

st at es, such as Calif o rnia, req u ire a sign if icant amou nt o f add it ionalco llege cou rse w ork in or der t o at ta in a new l icense. Teachers w ho areco nsid er ing a relocat ion o f th is natu re sho uld con tact t he stat elicens ing bo ard b efo re m ak ing such a m ove.

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Kind erg art en teachers learn an abu nd ance o f skil ls valuable in aw ide rang e of p ro fes sion s. Their ski l ls are or gan iza t ional ,ad m in ist rat ive, record keep ing, research an d com m un icat ion skil ls, andp eop le skills, valu able in in f luen cing and m o t ivat ing o t hers. The ot hercareers w here t eachers can ut il ize th eir ab i lit ies in clud e schoo lcounselo r, t eacher assistant , ed ucat ion ad m in ist rat o r, l ibrarian, chi ldcare w orker, pu b lic relat ion s sp ecialist, social w orker, coach andum pire.

GETTING STARTED

FOR SPECIFIC INFORM ATION A BOUTCERTIFICATION AND LICENSURE REQUIREM ENTS,and teacher t rain ing, contact local schoo l d ist r icts and st ated epart m ents of ed ucat ion . St ate educat ion depart m ents w i l l a lso havein f o rm at ion on f i nancial aid f or st udent s w ish ing to en ter teach ingp ro fession s, and in fo rm at ion about a lt ernat ive or em ergencyt em p orary l icensing programs.

Scho ol d ist r icts look no t on ly for n ew teachers w it h ex cellentacadem ic cred en t ials, bu t also f or p o t en t ial em ployees w ithou t stand ing com m un ication skills. Those kind er garten teacherhopefu ls w ho can exp ress en th u siasm , w ho are art ic u late, and w hocan insp ire tru st , are th e m ost l ikely to easi ly land a job up ongrad uat ion f rom co llege.

Kind erg art en teachers in p art icu lar sho uld appear to have a high

level o f en ergy, and excellent org an izat ion al skil ls.

Im m ed iate ly upo n graduat ion f rom co llege or u niversity, newkinder garten t each ers w ho are w i l l ing to relocate g reatly in crease t heirchan ces f or im m e di ate em ploym ent . How ever, tho se w ho are no tw i l ling or able to m ake a m ajo r relocat ion m ove can begin t heircareers as p re scho o l t eachers. Som e scho ols f in d t his t ype ofexp er ience ext rem ely valuable w hen t hey are seeking new fu l l- t im e

kinder gart en t each ers, so t he t im e sp ent t eaching prescho ol w hi lewa i t ing f or a k ind erg arten teach ing op en ing is t im e w ell invested.

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Anot her w ay to m ake you r self m ore valuable f ro m a po ten t ia lem p loyers st and po int , is to learn anot her langu age, or specialize inteach ing Eng lish as a second language (ESL). ESL is consid ered o ne ofth e academ ic areas w ith th e great est need f or t eachers. Ot hers aresp ecial ed ucat ion , and m athem at ics and science t each ing . Bil ingua lteachers, part icu larly t ho se w ho sp eak Sp anish , are consid ered t o b e inh igh de m and .

You can also in crease yo u r chances of land ing a teach ing job i f youare t ra ined in m ore than o ne f ield. This m ay m ean th at you m ight no tim m ed iately get a job teach ing k ind ergart en o r even early elem en tarygrades, bu t you can g ain secure em ploym ent w i th in a schoo l d ist r ic t ,and earn som e valuab le ex p er ience w hi le you w ait fo r your ideal job

assignm en t t o becom e available.

You r w il l ing ness t o t each in an ur b an schoo l also p laces a newteacher in h igh dem and . There is a desp er ate need fo r t eachers inu rban com m un ities.

Subst itu te teach ing is also an excellen t w ay to b eg in a teach ingcareer. Subst itu te teach ing is gen er ally seen as very valu ableexperience by m ost bo ards of educat ion (w h ich u l t im ate ly grant

t each ers job of fers).

Gen erally, colleges and un iver sit ies have very w ell-con nectedplacem ent of f ices, w hich can h elp you f ind a f i rst job in t hekinder gart en classroom , as w ell as t ra in you o n ho w to in terview for

job s and w rit e yo u r rsu m . Take ad van t age o f t hese services, andco nsider it an ot her step in your educat ion .

You can pre pare no w fo r a career in t each ing, and fo r t each ing

kinder garten. You w i ll need to take a num ber of exam ina t ion s. Checkw i th you r col lege o r u niver sity, or w ith you r h igh schoo l ca reercounselor to f ind out w hich p re-col lege ex am s you sho uld t ake, andw hich you w i ll need t o take be fore ent er ing a teacher educat ionp rog ram or early chi ldhood ed ucat ion pro gram at a un iver sity.

If you al read y h ave a d egr ee, and are con sid er ing a career inteach ing , check w ith lo cal scho o l dist r ic ts abo ut sub st itu te teach ingrequi rem ents. M ost stat es do no t re qu ire sub s to have a t each ingcer t if icate, an d it s an ex cellen t w ay to f ind out i f you are cut o ut fo ron e of th e m ost re w ard ing and chal leng ing careers you can t ackle.

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ASSOCIATIONS

nThe American Feder at ion of Teachers

h t tp :www.a f t .o rg

nNat ional Educat ion Associat ion

http:/ /www.nea.org

nAssociat ion o f Teacher Educato rs

http://www.siu.edu/depart ments/coe/ate

nAssociat ion f or Chi ldho od Educat ion In t ernat ional

http://www.acei.org

nNat ional Associat ion f or t he Educat ion o f Youn g Child ren

http://www.naeyc.org

PERIODICALS

nEf f ect ive Teaching

http://cte.uncwil.edu/et

nEducat ion Weekly

www.edweek.org

nEducat ors New s

www.mathdi t tos2.com/ednews/

nThe Phi Delt a Kappan

www.pdkint l .org/kappan/kappan.htm

nTeacher Educat ion Quarter ly

www.teqjournal .org

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WEB SITES

nhttp://www.recruit ingteachers.org

nEducat ion Job s Page

http:/ /www.nat ionjob.com/educat ion

nhttp: / /www.rnt .org

nhttp://www.cdacounci l .org

nU.S. Depart m ent of Educat ion

http:/ /www.ed.gov/

n

Nat ional Coun ci l f or Accred it at ion o f Teacher Educat ionhttp:/ /www.ncate.org

nCouncil f or Early Chi ldhoo d Pro f essional Recognit ion

http://www.naeyc.org

COPYRIGHT 20 06 Inst it ut e Fo r Career Reseach CHICAGOCAREERS INTERNET DATABASE w w w.ca reers-internet .org

[institute_for_career_research]_career_as_a_kinder(bookfi.org).pdf

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