Thread: Career change/questions/nervous

Yes sir, I am also an aspiring teacher in the Great state of Maryland. I know almost exactly what you feel in that I am also changing careers from computers to teaching english. I did do some volunteer work for an elementary school and as far as I could tell, the kids respect people who are "involved" with their activities. The Best advice i can give is take it one step at a time.
By the way, I have found that sometimes, the little ones are far more "mature" than their teen counter-parts. :wink:

Hello "Skills",

I am a French Immersion Teacher in Vancouver, BC. I was intrigued by your post, and thought I'd say hello. Hopefully my comments will fit in with the "support" you were looking for! :wink:

If you have worked with children / youth, enjoyed it, and excelled at it, then go for it! No one goes into teaching for the money (it sucks, by the way!). You have to love it. It's all about relationships, even more so at the elementary level. If you can relate to your students, and you infuse enthusiasm and life into your lessons, they'll learn!

Don't worry excessively about your experience not being with the same age group as what you are interviewing for. Once you complete the teacher training program, there is no guarantee you'll find a job in the age-range you want, initially, anyways. The more experience you have with different age groups, the fewer the jitters you'll feel when you walk into your first classroom!

Before becoming a teacher, I worked in a summer camp with pre-K children, then as a French Language Monitor with grades 3-7. My practicum was with a grade 2/3 class, and I taught in five different grade levels in my first three years before getting my current job as a grade 5 teacher!

I wouldn't worry too much about making a "career change" at 26, that's an age at which many people are only beginning their career. You're young, man! As far as your worries about 'how to teach English, how to organize a classroom or prepare and execute a "fun" lesson plan', etc... well, they teach you most of that in the B.Ed. programs, and you get lots of practice and feedback during your practicums. Again, the more experience you can get in the classroom environment or similar setting, the more at ease you will feel... practice makes perfect!

The nice thing about the world of education is that it is not cut-throat like in the business world. Most people will be understanding of your "newbie" status, and will be eager to help you get set up (teachers love to exchange ideas and share resources, in general). As long as you are enthusiastic, willing to try new things and you do your best to listen to and apply constructive criticism, you'll be fine. The best teachers are those who never stop learning.

Anyways, your initial post is almost a month old, so I am sure you've survived that interview and taken the first steps in your new chosen vocation. Hope this helps!

Best of luck,

pistachoo :mrgreen: