From Student to Teacher: Is Teaching the Career For You?

Are you currently considering becoming a teacher? You might be thinking of doing a Masters in Teaching Primary or other relevant educational qualification. There's something quite noble about becoming a teacher and committing to mould the minds of tomorrow. You'll need patience, tolerance and compassion to become a teacher, but if you have those skills and teaching matches your values, what an excellent choice of career. This helpful article will explore teaching at all levels as a career pathway, and we'll cover some reasons why it might be the right move for you. 

You Love Learning

If you hold a passion for learning, and are committed to lifelong learning, then becoming a teacher is probably the right move for you. Teachers, by their nature, need to be adherents to the principle of lifelong learning.

As teachers are responsible for instilling a love of learning, or at least encouraging engagement with learning, it makes sense that they should also have a natural love for learning. If you love learning new skills, new techniques and new methods of doing things, then teaching should be an excellent fit for your unique passion. This passion might even pass, sort of like through osmosis, onto the kids that you will eventually teach in the classroom. They will be inspired by your love of learning and grow to love it themselves. 

You're a Natural Leader

Teachers need to be leaders, even if they're not working in a leadership role. This is because they need to lead the classroom, model exemplary behaviour, and inspire the kids or students in their classes. Perhaps you were the natural leader of your friendship group throughout your schooling years, or you've worked in a leadership role in another sector before considering becoming a teacher. Whatever the case, if you're a natural leader, then teaching might be an excellent fit for you.

In the classroom, you'll be leading the students on quests of learning and adventurous discovery of new wonders, demonstrating to them the magic of words, numbers, science, history, or whatever else you might be teaching. As a leader, it's your job to show this awe, convey it to students, and inspire them to achieve the very best they can in the classroom. 

You're Very Organised

Teachers need to be organised and develop organisational skills to become successful in this career. In a regular school week, you'll need to plan and arrange lesson plans, mark students' work, write end-of-term reports, and perform various other tasks that require organisation. As a teacher, you need to model positive behaviour for your students, as we've mentioned above, and this means being organised and efficient in your role. This means that those who are naturally organised will make great teachers, so if you love to have your life neatly ordered and arranged, then becoming a teacher may be the right choice for you. 

Also, if you're not the most organised person, then during your studies to become a teacher is the perfect opportunity to develop and hone your organisational skills. Becoming organised is a skill like any other that can be learned, practised and perfected along the way. Tertiary study is an excellent place to learn how to be organised, and transferring this learning into a classroom environment should come naturally once you've become a teacher. 

You're a Patient and Compassionate Person

Teachers need to have next-level patience, compassion, and tolerance. Patience and compassion are both skills, although some people may find them easier to practise than others. Like any other skill, they can be developed and strengthened with mindfulness and ongoing dedication. It is also particularly important for those who teach younger children, such as kindergarten or early primary school, to practise patience and compassion.

Children can be frustrating and challenging and will test these skills. They can misbehave, lose attention and focus, struggle to comprehend the curriculum, and, in some cases, even become outright defiant and aggressive. As a teacher, you can't afford to lose your head in class, or you'll lose the respect and trust of your students. Compassion and patience are key to being an effective teacher.

While anyone can develop these skills, those who are naturally patient and compassionate often make great teachers. They can draw on their reserves of patience, compassion, and tolerance during difficult classroom interactions and model positive behaviour for the kids. 

You Like Every Day to be Different

There's never a dull day in the life of a teacher. Each day will be different, with different lessons to prepare and deliver, and you need to adapt to both the classroom dynamic and the evolving curriculum, which may be updated every year, or at another frequency. You can bet your britches that no day will be the same, and those who enjoy variety will thrive as a teacher. One day, you may teach English, and the next, maths or history, depending on if you teach primary or high school. Primary teachers will probably see more variety in their day, as high school teachers often focus on a specific type of education. For instance, a primary school teacher is responsible for the main curriculum. In contrast, a high school teacher may focus on a single subject or perhaps two or three, such as English and History, or Maths, Science and Physics. 

You're an Excellent Writer and Communicator 

A great teacher should be an excellent communicator in both the written and verbal spheres. You'll need to be able to write well in order to demonstrate this skill to your students, as well as use it in written communication with both parents and your colleagues. This is especially pertinent for English or creative writing teachers.

In addition to your writing skills, a great teacher should be able to speak clearly, fluently, fluidly, and at an appropriate pitch, tone and volume to convey ideas to young, developing minds effectively. For this reason, if you're an excellent writer and verbal communicator, then teaching should come naturally to you.

Is Teaching Right for You?

In this informative article, we've shared advice on assessing whether or not teaching is the right career pathway for you. We've covered the personality traits, skills, and expertise it takes to become a great teacher, so it is worth comparing the list in this article to your own skills, making an assessment, and deciding if you want to embark on this career pathway.