At its most basic, teacher training gives you the required qualification to start your journey as an educator - but that’s only part of the story. While completing your TT course you’ll pick up a number of hard and soft skills - some of which you may not even be aware of until later. So in this article, we’re lecturing on how teacher training prepares you for your first job.
What Is Teacher Training?
Many thousands of people decide to embark on teacher training every year and there are a variety of routes into this. The most common way of getting into teacher training is to first earn a Bachelor’s degree and to then enrol into a certified QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) course.
Industry leader,
Tradewind Recruitment advises that if you don’t have a degree, don’t worry, this won’t hold you back from your goals - you can complete an undergraduate teacher training course to get around this. Alternatively, depending on where you live, you may be able to sign up for School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) with just a High School diploma or GCSEs (although this generally won’t be possible if you’re planning to teach in a secondary / high school). In both cases, you can expect your course to include a combination of classroom-based learning and on-the-job training.
From Learning In The Classroom to Teaching
Teacher tuition is about so much more than just a shiny new certificate; it’s about arming you with skills and a mindset necessary for your new career. In this article, we’re going to be swotting up on how teacher training prepares you for that all-important first job.
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Assertiveness without aggression
While learning the nuts and bolts of the curriculum is all well and good, it won’t prepare you for the first time that you have to stand in front of a classroom full of kids - but teacher training will. Most people are unaccustomed to speaking to groups of people let alone commanding attention and this is one of the first barriers that teacher training addresses. Your course will involve gaining experience in a real-life classroom and is an essential part of your coaching. Whether you’re planning to spend your career instructing over-exited six-year-olds or inspiring unruly teens, your first line of defence is authority. Your course will teach you how to lay down the law in a classroom without being overly stern or rigid and, as such, is a vital part of your overall coaching.
The confidence trick
Feeding in from assertiveness is that all-elusive quality; confidence. Think back to your own schooldays; chances are that your teachers seemed like they had all the answers and the confidence to back them up but, we’ll let you into a secret, they weren’t born that way. Projecting confidence is an essential part of a teacher’s job and is something that you’ll pick up during your training. As your learning progresses, you’ll find that your self-assurance will evolve and grow until rather than being daunting, the idea of standing in front of your first class is really quite an exciting one.
Making management matter
When you start your course, you’ll quickly discover that imparting knowledge is only part of the job of a teacher. Another really important bit is management and this is divided into a few different chunks:
- Workload - Your new role of teacher will require you to manage your own workload which can involve a number of factors such as time-keeping, grading and reporting. While this can seem a little overwhelming at first, your training will hand you the tools to keep a number of balls in the air at any given time.
- Classroom - In an ideal world, your class would be filled with eager, bright-eyed pupils who behave as though they’ve just completed finishing school. In reality, however, you’ll find yourself faced with around 30 kids of differing abilities and personalities - and it’s up to you to keep them under control. Your teacher training is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage your room (and stop it descending into chaos) while also addressing the needs of each and every student.
- Standards - It’s an uncomfortable truth that, these days, a big part of being a teacher is ensuring that the school meets the standards set by OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills). These standards determine a school’s reputation and so are incredibly important and your teacher training will pay close attention to giving you all the information you need to achieve this.
Rising to challenges
When you begin teaching, you’ll soon discover that children and young adults come in different shapes and sizes and that some also have extra challenges. During your training, you’ll learn how to deal with pupils with special needs including autism and ADHD. Not only will you learn how to communicate with these students, more importantly, you’ll develop skills to nurture and motivate those who need a little extra help in the classroom and, often, as a teacher, this is where the magic happens.
Managing complex relationships
Right, let’s get one thing straight - if you think that you’re going to become ‘pals’ with your pupils, teaching probably isn’t for you. Having said that, you will need to form a relationship with your students - and fast. In your position as educator, you need to be able to balance authority with approachability - a fine line which takes a bit of practice. Over the three years of your course, you’ll learn how to forge strong and positive relationships with your class, without relinquishing the authority necessary to keep everything under control.
Ringing The Bell On Your Teacher Training Course
The life of a teacher is a multi-faceted one and is so much more than showing a bunch of kids how to add up and take away. As well as motivating and inspiring children with extra needs, you’ll also be looking out for signs of abuse and neglect - all while still meeting those important standards and making sure that your class gets the education that they deserve.
Yes, it may be stressful, but teaching can be an incredibly rewarding career that lasts for a lifetime. So your teaching training is an investment in the skills you’re going to need for today, tomorrow and many years ahead.
