To become a public school teacher in the United States you need to obtain a license from the state to which you belong after completing your Bachelor’s degree in any teacher education program. The license for teaching is specific to the state where it is issued and enables you to become a teacher in that state. Continue reading What is A Teacher Reciprocity?
One of the hardest times for a new Teacher is deciding between working for Charter School and Public School. Understanding the difference between the two types of school settings may assist you in making the decision. Continue reading Understanding the Difference between a Charter School and a Public School
Schools across the United States are struggling to cope with the vacant positions of teachers. While the situation is really very bad in rural and poverty ridden school districts it is almost equally bad in other parts of the country. There is a dearth of qualified and trained teachers that is posing a serious threat to the education system of the country. The demand for teachers is on the rise for two reasons – increase in the number of students and a significant reduction in the resources pipeline of teachers. The count of teachers in 2011 was 3.3 million and the growth rate is expected to be pegged at 13 percent through 2018. Therefore, it is no wonder that more teachers are needed in 2015.
Chronic Shortage:
Besides the overall shortage there is chronic shortages of teachers in various categories that are subject specific. The overall picture can be understood from some numbers given below.
Diverse Talent Pools:
It has been observed that the schools perform at their best levels when they have access to teachers from diverse talent pools. Teachers made available from various teacher preparation programs are the best candidates for imparting quality education and align with the philosophy and culture of schools with ease. But unfortunately, this has not happened. Hence the necessity of building pipelines to make up for quality teachers.
Apathetic Youth:
The supply pipeline of resources for teachers have been throttled for quite some time due to the apathy of the average educated youth to pursue the profession of teacher. Teaching is a challenging profession that is rewarding too. Despite admitting this fact, youths do not find enough motivation to take up teaching as a career. The lessons of the financial meltdown have made the younger generation look for occupations that are financially stable and sustainable. The misery is further compounded by the district budgets that are filled with uncertainties and the ongoing education dialogues of the public.
The Way Forward:
The problem has to be addressed from a more discernable depth that unlocks the supply line by motivating the youth to take up the noble profession of teaching that can be joyful and challenging. The focus has to be centered on preparing teachers, supporting them and developing a sense of community that is essential to sustain them in the profession. A healthy pipeline of qualified and motivated teachers is the only answer to the problem.
The education fraternity has to take the responsibility of creating environments that attract the youth to teaching and support them in continuous development.
The paradox about the teaching profession in America is that despite its prospects of high wages it has failed to attract the youth. The schools have realized the need to make pay and duties much better but it still seems not enough to make up the huge gap in demand and supply of qualified teachers. The story is the same throughout the country. Continue reading High Demand of Science Teachers & Tech Educators
When you are conducting an online job search or sending applications via the email, it is extremely important that you create a positive first impression. A good first impression can get you the job interview you are looking for, which can be your next platform to prove your skills. To achieve this aim, you need to come up with a good email cover letter for your resume.
Writing a better email cover letter for your resume.
Come up with a good subject line:
Career advisers always put special emphasis on the subject line of an email cover letter. What you write in this line can either get your letter read immediately or ignored royally. Hence you should put special effort in coming up with a good subject line for your cover letter. Don’t simply leave your subject line blank or just put the job number on it. Your letter’s subject line should be very clear and very specific to the job that you are applying for.
A good example of a subject line for a person wishing to apply for a Teacher position may be: Certified Washington State Elementary School Teacher.
This subject line will immediately inform the recruiter that you are already certified in the State and have experience as a Teacher working with Elementary School Children.
Some examples of a less desirable subject lines are: Excellent worker, motivated employee, passionate teacher.
Use a standard protocol for your cover letter:
Your letter should be presented as the body of the email and have a salutation as well as a standard closing. You should leave blank lines between the paragraphs and implement proper closing lines and signature. In your signature, put all information that you would normally have on a business card, such as phone number, email address and snail mail address. Make sure that your voice mail greeting is professional in case your potential employer leaves a message.
Keep your letter short and dynamic:
As recruiters and managers are always busy going through hundreds of mails, you need to keep your letter short and simple while at the same time appeal to them enough so that they call you for an interview. Remember that they are looking to get the basic gist of your letter in 150 or less words. For this reason, the first paragraph of your letter is very crucial. You need to make short paragraphs and sentences to present yourself and your abilities. Let them know in well constructed but brief sentences about your skills and what you can accomplish for them. Do not use wording that fills space such as passionate, dedicated, hardworking, etc. These types of words distract from the professional experience and take up space from other more important words.
Make sure that the formatting of your letter is kept simple:
While writing your cover letter in a word processing program, make sure to do away with all the formatting and save your file as plain text. The ideal length of a line is about 40 characters. There are numerous email service providers that do an automatic word wrap for their users so that the letter does not come up in fragments. You can also use other programs that can format your cover letter for you.
Be very specific in your letter:
While responding to a particular job ad, make sure that you have the requisite skills for it. It is of no use applying for a job of an Certified Experienced Bilingual Teacher when you are actually a Teacher with no Bilingual experience and no certification. Numerous job applications actually get rejected just for this very reason. By making sure that your application is specific and relevant, you will save both on yours as well as the recruiters’ time.
An elementary school teacher plays a very important role during the early, formative period of a child’s development. This is true from both intellectual as well as social perspective. It is during this stage that a child’s self-image is developed, which plays a critical role in determining success or failure in their school, professional or personal lives. Continue reading A Day in the Life of an Elementary School Teacher
If you are a Teacher or are planning on Teaching as your career, studying overseas can be an excellent way to augment your academic career while at the same time increasing your cultural perspective and knowledge. Spending time at another country can help you learn and experience a deeper knowledge about the world, and will enhance your career marketability and lead to personal growth as well. Continue reading Teacher Travel Abroad and How to Fund Your Overseas Educator Experience
The word “Budgets” should be the easiest word to spell for anyone working at any School District in the United States. Ask a Teacher or Educator in any school district nationwide and he/she will not have a problem spelling this word as the word “budget” greatly affects or defines their careers. For Teachers interested in working in Washington State, Oregon, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Philadelphia they will happily spell the word budget as these states will increase their hiring budget and will hire hundreds of Teachers for school year 2015-16. Continue reading Washington, Oregon, Los Angeles, Las Vegas & Philadelphia Hiring Teachers for 2015
Job fairs are events where numerous companies from different sectors meet to hire prospective employees. Whether you are fresh right out from the college or someone with experience in a certain field, you need to present your resume in a manner in which it will get noticed. A career fair is in most cases once in a while opportunity, and you need to make the most out of it to give your career the boost it may require. Continue reading 5 Tips to Create Successful Cover Letters to present at Job Fairs