Education Jobs

How To Get A Job As A Preschool Teacher

Preschool Teachers are a vital part of the education community.  Preschool Teachers provide what is often the child’s first experience away from their parents.  This is a very challenging job.

If you want to get a job as a Preschool Teacher you must enjoy the company of young children and be dedicated to their academic education as well as to their social, emotional, and moral development.  You must be physically fit, energetic, patient, responsible, creative, well organized, detail oriented, sensitive, and a good communicator.  Some young children are rowdy and extremely vocal, so you must be a good, but kind, disciplinarian.  You must be respectful, and non-judgmental as you will be dealing with children, and their parents, who may come from many different cultures, vastly different from your own.   You must, in everything you do and say, be a good roll model for impressionable young minds.

Preschool Teachers have a large variety of responsibilities and duties.  They must set up their work area to be safe, inviting, and educational for all children in their care.  They must write lesson plans, teach basic required skills and subjects, organize child-related activities and field trips, keep records of each child’s progress, write report cards, attend meetings, and supervise activities within the classroom and outdoors.  Preschool Teachers must meet with parents on a regular basis, as well as in the case of problems in the classroom.  They may communicate with parents face-to-face, by email, or by phone.  Preschool Teachers must also plan for and supervise teachers aids and volunteers who work with them in the classroom and on field trips.  These teachers work cooperatively with specialists, and other teachers and administrators within the school system.

Because of a rising population and the need of more mothers to work outside the home, job opportunities for Preschool Teachers are excellent.

Education

The educational requirements for Preschool Teachers vary from area to area, but it is always wise to get the best education that you can afford so you will be eligible for any position as well as for advancement.  The salaries earned by those with bachelor’s degrees are of course higher than those who have only an associate’s degree.

If you plan to get a job as a teacher, or any teacher, get as much experience as you can working with children from many different backgrounds.  Even when you are in elementary school, you may get a job as a volunteer in a day camp or nursery.  Later on you can get a part time job in a school, summer camp, or daycare.  Working as a baby sitter is of some, but limited, value, as you are with only one or two children, usually from the same family.  You want to gain experience with diverse groups of young children, preferably in an educational setting.

Some districts hire Preschool Teachers with an associate’s degree.  These degrees are of two years duration teaching early childhood growth and development, school curriculum, observation and assessment.

The best option is to get a bachelor’s degree.  This takes four year and covers all the material of the associate’s program but including more intensive coverage of teaching strategies, theory, and language development.

Whatever program you are considering, make sure it is accredited by the naeyc, The National Association for Accreditation Of School Programs In Early Childhood Education.

For a list of accredited programs in your area, go to the following site.

http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/search

You should be aware that most employers require that their Preschool Teacher pass a police background check.  Fingerprints may also be taken.

Preschool Teachers should  be trained in first aid and CPR.

Although it is not required by all areas, some do prefer to hire teachers who have their BK degree.  That is a birth to kindergarten education program that covers all children from birth to kindergarten.  This includes those with disabilities.  To obtain your BK, you must have a B.A. in early childhood education as well as being actively involved in a series of ongoing accredited programs.

You may start your career as a Preschool Teacher by working as a teacher’s assistant, then later taking the associate’s degree.