Top 0 Posts - September 2010
ShareThis1) Top 5 Ways to Increase a Teaching Salary
Teaching is emotionally rewarding, but sometimes it falls short financially. In this post, our expert suggests five ways to earn more money throughout the year.
2) Top 5 Jobs in Administration
If you love education, but want to transition out of the classroom, a job in administration might be a good fit. Our expert describes five administrative positions worth considering.
3) How Can I Ensure Effective Communication as an Online Teacher?
When you're used to teaching in a traditional classroom, communicating as an online teacher can be challenging. This post offers tips about effectively communicating with students in the virtual classroom.
4) Top 6 Ways to Prepare for Online Teaching Jobs
While there's no standard path to becoming an online teacher, preparation and proper training is essential. Our expert recommends six ways to prepare for an online teaching career.
5) How Can a Teacher Deal with Demanding Parents?
You knew that students could be challenging, but you weren't prepared for their parents! This post discusses strategies for dealing with difficult parents.
Earn More with a Master's Degree in Teaching
Teaching has long been associated with low wages, but there are several ways to enhance your teaching salary. Earning a master's degree in education is one of the most direct paths to earning a higher teaching salary. Many schools follow a pay structure that rewards experience and education, so going back to school for a master's degree in teaching automatically boosts your wages. A master's degree in education can also make you a more competitive candidate for teaching positions down the road. If you don't have time to attend a traditional master's degree program, consider online education degree programs.
Of course, earning a degree and increasing your teaching experience takes time. To increase your earning potential in the short term, consider the following options:
- Take on additional responsibilities at your school, such as coaching a sport or running a club
- Become a tutor
- Perform special projects for your school over the summer
- Teach at a summer school or camp
The above options can help ease your financial burden while allowing you to reach more students.
Transitioning from Teacher to Administrator
Administrators tend to earn significantly higher wages than classroom teachers, and they play an important role in the short-term and long-term goals of a school. Because teachers have experience working in a school setting, they often make effective administrators. Teaching experience is valuable in the following administrative positions:
- Department Head
- Principal
- Assistant Principal
- Director of Development
- Dean of Students
- Curriculum Specialist
A master's degree in education is required for many administrative jobs, so you may want to research traditional and online education degree programs to help you make the transition.
Becoming an Online Teacher
While there isn't a standard requirement for becoming an online teacher, the online components of high schools, colleges, and universities often require their online instructors to meet the same requirements as their on-campus faculty. For example, if you want to teach an online course for a California public school, you'll need a California teaching credential to qualify.
Because teaching online is quite different from traditional classroom teaching, you might consider the following resources to help you make a successful transition:
- Look into online teacher training programs from companies, such as Blackboard Inc., eCollege, and Apex Learning
- Take an online course to experience online learning firsthand
- Apply for an online teaching job and prepare via the school's online teacher training program
- Transition slowly by incorporating online learning into your existing teaching duties
- Ask other online teachers for advice
- Gain real-world work experience in the field in which you wish to teach
Once you begin online teaching, communicating with students may pose a particular challenge. Written exchanges lack the inflection and nonverbal cues that we take for granted in face-to-face communication. As a result, the tone of an email or class post can be misinterpreted by students. Fortunately, our experts offers several ways to avoid the pitfalls of written communication in online teaching:
- Reread messages to make sure they convey the proper tone
- Avoid using all caps, which are the written equivalent of shouting
- Take advantage of educational technology tools, such as videoconferencing and online whiteboards to make the classroom more interactive
- Encourage students to work together in teams
- Use emoticons to help you convey tone
- Look for online teaching training opportunities
Like all teaching, becoming an online teacher requires some trial and error to help you figure out the best way to reach students.
Dealing with Demanding Parents as a Teacher
Demanding parents mean well, but they can frustrate your teaching efforts by second-guessing your decisions and diverting your attention away from the class as a whole. You can ease the burden of difficult parents by establishing good communication up front and keeping the communication lines open throughout the year. The following tips can help you manage the challenging parents in your class:
- Inform them of their children's positive actions, as well as the negative ones
- Create a weekly newsletter to keep parents in the loop
- Ask for an administrator's help with extremely challenging situations
- Remember that parents are acting out of love for their children
When parents know that you're on their side and working hard to teach their children, they will trust you and become much more pleasant to deal with.
Quick Stats September 2010--Ask the Teacher
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