Is Primary Teaching The Job For You?

Is Primary Teaching The Job For You?

Are you thinking of a change of career? Could teaching at primary school level be the job for you? If you think primary teaching is for you, think about some of the qualities and skills required to make this truly rewarding career dream a reality – but, remember teaching is a vocation, not simply a job.

Almost everyone can study a topic and become an expert in that, however, not everyone can teach that topic, share the inner workings of the topic and inspire others to study it, and ultimately enjoy it – when it comes to teaching there are some core attributes needed to make it a successful career.

Be Able To Take The Lead
Leadership is a core skill for primary school teachers, even for those in the strictest of non-leadership roles, primary teachers need to lead students in studies and teaching assistants in the classroom.

Be A Good Communicator
Tone of voice and pitching thoughts and ideas are important in teaching – teachers are required to explain sometimes complex concepts to children as well as sharing teaching ideas with colleagues.

Enjoy Being With Children
This may be obvious, but it is necessary, for anyone looking at primary teaching, spend as much time as possible with children – think about family or friends, to gain experience volunteer in a school.

Offer A Creative Side
For generations teaching relied heavily on board work and text books, today, methods have changed, it is recognised children learn best when they are having fun through enjoyable, creative lessons.

Organisation Is The Key To Success
For some who leave the profession, over-work is often credited for them leaving, therefore with a million-and-one tasks to complete, organisation skills are critically important for a primary teacher.

Solve Problems Effectively
Teaching does not come without daily challenges, therefore it is important to rise to any challenge which presents itself, find creative solutions to problems, demonstrate resilience and be a class role model.

Teamwork Matters
For those on the outside, teaching can appear a lonely profession, a teacher works often solo teaching a class, however, teachers support the whole school community and work with colleagues.

Understand Feelings
Empathy is important to all humans, however, youngsters generally need greater support than adults when it comes to day-to-day challenges – it is important to share emotion.

Make A Difference To Your Local School

If teaching is not your calling, or perhaps you have a successful career in another profession, but you still wish to do something positive in your local school community, consider becoming a school governor? By becoming a school governor, you can bring some of your transferable skills from your professional life into the school to make it an even better place for students, parents and teachers.

For more information about becoming a school governor at primary or secondary level, and school governance more broadly, visit: www.governorsforschools.org.uk, or: www.nga.org.uk