There is a lot of debate throughout the world regarding the purpose of education. Some countries pursue an approach which requires students to specialise their education early on so that they are more capable in subjects which they can then pursue a career in, while others like the USA offer a more liberal approach to education for students, where they acquire a broad range of knowledge and skills which may or may not aid them in pursuing a career.

If you were to ask people when they are 16 what they want to do with their life, most would tell you that they don’t really know. This would seem to support the liberal approach to education, but when you look at that approach in practice you see how a lot of people end up studying courses when there is no market for people with those skills.

Education for children begins when they’re born. Parents need to encourage their newborn babies to learn immediately, first with how to interact with other people, and then moving onto how to talk, then reading and writing. However, while there are many things that parents can do by themselves, there is a lot more to be gained by standardised education with trained professionals, of which their first introduction to is with nurseries.

Nurseries serve an important function for child development for a number of reasons. They provide structure to children’s lives, a place for them to practice social skills with children their own age, and interaction and education with trained educators. They are also often the first opportunity for the child to experience being regularly separated from their parents, which while unpleasant for both the parent and child is very important.

There are a number of different nurseries out there to choose from, and some will place greater emphasis on learning than others. These are likely to improve children’s academic outlook over the next couple of decades, but they can also lose something by missing out on a more balanced experience.

This can vary massively depending upon the location, the subject you’re teaching, and the age of the pupils being taught, but in most of them it will consist of some degree of in-work training and a university course.

The in-work training can differ tremendously; from taking a position as a teaching assistant, where you begin to acquire the skills and understanding necessary to teach pupils in a specific; to starting off as a teacher in a probational role, where you have to contend with a lot of oversight. Sometimes this part of your training could take place during your teaching courses, and other times and locations it may well be after you’ve completed your university training.

Depending upon the age group you’ll be teaching, you may be required to gain additional degrees beyond a teaching qualification. This isn’t always necessary, but it can lead to greater opportunities for teachers in work, with better pay and better opportunities for career advancement. Typically, degrees are unnecessary for teachers of primary / lower schools, and having an education in the subject matter to a high school level is all you’ll need.

A Microsoft certification for education is a highly sought after certification for teachers, which will validate you as a teacher who is technologically literate. The Microsoft certified educator, or the MCE certification is recognised globally as a great qualification, and can be a massive benefit to teacher’s careers.

The MCE certification is gained by undergoing an examination, which will test your abilities in educating with technology. The test is widely viewed to be very vigorous and requires a fair amount of training and expertise to be undertaken successfully. Preparation is therefore essential, and Microsoft can help you in this regard, with a free learning curriculum for individuals looking to gain the qualification, called the Teaching with Technology e-learning curriculum.

This course is sometimes confused with another certification offered by Microsoft, the Microsoft Certified Trainer certification. This other course is where you can become certified in using Microsoft technological tools, such as Microsoft Office, which is also a good certification for teachers.

Being able to read is the most important part of having a successful education. Every single class you do at school requires reading to some extent, and while there are some practices in place to help dyslexic students get by, most of the time they’ve been proven to be inadequate. Therefore, one of the most important tasks for a teacher and for a school, is to be able to correctly gauge the reading abilities of students.

Determining reading ability isn’t such a clear cut process though, as to get a good understanding of their abilities you need to have a break down of them. The two main areas which determine reading ability is vocabulary and comprehension; or being able to an individual word, and then being able to understand how the meaning of these words is determined by the context in which they’re used. If there is a problem with either of these areas, you can then decide whether or not you need to focus on improving a students vocabulary, by helping with definitions of words, or if you need to focus on improving their understanding of grammar.

Teaching is a difficult task to get done right and involves a great deal of expertise to be done professionally. Some of this expertise can be gained prior to actually starting out your career, but this is mostly of poorer value than what you can learn in work for a number of reasons:

As with most standardised training, the goal is to standardise results, which, in the case of teacher training, results in teachers whom have a solid understanding of the basics. While the basics are essential, they aren’t always enough to produce great teachers. Likewise, not continuing formal training as a teacher, and relying purely on your own experience to develop your skills, will cause you to have gaps in your understanding of how to teach a classroom.

To develop your teaching skills, you should rely on a mix of formal training, for instance during teaching training days and various teaching conferences, as well as your own experiences. By using the formal training as a means to discover new ideas, you can then use your experience to determine which ones you’ll be able to apply easily and effectively.

Career advancement is a very important thing in teaching, and it can be quite difficult as well. While those who’ve made other career choices have the ability to leave their current workplace and seek work (and a raise) at a new place, teachers are generally more limited.

To overcome this, schools try their best to provide clear career advancement opportunities in the same building, but taking advantage of this opportunity isn’t always so clear cut. As with most things, it comes down to striving at what you’re currently doing. This will over time result in your superiors relying on you more and providing you with more responsibilities which will eventually convert into increased pay and promotions.

Sometimes however, despite your best efforts, there is simply no position available above your current position, but striving is still a good choice, as it will be reflected in any letter of recommendation your employer could write for you.

Like with any jobs, first impressions in a job application are all important. This generally occurs in the form of a CV or resume, so getting it right and making it stand out from the competition is key.

Depending upon the amount of responsibilities the job you’re applying to has, you may need to expand more than for an entry teaching position, but you should always make sure that it is at least a couple of pages. It needs to provide; some background on who you are; what you’re interested in, what motivates you and what you want to achieve, and then it needs to provide some information on your time in the workplace; your experience, expertise, qualifications and licenses.

What you need to try to do in your short introduction is demonstrate how enthusiastic you are about teaching. If the job is particularly competitive then this could mean showing how you’re willing to go above and beyond the minimum requirements, maybe by setting up an after school program or something else which is likely to help improve students’ results.

A lot of people who don’t know much about the education sector assume that working in a private school pays a lot better than in a free school, but this is generally not the case. In fact, the pay for most teaching roles remains at a pretty equal level. However, this does not mean there aren’t advantages for teachers working in private schools.

Private schools operate completely differently than public schools, due to two primary reasons; their budget is bigger and they are able to set their own rules. This is advantageous to teachers because it means that they; potentially have more input into the lesson plans they do; are able to establish more control over the classroom; place greater investment into students futures, thereby improving results. Also, for a number of reasons, the general air of expectation and discipline generally results in better behaved student bodies, helping to reduce the stress teachers usually encounter massively.

After a long day at school, teachers will often find their last class of the day largely not engaged in learning or paying any attention at all, which can be a very frustrating experience, both for them and for the students who are willing to learn. Keeping them engaged therefore becomes of paramount importance.

Doing this is more easily said than done, with many of the techniques which teachers tend to rely upon in a normal class failing when there are so many students not prepared to do anything at once. One of the best ways to do it is to make sure that you time your intervention correctly; the earlier the better. A lack of attention to the subject at hand is often contagious, so tackling the issue when it is just one or two students can stop the spread, so to speak.