Preschool Teacher Job Description
Overview
A preschool teacher is a person who is employed to care for children from infant to 4 years of age in a daytime setting. A preschool teacher provides care to children aged 2 to 4 years old within unlicensed childcare centers, licensed childcare centers, home-based child care and after school programs. Preschool teachers ensure the safety of the children in their care while creating a nurturing setting for children to develop their cognitive, social and emotional skills, interact with children, play with children and providing toys, love children and take care as a mother.
Steps to take to start your career as a Preschool Teacher and other jobs like it
- Most teacher assistant or preschool positions require a high school diploma or GED equivalent as well as some additional coursework. Completing post-secondary education (for example a bachelor’s degree) or specialized training in education, child development, or a related field enhances your qualifications as a teacher assistant. Many community colleges and vocational schools offer certificate or associate degree programs specifically for aspiring teacher assistants which are much less costly than a 4 yr degree and less time invested.
- Practical experience working with children is highly valued in teacher assistant roles. Consider volunteering at schools, daycare centers, summer camps, or community organizations that provide services to children. This experience will help you develop skills in classroom management, communication, and working with diverse groups of students.
- Depending on your location and the specific requirements of the school or district, you may need to obtain certifications or credentials to work as a teacher assistant. Some states or school districts require paraprofessionals to pass a standardized assessment, such as the ParaPro Assessment, to demonstrate basic skills in reading, writing, and math. Once you have the necessary qualifications and experience, start applying for teacher assistant positions in schools or educational settings.
- If this is work that you enjoy, consider using it as a stepping stone toward becoming a teacher. Teaching comes with more advanced education and certification requirements but the position also comes with greater opportunity to impact student lives and the pay improves as well.
Why I Choose Teaching
I hated school with a passion. Teachers were mean to me. Then junior year of high school, I was in a class, an American history class, and the teacher of that class was also a track coach and ended up loving running and ended up starting to like school because this teacher just brought it alive and was really passionate about it. And I could tell and made me want to learn more and more. So after my junior year, instead of Ds, Cs, Ds and Fs, I was getting As and As, which was wonderful. And I never thought I'd go to college, but I ended up going to junior college to complete, continue running. And then after that, I had all these units and got transfer agreements to a university. And in that university, I ended up finding out that I loved kids and I loved teaching kids and being with kids and watching them learn and grow and just having a good laugh every day. And I just reflected back, said, you know, I'm going to make school fun and exciting for kids in a way that was not for me.
Early Career Tips
Make sure that you set aside money for retirement every month starting from the beginning, even if it's just a little. I know you don't make as much in the beginning as a veteran long term teacher, but it's really important to be prepared for the end of your career, even though you're just starting. Don't date anyone at work. It's the worst thing. It bites in the butt every time and from personal experience. Ask for help whenever you need it. Make sure that you get in good with your team, your grade level team, and always be nice. The custodian and the staff that work in the office, they work really hard and they pretty much run the school.
Teaching Requirements
You have to obviously have a bachelor's, some sorts of people now have a master's education and then you have to have a teaching credential program. Most universities have them. You have to get fingerprinted, you have to have TB tests. You have to have to have kind of a general like of children, you know, and kind of just asking for education and wanting to pass on your filters of life and how you see the world onto your own mind and what you need to be seeing.
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Education you need to become a Preschool Teacher
These are the most common degrees or certificates earned by Jobtrees users prior to becoming a Preschool Teacher
There may be other required degrees or certifications needed for this job. The below info shows you the most commonly desired education level from employers when hiring for this job.
- Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Bachelor of Arts (b.a.) in Psychology
- Associate Degree
- Bachelor Degree in Psychology
Annual Pay Estimate for Preschool Teacher and Other Important Info
See how many years Preschool Teacher's are in their job, how much they make, how long it took to get there and how available this job is in terms of open positions.
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Career Paths for Preschool Teacher
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