Teachers or anyone who wants to be a Teacher...

[mikhai]

I'm quite confused...

Currently, im taking educ units through online learning while working as a sales agent. I dont really like my work so Im planning to find a preschool pero usually they dont accept if hindi pa LET passer.

Actually, I'm an information management graduate. I want to teach preschool sana or english subject. Sa sobrang hirap maghanap ng school na tuturuan parang ayoko na ituloy minsan.

How does it really work? Like how to find a school where I can teach? Nagtingin ako sa classifieds and online, bibihira nakikita ko.

My sister said maliit din daw pay sa pagteteach and hassle kasi after school, dami pa gagawin.

So mga teachers, and who-wants-to-be a teacher, idea naman sa paghanap ng work as a teacher, how it really is to be a teacher, about taking the LET and everything.

thanks everyone!

[pomegranate]

If you are a psychology graduate, you can get away with teaching in preschool without taking the board exams for a while (you are still under probation and you must really take it later on) in some small neighborhood preschool centers although usually naghihigpit na rin ang ibang schools ngayon. However, since you are an info management graduate, your best bet will be taking and passing the board exams. It is the only way that you can shift into the field and be armed in case competition gets tough. I don't know sa case ng iba, pero usually ang placement ng teachers who took LET for Secondary level (since you are a second courser technically, and you have a specialization) is in upper grade school if not in high school. Ang nilalagay kasi sa preschool are just I've said graduates of Psychology and/or Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. If you are planning to teach English, I would advise that it is better that you have a certificate from an english enrichment program, or better yet, TESOL, in case the going gets tough. I hope I don't get you overwhelmed, I'm just covering all the probabilities. Anyway, if your immediate concern is getting into the school setting, then apply in a small neighborhood school lang muna. I can't be sure where they will place you, usually depende sa needs nila in the middle of the school year then later on if you proved that you are capable, they might notice to put you in the subject and level that you would want to teach. Pero last word sis, in the end, it is not about who is more capable or who is smarter, but it is about who is qualified. Kapag labanan na ng pagpresent ng credentials yan, just like in any field, better be armed. So it is best that you take and pass the board exam first, kasi naku pag nagtuturo ka na rin I don't know if maka-review ka pa sa dami ng gagawin. And also, di totoo na mahirap maghanap ng school na tuturuan. Sa isang kanto lang ang dami ng school. Basta ok ang credentials mo, kahit lahat sila mag-apply ka and ikaw na ang mamimili.

Ah yun nga pala, yes, underpaid ang teachers private or public. The amount of work is not tantamount to the salary. Nakikita mo yung sasakay ng jeep tapos ang daming bag and pang empleyado ang uniform? Naku teacher yun, inuuwi ang testpaper at notebooks pare i check. May mga dala pang cartolina para gupitin sa bahay tapos may glitters pa sa mukha. Pero kung passion mo talaga ang teaching, go lang. Then later on, mag-iiba rin ang perspective mo. Not necessarily to shift field again, but to enrich your horizons like moving further up.

[scentious]

Teachers are overworked, but underpaid, because no amount of money can ever equal their worth. 

Here are my suggestions...
1. Work as a part-time tutor, apply in well-known tutorial centers, while working on your Educ units online. You will gain relevant teaching experience, training, and network, and a chance to apply what you have been learning in theory.
2. Once you gain enough understanding of learning theories and teaching principles, try to apply as a teacher's aide or assistant teacher. Most pre-schools and sped schools are in need of TAs. It's wise to still do your sales-job (if possible) for TA's salary and benefits are not so much.
3.  Attend workshops/seminars in universities. Keep your certificate of attendance and include these to your CV.
4.  If you are required to take internship or practice teaching, choose public schools. This is the reality, the state of education in the country. If you can teach/survive in public schools, you can teach ANYWHERE! lol
5. Network, network, network...the reason why you won't find so many ads looking for teacher is because most schools announce vacancies to current teachers who will, of course spread the news to their friends/batch mates/workshop mates, etc.
6. Get a teaching license
7. Send your resume to schools (even though they have not posted any vacancy) Note: Some schools require teaching demo

Beginning teaching really requires A LOT from a new teacher. But this is probably one of the few secured professions, the older you get, the more experience you have, the more effective and more marketable you become. Also, if you have kids, then finding a school (with discount/scholarship) won't be a worry for you.

Yes, there will be tons of work to do, that's why you'll get December and Summer breaks.

So don't be confused: Teaching means work, moderate salary, but with great vacation benefits.. sounds good, right?

[miss_N]

ako din dream ko talagang maging teacher! kung hindi lang issue ang pera 

[wowry]

I am also taking up educ units online and i would really love to teach kids someday:)

[jojo2978]

I'm an accidental teacher.  I like to inspire people.  Motivate them to be good citizens and inform them that life is not easy.

[pomegranate]

While I agree that older the teacher gets, the more experience he or she will have and that adds to her being "marketable" although that's just one side of the picture. It's not solely experience-wised anymore as an educator with a masteral degree on his or her sleeve and 2-year experience will be 2x likely to be promoted than an educator with a 20-year experience. Sad, but true.
Sa public schools, summer breaks are paid. In private schools, one has to secure his or her teaching tenure (at least 2 years) to get that benefit. Ay some schools din pala, back to basic yung salary after getting the tenure. Worse, in some schools, it's actually no work, no pay during summer breaks tenured or not.
For teaching experience, I prefer naman the private schools. I had both. There are many reasons why mas gusto ko sa private pero I'll cite one or two reasons why I don't like public schools. One is kailangan mo ng approval ng superiors mo to proceed to further studies like masteral and doctoral. E paano kung di pa nakakatapos ng masteral superior mo . . . hmmm . . . Lahat naman ng field of work may pulitika, pero ang lakas sa public schools. Yung seminars na provided ng gobyerno, most likely hindi yung qualified ang pinapadala unlike sa private schools. Well, define who is deserving --- yung mag-reretire na next year, yung malakas sa principal, etc. Imagine a scholarship for teaching a foreign language, ang mga ipinadala ay mga malapit na mag-retire na hindi man lamang language ang field of expertise. May P.E. teacher pa. Kaya nasasayang din ang pondo natin e. Anyway, enough of the rants, what I'm saying is while idealism is still brightly shining within you, find the joy of teaching in an environment that will be less hazardous in extinguishing the fire and passion. If one is strong enough and so sure, however, then by all means . . .
I hope I'm this does not appear discouraging, this is just reality well as I've perceived it. Pero one thing I like about teaching, compared in other fields that are kind of dog-eat-dog world, it somehow envelopes you with a wholesome yet hopeful perspective --- being around kids, lost sheeps waiting to be saved, mentee and mentors . . . It seems that the world is always young, that there is so much to learn and so much to share. Well, now I no longer wonder why most teachers look younger than they seem Also, kapag holidays at may bagyo, wala ring pasok yay!

[andinoqui]

Im a preschool teacher. Im a psychology graduate but then I took my MA at DLSU, so I can focus on teaching. Yeah its true na medyo mababa ang kita ng teachers but then its quite fulfilling. I believe being a teacher is really a passion kasi nga hindi kalakihan ang sahod. Though I have plans to work abroad, maybe dun na lang ako makakabawi at mas makakaipon.

[mikhai]

^^sis wowry: san ka kumukuha ng online educ units? 18 units pa rin ba to take the LET? how many units ka na?

[shinta]

While I agree that older the teacher gets, the more experience he or she will have and that adds to her being "marketable" although that's just one side of the picture. It's not solely experience-wised anymore as an educator with a masteral degree on his or her sleeve and 2-year experience will be 2x likely to be promoted than an educator with a 20-year experience. Sad, but true.
Sa public schools, summer breaks are paid. In private schools, one has to secure his or her teaching tenure (at least 2 years) to get that benefit. Ay some schools din pala, back to basic yung salary after getting the tenure. Worse, in some schools, it's actually no work, no pay during summer breaks tenured or not.
For teaching experience, I prefer naman the private schools. I had both. There are many reasons why mas gusto ko sa private pero I'll cite one or two reasons why I don't like public schools. One is kailangan mo ng approval ng superiors mo to proceed to further studies like masteral and doctoral. E paano kung di pa nakakatapos ng masteral superior mo . . . hmmm . . . Lahat naman ng field of work may pulitika, pero ang lakas sa public schools. Yung seminars na provided ng gobyerno, most likely hindi yung qualified ang pinapadala unlike sa private schools. Well, define who is deserving --- yung mag-reretire na next year, yung malakas sa principal, etc. Imagine a scholarship for teaching a foreign language, ang mga ipinadala ay mga malapit na mag-retire na hindi man lamang language ang field of expertise. May P.E. teacher pa. Kaya nasasayang din ang pondo natin e. Anyway, enough of the rants, what I'm saying is while idealism is still brightly shining within you, find the joy of teaching in an environment that will be less hazardous in extinguishing the fire and passion. If one is strong enough and so sure, however, then by all means . . .
I hope I'm this does not appear discouraging, this is just reality well as I've perceived it. Pero one thing I like about teaching, compared in other fields that are kind of dog-eat-dog world, it somehow envelopes you with a wholesome yet hopeful perspective --- being around kids, lost sheeps waiting to be saved, mentee and mentors . . . It seems that the world is always young, that there is so much to learn and so much to share. Well, now I no longer wonder why most teachers look younger than they seem Also, kapag holidays at may bagyo, wala ring pasok yay!

thanks sa pag-share mo sis. gusto ko din maging teacher. actually gusto ko magtayo ng school. mahilig kasi ako magturo, kahit nung highschool pa ako, pag walang teacher minsan ako yung pinagtuturo ng mga classmates ko. parang reviewer, pag may di sila na-gets sa past lessons namin.

ang sarap kasi mag-share ng knowledge. i can imagine i'd really be happy in this profession. kung di nga lang problema ang pera. 

isang tita ko nga pala is a public school teacher. medyo swerte siya kasi siya yung laging pinapadala sa mga seminars, kadalasan puro out of town pa. ngayon, assistant principal na siya (principal sa annex nung highschool). she's very busy, pero masaya siya sa ginagawa niya. pag nagkukuwento siya, parang napaka-fulfilling ng role na ginagampanan niya.

i have high respect for teachers

@ mikhai, sabi mo online ka kumukuha ng educ units. pano yun?

[mikhai]

^^hi sis! bale mageenrol ka lang then lahat ng assignments and requirements papass mo online. pupunta ka lang sa school for major exams. mahirap siya sis kasi di ka naman actually tuturuan ng teacher. you have to do it ALL on your own. kaya nga ito problemado ako sa ibang requirements kasi medyo di ko na magets. I'm only left with 2 subjects for next term kaya lang di ko na ata kaya sa concentration kasi dahil may work ako tapos financially down. baka di na ako makapag-enrol. huhu

pero suggestion ko lang sis, kung gusto mo mag-aral ng educ units. take it ng normal classes. mahirap yung online sa totoo lang. though cheaper siya and less effort sa pagpunta sa school, hirap ka naman makaintindi talaga ng lessons. tsaka kailangan self-motivation kasi kung hindi, wala din. magbabasa ka kasi at iintindi sa sarili mo lang.

interested ka ba magtake ng educ units? i wanted to teach nga pero its not easy pa lang. so for now, ill make it as an option or hoping i can use my educ units pang side line. pero pano naman kaya?

[shinta]

^ thanks sis. mukhang mahirap nga pag online kasi dapat motivated ka talaga na mag-self study.

nag-iisip din kasi ako ng pang-backup career. sa ngayon, homebased yung work ko. pero just in case ayoko na magwork online, gusto ko sana may fallback ako. either i update my skills and go back to my old profession or mag-shift sa ibang career. and teaching is an option for a new career.

sige, isip-isip muna ako kung ano ba magandang diskarte. salamat ulit 

[bea_wang]

ako naman teacher pero ngayon homebased work na. i have 2 small kids kasi and I want to see them grow. sadly, sa dami kasi ng ginagawa bilang teacher, you almost have no time for your family. happens to me kasi mom ko public school teacher din. pero I really, really love teaching..masarap feeling when you do your job well kasi mafifeel mo na appreciated ka talaga ng mga students. mga students ko kasi parang mga anak ko na kung ituring ko. sobrang love ko sila. until now college na sila, they still remember my birthday, they send messages through facebook, twitter, etc. I also worked as a tutor, okay din sya kasi mas personalized ang approach so mas close kayo ng tutee mo.

pag school age na mga kids ko baka bumalik din ako sa pagtuturo..mag-aappply ako sa school kung san ko sila ipapasok para may discount sila..LOL..sa ngayon kasi masyadong time-consuming ang pagtuturo for me to spend enough quality time with my kids. gusto ko sila makita lumaki kaya dito muna ako sa bahay..sa mga balak magturo, you have to be fully committed talaga. in terms of sweldo, pwede ka naman magsideline as tutor..when i was teaching, same ang salary ko sa pagtututor at sa school. around 40k a month ang gross ko. :0

[honey-ecclaire]

Where do you take teaching online...

mukang sa UP ah,after reading your post here,hinanap ko kaagad kase interested ako to have this..para pang-upgrade na din ng knowledge at career....

[majika7777]

Well if you really have the passion for teaching then give it a try.. pero I have tried it na and I think it's not for me.. I get to enjoy the warmth of acceptance na nakukuha sa mga students pero sobrang dami ng responsibilities.. I think I need to enjoy and explore life muna bago ko iconfine ang sarili ng buong buo sa pagtuturo

[carmichael18]

dami ko na aging work, pero everytime I would feel bad about my work, I would always go back to teaching or tutoring.. na-eenjoy ko kasi.. saka napaka rewarding ng feeling.. question po, kasi I want to teach in college.. dun kasi sa school na pinanggalingan ko, wala masyadong teacher sa course namin.. sabi sa akin, pwede ako magtake ng MA kahit konting units lang daw pwede na ako magturo.. aside po sa college, pwede rin ba ako magturo sa pre-school kung may MA na ako? or do I still have to take educ units and pass the LET?

[shymommy]

hello mga sis, pasali po. kasi right now i'm thinking of going back to school to finish a degree in educ. (secondary). medyo nasa late thirties na kasi ako, di ba nakakahiyang mag-aral ulit? at kung sakali man, me makuha pa kaya akong work after non? i have 2 kids at one year na akong resigned sa previous job ko kaya naisipan kong mag-aral ulit para maging teacher kasi sabi nila ito daw yong course na pag natapos mo at naghanap ka ng work eh walang age limit. sa teacher daw kasi walang age limit unlike other jobs, lalo na sa corporate world na me age limit...feedback naman po, mga sisses...thanks!

[jhean22]

I've been teaching for 5 years now, 4 years sa private then mag one year sa public. Nakita ko na halos ang pros and cons sa private and public.

So eto ang maishashare ko:
Private:
pros
1. aircon ang rooms
2. mas may alam ang mga students
3. maraming seminars na binibigay sa mga teachers
4. magaganda ang mga places for outings
5. minsan mas malaki ang sahod like you'll start 18k - 21k + for basic salary
6. maganda siempre ang facilities

cons
1. di madaling maging stable ang job mo dito. kasi three years ang itatakbo before ka maregular.
2. may ilang school no work no pay
3. minsan mababa ang salary increase, minsan wala pa.
4. yung ibang school you'll start at 8k as your basic pay
5. 8 hrs ang work

public
pros
1. madaling maregular lalo na kung may item na avail, like puede kang maregular in 1 month pa lang
2. 6 hours lang ang work
3. laging may salary increase every year
4. may monthly allowance ka pa from city government

cons
1. sobrang daming students
2. sobrang init
3. walang masyadong seminar
4. minsan palakasan system talaga dito

[phelps]

dati akong teacher. pero di ko kinaya ang salary at load ng trabaho at sakit ng ulo. It's not enough that you love teaching. You MUST really really love ang teaching para tumagal ka

[tinkypink011]

hello mga sis!:) i am a nurse pero i really wanted to be a teacher. base sa mga binasa ko sa mga post nga ating mga sisses, mahirap din pala maging teacher. pero when you have a passion for teaching, kahit mababa sweldo at pag gusto mo [textspeak!], you will enjoy and be fulfilled. mga sis, san kaya ako maka take ng online class? meron pala yon? magkano kaya mga sis?