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A Career in Teaching
INTRODUCTION
In India a career in teaching continues to be regarded as a noble profession. The satisfaction of having spreading the light of knowledge and dispelled the clouds of ignorance in another human being, old or young, is unrivalled. Other reasons for opting for a career in teaching could be interest in the subject, secure professional career and regular annual  vacations.Taching as a career has always attracted large numbers of women. It offers them an opportunity to do a professional job during school hours and term time, although the normal workload may extend far beyond the formal end of the school day.
Teaching can also be second career for those who have retired from professional service.
In recent years, education has become big business. The tribulations in
obtaining a seat even at the elementary school level, the amount of money charged as school fees and the mushrooming of private tutorials and institutes offering coaching classes for professional short and long term courses indicated the various demands of education today.
ELIGIBILITY
ELIGIBILITY FOR JUNIOR SCHOOLS
A graduate with a nursery training certificate / diploma / degree. Preference is given to those trained for pre-school education, such as the Montessori pattern.
A the junior level, school teachers instruct one or more groups of students between ages 7-12 in classes 1 to 6. The teacher keeps  class attendance records, designs a teaching outline, prepares lesson plans, gathers instructional material, gives tests and evaluates individual performances of students. Junior level teachers normally take their classes for all subjects. While they may not have as much marketing as teachers of older children may, lesson preparation can take up much more time.
ELIGIBILITY FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Graduate or post graduate with 55 per cent marks and with a diploma / degree in teaching / education. Must have studied at least one of the teaching subjects during graduation.
The secondary school teachers instructs students in junior and senior school, normally in a specific subject and therefore needs a good grounding in a subject; prepares lesson plans; prepares and corrects tests and assignments; maintains students records; attends parent-teacher meetings and faculty meetings; supervises student project and extra curricular activities. Most secondary school teachers have responsibilities in addition to their subject teaching teachers such as social education programmes and a range of extra-curricular activities from sports and drama to school outings. Good teachers also need to attend refresher courses to update and evaluate their work and their approaches to it.
ELIGIBILITY FOR COLLEGE TEACHERS
Post-graduate degree in the subject and B.Ed. Age limit is 40 years. preference is given to those with teaching experience.
COLLEGE
A LECTURER / INSTRUCTOR: In a college / university delivers lectures to a class of students, devotes time to research and writing and publishing articles. Good expression of ideas is an asset to the lecturer.
Eligibility: A post-graduate with a certificate of eligibility for lectureship from the
University Grants Commission or a Ph.D. holder with experience as tutor. Age limit is 36 years.
A READER: In a university instructs students as part of the job. A considerable amount of time is spent on research activities and guiding students in research projects.
Eligibility: A Ph.D. holder with three years experience as lecturer / assistant professor. Age limit 45 years.
A PROFESSOR: In a university department participates in activities of an
academic society or professional organizations and is involved in research and guidance to research associates.
Eligibility: A Ph.D. holder with at least ten years experience in teaching, of which five years must be as assistant professor.
School, college and university administrators such as principals, pro-vice
chancellors and members on the board of management of a school or college branch off from the teaching path to become administrators, to supervise the functioning of their educational institutions. Here the primary task is school management. It includes planning of timetables, utilizing of teacher’s talents, organizing school activities, and interacting with parents and educational authorities.
APTITUDE REQUIRED
Qualities that make for a good teacher are enthusiasm for learning and teaching sense of fairplay, patience and enthusiasm, self-discipline, correct skills and organizing ability.
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
For a variety of reasons, children may have special educational needs-such as specific learning disabilities physical or mental handicaps.
The number of institutions catering to these special requirements is growing. The work here is emotionally and physically demanding. The teacher has to cope with the children ‘s day-to-day activities such as eating or cleaning up in addition to academic subjects. For those with particular disabilities, the teacher may also have to keep in constant touch with the parents or doctors.
While specialized training in dealing specific problems may be an advantage, for those who take up this profession, it is necessary to be sensitive to the needs of the children, and have some experience of teaching normal children.
TRAINING
Formal training for teachers can be undertaken for primary and secondary level schools. Primary school teachers are required to have completed the 10+2 examination with a diploma / certificate course in pre-school or kindergarten teaching. These courses can also be done after graduation, although graduation is not normally prerequisite for primary level teachers. At the secondary level, teachers are required to posses a degree in teaching / education. The Bachelor of Education degree is one – year training course for graduates of any discipline. Most universities in the country offer degree in education for the physically or mentally handicapped etc. These diploma courses are available to those with some teaching experience or a Bachelor’s degree. Some institutions offer a bed with special focus on particular subjects such as science or math’s teaching.
There are also correspondence courses at some universities for employed
graduate teachers.
DURATION OF TRAINING: Most primary teaching courses run for one academic year. B.Ed courses are also for one year after graduation. The M.Ed. courses are another one year.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Teaching is one of the more flexible professions. It permits career-breaks and late entries. It is particularly suitable for married women who may want to take a break when their children are still young. Teachers who return on a regular full-time or part-time basis are entitled to be paid at a scale no lower than that which they left off.
Other avenues are also open to teachers. Giving tuition’s on a full-time or
part-time basis is an attractive alternative. Tutorial classes have come up in a big way in all the large towns and cities, as educational needs expand and schools with large numbers in every class are unable to provide the detailed attention required by students preparing for competitive exams.
Private tutors fill the gap. They provide individual and group coaching to students for various competitive examinations. Most tutors specialize in particular subjects, whether it be for class 12 examinations, the eleventh or civil services entrance examinations, MBA or bank recruitment examinations, or even preparation for the entrance examination to foreign universities.
Teachers who run these tutorial classes are normally those who have experience in teaching in schools or colleges or even retired from services.
There are no fixed rates for classes; teachers of tutorial classes earn as much as the market can sustain.
Those with administrative experience can open their own school or institutions.
There are also ample research opportunities in the form of research scholarships and fellowships for those inclined towards private study.
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