[This article explains the various possibilities for getting an online education for a career in teaching. It compares the various advantages and disadvantages of online vs. brick-and-mortar schools. It also gives you links to several websites for further reading]
The Internet Is Your Key to an Online Education
The advent of the Internet has brought about a great change in how a person today may go about finding opportunities for education. The brick-and-mortar school is not in obsolescence, of course, but there is a new kid in town, and this new kid is growing by great leaps and bounds.
Have you always dreamed about a career in teaching but didn’t quite know how and where to do your college work online in order to qualify? Have you always been the kid who could explain things to your fellow students in high school? That may have been the first sign that you were perhaps born to teach.
Those with an aptitude for this noble profession usually realize, even if only implicitly, that teachers are in the business of making themselves obsolete. What this means is that they teach what they know to their students to the point where their students no longer need them.
They manifest other virtues, too, of course. Such as patience. Remember that ignorance in itself is not a crime; it is to be annihilated by learning. And your teaching should provide that learning. So a genuine caring for your students is another must. Also, a sense of humor helps, too. As someone once said, you don’t have to be crazy to be a teacher, but it helps. Do remember, though, that when you stand in front of a classroom, you are not the class clown. Still, being able to banter with students in a good-natured way is one of the signs of a born teacher.
The old saying about “those who can’t, teach” is really malicious nonsense. “Those who can teach, teach,” would be more appropriate. It takes a special kind of person to know how to relate to students. And one important way in which you can do this is by always leveling with them. Don’t talk down to them.
Kids can smell a phony a mile away. You should remember that from the time you yourself were a kid.
When it Comes to Getting a Degree Online, the Sky is the Limit
So what types of education degrees can you get online? It seems that the sky is the limit these days.
The two broadest categories break down simply to the arts and sciences. In fact, many colleges and universities have “arts and sciences” as their main divisions. But you can get more specific. Are you interested in mathematics? Physics? Biology? Chemistry?
If so, you may try to find a good online school that offers a Bachelor of Sciences degree. If you are interested in pre-med, once of these last named majors may be what you would need.
If you are inclined towards English or Cinema or any of the arts, you should be looking for a school with a good reputation for offering Bachelor of Arts degrees. Degrees in history or sociology or psychology are usually listed under the so-called “soft sciences.” Those interested in business or management or pre-law, frequently choose political science as their undergraduate major.
Whatever your personal interests are in any of these fields is to be your guide in choosing the right course of study in the right school for you if you are interested in a career in teaching. But do reflect on this, too: you really should have a passion for the field of study of your choice. That’s because you are going to be living with it for the rest of your working life.
And you are also going to be learning more and more about your chosen field of study, even after you will have graduated and started your teaching career. Schools will even require that you upgrade your credentials. Teachers are wont to attend conferences and seminars for this purpose. A good educator remains educable. To teach well, you have to know how to learn well.
The question is, are online schools as good as brick-and-mortar schools? Do your future employers respect degrees earned by studying with a computer from the comforts of your own home? In the beginning of opportunities for studying online many were against this kind of schooling, but in time things have been changing.
Whatever the reason for your not being able to attend a brick-and-mortal school, it is now clear that you can get a degree in an accredited online college or university.
How long it will take before you can stand in front of your own students in a classroom of your own will depend on many factors. But if you have your heart set on achieving this goal, be encouraged that your dreams are definitely within the realm of possibilities.