Preparing to Be A Private School Teacher

Years ago if you wanted to be a private school teacher, you went to college, got a degree, took a few education courses and began teaching. It's not that easy these days. Most private schools want you to be a trained teacher as well as degreed in your subject. But most private schools also want you to be trained to teach the way they want you to teach. After all the teaching is what a private school is all about. The better the teaching, the better the students learn.

So you will run across enlightened opportunities such as the Kenan-Lewis Internship at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. Two Kenan-Lewis interns are appointed annually. It is a signal opportunity for a college graduate wanting to be a teacher. Even better, it fits in with the plans of people who did a degree in their subject as opposed to an education degree. The young graduate then learns her craft under the careful tutelage and watchful eyes of an experienced mentor. What better way to learn!

At some point in your journey towards becoming a teacher you will encounter licensing requirements. These are intertwined in most states with the Praxis tests written and administered by the Educational Testing Service. Even if your school does not require you to be licensed by the state, get your license while you are young. It looks good on your resume. It is also cheap insurance for those inevitable moves which come with any career nowadays.

If you are a private school graduate, you will occupy a special place on the faculty. Alumni who come back as teachers truly know their school and are a strong endorsement for its accomplishments and traditions.

Good teachers are attracted to private schools because quality teaching is appreciated. Teachers want to teach, not push paper and be mired in a swamp of arcane bureaucratic rules and procedures. They can focus on teaching in a private school. They want the freedom to be creative and effective teachers.

 

Resources

• The Gottesmann Libraries at Teachers College (Columbia University)
•  The Klingenstein Center

Suggested Reading

• Contemporary Educational Psychology
• Faculty Career Paths: Multiple Routes to Academic Success and Satisfaction
  
• The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher
• The Praxis Series Official Guide
• Study Guide for the Middle School Tests
• Principles of Learning and Teaching Study Guide