The Ultimate Guide for Teachers

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts" - CS Lewis

There is a reason teachers dread going back to school more than their students is that teaching is not at all a walk in the park. Studying to become a teacher may be the easiest part of your journey to stepping into the classroom centre stage. Things get more complicated when you are a teacher; everything from lesson planning, correcting students' work, compiling a teacher file, to the actual disciplining of students require work.

The main thing that you need to remember is that whether you teach in a government or independent school, there are rules for teaching that you ought to follow.

We at Superprof, have decided to do some chalk and talk so that we can guide you as to how to go about teaching in primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, or even if you are going to offer private tutorials.

The Teacher's Guide to Becoming a Teacher

"Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges." - Joyce Meyer

If you haven't completed a 4-year BED teaching degree, you can still become a teacher. If after studying, you are looking to work in schools across South Africa, you are required to complete a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education). Although studying for the PGCE requires fewer years in comparison to when you are completing the teaching degree, the same ground rules of teaching are taught to PGCE students.

Keep your feet firmly on the ground when you start your teaching, this is the best rule you can follow.

Rules for Teaching

"The teacher is the lesson." - Naval Ravikant

After you complete your PGCE or your BED Honours degree, you will find a job where your work environment is the classroom.  During your years of studies, you will learn that having a good grasp of the subject that you are teaching is important. You will also be taught ways to teach the diverse students in your classroom, and various classroom management skills.

Practical teaching during your years of studying will teach you that although you have enough content knowledge, and know how to teach, putting all that you have learnt into practice requires more effort.

Be sure to own the classroom from the moment you start on your first day of getting the job as a teacher:

• Start off by being very firm, you can become more flexible with your students over time
• Ensure you keep alternating your tone when teaching to keep students interested
• Always set rules for your students and ensure they understand that there are consequences for breaking these rules
• Be updated with the curriculum requirements that you are meant to cover for your subject
• Plan your lessons ahead of time
• Keep abreast with new developments in education and with the need to use technology when teaching

While you ideally want to set the tone and punish your students if they disobey you, you need to find out what punishments are allowed. Many schools do not allow you to kick your students out of the classroom even if they are ill-behaved.

There are other ways of earning your students' respect

Rules of Teaching

“Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher." - Japanese Proverb

While completing a BED degree or your PGCE, is the first step to becoming a teacher, you don't become an excellent teacher when you qualify. You become a great teacher when you learn how to inspire your students. You become a great teacher when you are able to keep your students interested in all the content being taught.

The South African CAPS curriculum acts as the red tape preventing you from teaching in interesting and engaging ways. However, more and more private schools are jumping onto the bandwagon and realising that teachers who innovate and are inventive succeed far more when trying to teach the new generation of learners.

Try to alternate the way you teach so that you reach all the learners in your classroom. You must remember to alternate the number of useful learning resources that you use but also acknowledge that not all your lessons will be enjoyable for your students- that is okay!

Don't feel shy to incorporate technology as best as possible into your teaching to provide more interactive lessons for your students. If your school is one that has the required technology, use it to your benefit.

However, always plan your lessons based on the resources that you have available.

The rules of teaching are learnt only as you become more experienced as a teacher. As you grow in terms of the number of years of experience that you have as a teacher, you will also learn how to make your students concentrate in class.

How to Earn Students' Respect

"Respect your teachers because teachers will build your future." - Madiha

If only all students lived by the saying, "Respect your teachers." You have to punish students if they show a lack of respect to you or disregard your instruction as that is the only thing that will teach them not to disrespect you. However, as a teacher, you want to try and use punishment as little as possible.

That is why as a teacher, you are expected to teach students how to behave in class. Teachers earn respect by teaching students respect. While bullying is a more serious offense that is punishable, breaking a certain class rule may also require a form of punishment.

This is because punishment allows you to nip any problem in the bud before the problem persists and possibly escalates.

Again, the best tip that we can give to teachers is that your happiness as a teacher lies in your ability to make your learners see punishment as serious so that they try not to break rules in an attempt to avoid punishment.

Learner Discipline

"Teachers are like the candles, which consumes themselves to brighten the lives of others." - Unknown

While learners require good discipline, teachers can only discipline learners if they show they are well-disciplined themselves. There are certain items of clothing that you can and can’t wear as a teacher.

Teachers, especially those working in high school, tend to be judged by their students based on how they dress rather than by how well they teach.  If you want to ensure that your students behave in a disciplined way, you need to dress in a way that demands discipline.

Almost all teachers tend to  wear clothes that are more professional. Steer clear of wearing clothes that are too flashy or clothes that may distract learners entirely.

If you dress sensibly, you will obtain the respect of your learners. Generally, female teachers have to spend far more time pondering about what they want to wear to school as well as whether it is appropriate or not.

Student discipline is not only achieved by a well-dressed teacher, but by a teacher who places a strong emphasis on learner discipline. If the teacher sets the tone in the classroom where discipline is the be all and end all of teaching and learning, then surely the teacher will have disciplined learners in his or her classroom.

Teachers can employ tools like the D6 demerit system or online tools like ClassDojo so that any learner misconducts recorded by the teacher get reported directly to parents.

Hopefully, this has taught you a bit more about being a teacher. To learn more, check out our other articles.

Certain times, university students realise that they want to be given more practical tips on how to teach. The university students make this realisation closer to the time that they're getting a critic for a practical teaching lesson.

To ensure that you are fully aware of what to expect in the classroom, look for a private tutor for you. The Superprof site offers a host of tutors who are willing to help you with practical teaching strategies.

As private tutors, our Superprof tutors, follow the same basic guidelines that all teachers follow when teaching. The only difference is that you can choose a private face-to-face tutor for you. The private tutor can tailor every lesson specifically to suit you. These tutors will tutor you according to your preferred learning style. A private tutor may be the best option for you as he or she can assist you with your university BED or PGCE work as well as guide you on how to teach well.

If you are on a more strict budget due to university demands, perhaps get a group of your friends who are also studying education together and get assistance from on of our tutors who offer group lessons. Since the tutor's time is shared between several students, the tutor may assist all of the BED students with the demands of teaching at a much more reasonable fee.

Remember, you are never too old or too young to rope in a tutor to help you become better. If one of our tutors can help you become a better teacher, why not rely on their service.