Future in Progress!!!>>>>Please answer if u can!...?

Question

i am a highschol student and i want to be a preschool teacher.. i love children and i was wondering if u could give me any advice on how i should start preparing myself for college and becoming a preschool teacher!... and are there any colleges in indiana that u would recomend attending?

Answer 1

Don't be shy and be very confident! I had my student teaching experience with preschoolers last fall and they loved all the silly songs and dances we did together. Just do your best in your core classes (classes required for your major) and listen to any advice from your professors and cooperating teachers. You will probably have some classes that require to "teach" in a classroom with young children in your 2nd or 3rd year into your major. Eventually, you will probably student teaching the last year or semester before you graduate. I live in Minnesota, so my experience might be different than yours. But I did not get paid for student teaching, so I couldn't work for 4 months. Also, keep text books that you will need that are required for your major. They definitely come in handy in other classes.

Answer 2

I would while you are still in high school, take child development classes, some humanities classes, some high schools offer college courses on site, check with your guidance counselor  I have been teaching pre-K for 15 years. A great way to prepare your self, is to volunteer, notice the differences in development between a 3 to a 4 year old. Call your local Child Advocacy center, or child care council in your area. They sometimes offer classes. Preschoolers are learning basically the same subjects just scaled down allot, -IE- they learn math by sorting, matching. counting etc.  They learn language skills- IE-Phonological Awareness which is the ability to discriminate  or hear differences and similarities in sounds- like rhyming for example.  Best wishes.

Answer 3

when I was a teenager, I worked as an assistant in a home daycare to gain experience with kids. Then I took child development classes at the local junior college. When I got enough ECE units (early childhood education), I went to work as an aide at a preschool. At that time you needed to have at least 12 ECE units (this is in California, though. Check your state requirements, and local agencies).

If you want to go on to be a teacher, not just an aide, you just need to finish the minimum number of ECE units. However, if you decide to go on to elemetary teaching, you will need to go through an actual Bachelor's degree as well as certification.

For preschools, they prefer you to have a degree, but it is not a sate requirement in most states. As long as you do meet the minimum ECE units.

Good luck!!

Answer 4

my friend wants to be a kidegarden teacher and she says it is required to take child development. but idk. talk to your counselor at school.

Answer 5

Get as much expirence as you can working with children weather it be volunteer work or paid ask your guidance counsler what she recomends she or he will give you a long list of colleges and different summer job prospects to choose from.  The more expierence you get working with children the easier it will be for you to get a job in the long run.

Answer 6

I would start by going to a preschool and working to find out if you really want that. I would look into Early Childhood Education programs which will qualify you for all preschools, and also give you a chance to work in the school system.

Answer 7

I suggest you go on-line and read the characteristics of a good teacher.  

I worked with a nurse who told me her first degree was elementary education, but she discovered on her first job that SHE COULD NOT CONTROL THE CLASS.  She really liked kids, that is why she went into teaching.

I'm finding (I am about to student teach this fall) that I don't like being strict, but you have to like being a micro-manager to be a good elem ed teacher.  You also have to be organized, another weakness of mine that I will just have to work on.

During college be sure you keep a day free of classes so that you can be a substitute teacher in the local schools.  

Right now, in high school, you can call your school board and see if you can work in an afterschool program this fall, or next summer as a teacher's aide.  That would be awesome experience.  Be sure to ask questions of the teachers, too.

Good luck.

Answer 8

There are many preschools out there that need volunteers to come and help them. I know we did that at my preschool. Highschool students would come by and help my mom watch the kids. This gave them exposure to the profession and they were able to ask a lot of questions about the business. Or you could work part time at a preschool. Many preschool teachers don't have a degree in preschool teaching. Some states only require a certain amount of units. Check with your state. But, I suggest, you do get your degree in teaching, though, just in case you decide to become a Kindergarten through 6th grade teacher. And you also get paid more with a degree be it in preschool or other. I hope this helped a little. :) Good luck!