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There are multiple components involved in building a successful teaching career. Being “successful,” in this context, generally involves having a lengthy career, enjoying it and, of course, being a highly effective educator and good influence on your students. These three components and how to achieve them are discussed in the following short essay. Managing to maintain a career as an educator for many years or even decades is a sign of success and that you must be doing something right. Classifying as a teacher or educator can mean being a full-time classroom teacher in your home country, a casual relief teacher, a tutor (in person or online), a freelance workshop coordinator, a teacher at an international school, a teaching artist and much more. The key to maintaining such a long career in the field of education is closely connected to the other components mentioned. If you’re happy and feel fulfilled through your work and feel like you teach effectively and are helping your students grow and learn, you will be likely to remain a teacher of some kind for a long time. These motivating factors, however, are not always enough to keep you going mentally in such a challenging and sometimes exhausting line of work. It is important to avoid burning yourself out by taking too much on, becoming bored and/or not recognizing when you need to take a break. Allow yourself to switch up your routine a bit. If you’ve been working as a classroom teacher for years and have recently stopped enjoying it or have been finding it too stressful, consider taking the following year off to travel while teaching English online. Alternatively, you could transfer schools or change down to part time or casual, if your financial situation allows for this, while taking time to work on your life outside your career. If you avoid becoming bored or overly stressed as a teacher, this will contribute to your ability to maintain a lengthy career, one of the defining characteristics of achieving a successful teaching career. The next aspect of your career as a teacher which would deem it successful is that you enjoy it and feel fulfilled by the work you are doing. This again, ties in very closely to the other components mentioned of having a lengthy career and being an effective educator. Similar solutions are suggested to ensure you enjoy your career including recognizing when you need to switch things up and taking breaks to avoid teacher burnout. One way to enjoy teaching more, is to not just focus on teaching your students the unit content, but to get to know them and become friends, of course, still maintaining an appropriate teacher to student relationship. Having these bonds will prove beneficial both for your students feeling they can trust and learn from you, as well as for yourself enjoying interactions with students and, hence enjoying your career. Lastly, being a highly effective educator and good influence on your students is achieved by assuming the role of not only a teacher, but of a continual learner yourself. To teach effectively, it is important to learn and grow from your own mistakes and to always be open to advice on how to do better for your students. Research different teaching methods and try them all out to see what works best for you. Seek feedback from students, either informally or through formal written feedback sessions and really listen and take this feedback on board. As for being a good influence, practice a good, kind and healthy way of living yourself for your students to witness and follow. This is especially relevant for teachers of children as they are very impressionable, however can be applied to all educating roles as you are in a position of power and able to influence students of any age. Building a successful teaching career can mean something different to different people, however, generally consists of having a lengthy career, enjoying it, teaching effectively and positively influencing your students. These components are all interrelated and can be achieved by taking breaks when needed, switching up your teaching role, forming bonds with your students, being open to feedback, continually learning and practicing what you preach.
