Written by Admin
As a teacher, you could have left the profession for personal reasons or to take a break to pursue other career options. Whatever said and done, coming back to teaching could be very challenging than going back to work in different domains.
How difficult it would be to come to work would depend on your position professionally when you left, and the work functions handled since then. Based on where you are teaching or the type of teaching assignment you are looking for, you would have to modify your academic credentials or learn new skills.
Plan your Post-Break Return
The first thing to confirm after you return to teaching is where you wish to teach. If you aim to teach in a private school instead of a public school, you may have to approach the job search differently. There are advantages and disadvantages to teaching in both environments. A teacher must make a plan to Upskill based on the specific requirement of each setting.
Update Your Teaching Certifications and Skills
Depending on your professional background and potential employer and if you have let any previous teaching certification lapse, you would have to re-certify before returning to the classroom. While updating the resume, consider the skills that are in demand and what potential employers are seeking.
Be Prepared for challenges
One of the most significant challenges would be to adjust to expectations. Students would be very different from the batch that you were teaching when you left school. The lack of parental communication with their children is an issue for serious concern.
Teachers returning to a teaching career must be prepared to learn new technology – for engaging with students. Teachers must be ready to answer questions regarding the existing use of technology in the classroom, classroom management technique, and other usual teacher interview questions.
Review Your Social Media
Teachers returning to work must be prepared to commence in terms of establishing a reputation within the school community. In other words, ensuring there is nothing on their social media that would result in various stakeholders - students, parents, colleagues, and administrators forming a negative opinion. The best practice would be to have two distinct accounts – one for professional and another for personal.
Getting Back Into Teaching Work
When it comes to searching for jobs, substitute teaching is an excellent way to transition into the classroom, providing returning teachers a unique opportunity to negate any resume gaps. Substitute teaching enables the school administration to become familiar with a teacher applying for a position. Leverage your professional network to identify opportunities for substitute teaching.
