preparing to teach

You have made the decision! You are ready to begin a new career and you want to become a teacher. Now what? You may feel unsure of yourself as you enter into a profession that seems a little strange. Maybe even the vocabulary is different for you. How can you start to prepare yourself?

The Education Today portion of the ACT 2 TEACH Web site is for those of you who believe you will become teachers. The information is designed to prepare you for your new and exciting career.

Check out the information on the various links to learn about:

• The challenges in education today and how they are being met, go to EDUCATION TODAY.
• What are the commonly used words that teachers need to know? Click on EDUCATION VOCABULARY.
• For a brief overview of The No Child Left Behind Act, click it!
• To understand more about a portion of The No Child Left Behind Act that deals with teachers, click on HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS.
• Would you like a short definition of a kind of school you may have read about? Click on TYPES OF SCHOOLS.
• WHO ARE TODAY’S STUDENTS? will tell you about the students you may meet in the classroom.
• What do Troops To Teachers participants wish they had known before they began teaching? Click on WHAT NO ONE TOLD ME.

Instructional Components has very valuable material that allows you to begin personal preparation for teaching. Since many alternative certification programs are designed so that you begin teaching and enter the alternative certification program at the same time, getting a head start on identifying critical areas where you lack knowledge and then acquiring basic information about those areas can make those first critical days of teaching much easier. Having done preparation to learn principles and concepts of education will also enable you to interview with more confidence and present yourself as a strong, self-motivated candidate for teaching positions.

• TSAP ASSESSMENT is an excellent assessment tool for identifying gaps in knowledge about essential teaching skills and diagnosing strengths and weaknesses.
• YES TEACH! are instructional modules on 12 teacher accomplished practices covering essential knowledge and skills. They are an excellent introduction to basic educational concepts and the language of teaching in critical areas.
• Want to try some activities that can help you improve your knowledge about teaching? Still not sure you want to teach and need some hands-on experiences to help you see what teaching is like today? Click on IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE.
• the job search gives advice on how to pursue teaching positions. It also provides contacts and general guidelines.