So, you’ve answered the call to teach and you’ve chosen a What is a B.Ed. foundation phase degree. This is an honourable choice and one that will enable you to impact the lives of others. At The IIE’s Varsity College, a brand of The Independent Institute of Education, we’re always ready to help our students whenever they need us. This is through academic support from our lecturers, to guidance from our student advisors and even informative articles like this one.
How do you achieve that study/life balance, what careers are available to you and should you attend all of your lectures? If you’ve ever wondered about any of these perhaps the answers below might help you.
Question: What careers are available to me with a B.Ed. foundation phase degree?
Answer: More than you might think.
The beauty of early childhood development courses is that you’ll be qualified for a range of jobs centred around kids. Following your graduation, you’ll be able to fulfil several positions, making the choice entirely up to you. Here are the options you could consider:
Day care or nursery care
If your passion is educating young children, you could offer parents a welcomed relief by working for a day care centre. There is a real need for this because we live in an age where most households require both parents to earn an income. This makes childcare an important factor in order to facilitate the careers of both parents. Caring for children aside, these centres provide much-needed attention and stimulation for young kids that prepare them for attending preschool. This makes them vital to childhood development and the building of social and emotional intelligence.
Preschool teacher
The chances are, we all attended preschool. Here, we got a chance to socialise with other kids, gain a bit of independence and learn basic skills that prepared us for primary school. If you chose to pursue this type of teaching, you’d been interacting with children between the ages of three and five. This is a fun age where kids start to develop more of their personalities, making for a few hilarious results along the way. With many preschools working on the same schedules as normal schools, you can look forward to the wonderful holidays that prove to be a drawcard for many that chose teaching.
Au Pair
With preschool teaching and nursery care involving taking care of several children at once, many might find that prospect daunting. By becoming a nanny, you could take care of fewer children and get the one-on-one time with them that really helps them grow. This could include helping with homework, dropping them off and picking them up from school and attending their extra-mural events.
Question: How do I achieve that study/life balance?
Answer: Make sure that you have a great routine
How does a solid study structure ensure balance? It’s quite simple. In sticking to the schedule that you set for yourself, you’ll be able to get your work done with time left over to enjoy your life. When drawing up your timetable, don’t forget to factor in time for exercise, as this makes a big difference to your emotional wellbeing. It’s also great for letting off steam, fighting stress and boosting self-esteem. If you need to work a few late nights or early mornings in order to keep your weekends open for time with family and friends, do so. There’s no substitute for quality time with loved ones. Plus, they’re always bound to make you feel better when you’re finding juggling it all a bit tough.
Another important thing to remember is to not be so hard on yourself. Sure, this is easier said than done because we are all our own biggest critics. By striving for progress and not perfection, you’ll be able to cope with bumps in the road a little better than those fixated on unrealistic results. So, what if you didn’t get an A on that assignment. You did the best you could with the amount of stuff you had going on. That’s totally okay and it happens. Next time, you might decide to do things a little differently and you’ll get that A.
Question: Do I really have to attend all my lectures?
Answer: No. But you definitely should.
As much as your studies are only one part of your life, you should attempt to put in the time they deserve. This means attending your lectures as regularly as possible so that you don’t miss out on any important material that could be covered during a session. In addition to the learning material, lecturers often add their own pearls of wisdom in order to help students understand certain concepts. Unfortunately, you won’t find them in the textbooks. So missing a lecture really does mean missing out.
There’s also a level of engagement between students that happens during this time. Some of your classmates could ask a question that you might also need the answer to. Student collaboration is definitely one of the keys to great results in your teaching degree. In being exposed to different styles of learning and varied opinions, we’re able to boost our own. This is something that comes to shape what kind of teacher you will become. It’s also very rewarding to spend time with like-minded people who are studying the same programme as you. It develops a sense of comradery and you can mutually encourage and assist each other. Many people also make a few life-long friends at University level, all the more reason to attend those lectures.
Whilst there are times where being absent is unavoidable, you should always do your utmost to catch up and get a friend to take notes for you. Our top tip is to get a friend to record the session for you on their smart phone so that you can hear what was taught. Three cheers for technology!
Lay the right foundation
Whilst excellence is not always being the best, it’s choosing the best and following through. For more on IIE teaching degrees that are available at The IIE’s Varsity College, or to get in touch with a student advisor, please visit our website here.