Being an elementary teacher has its own truckloads of benefits. For one, the minds of all the kids in your classroom are all yours to shape, train them, and educate them to be the best they can. But being happy about teaching kids can’t be enough all the time. You need the money to feed yourself and your family, and have a roof over your head. So if you’re interested in being a teacher, here’s what they get paid.
Teaching is truly a noble profession. By imparting knowledge into the minds which are hungry to be educated, teachers really do the world a favor by educating its masses and helping them step up in life by using their education productively. Elementary schools are where basic knowledge is imparted to children.
Elementary Teacher’s Package
Now, the pay package depends on a variety of factors, such as the profile of your employer (whether it is a big, famous school or not), your experience in teaching, and the other perks and benefits associated with your job.
The annual median salary for an elementary teacher in the United States is around USD 40,000. So while this is the average salary, the numbers may vary based on the employment terms. For example, statistics show that a teacher with an experience of over 20 years earns close to USD 70,000 annually. But like I said, this figure can be debated based on the above factors. After all, the figure arrived at is a statistic, and can only be so correct.
Job Description
First, elementary school teachers are in-charge of framing the teaching schedule for the day and for the year. They need to have the knowledge of all the subjects which are included in the syllabus of elementary school students, like English, Social Sciences, Math, Art and Craft, and Physical Education. They also have to prepare the material for the classes beforehand. They are also entrusted with the work of maintaining the records of the students, and taking remedial classes for them, should the need arise.
Apart from this, they also have to monitor the progress of the students, take class tests, and give the required feedback to the parents and the students. They look into the counseling of students if any wayward behavior is noticed. Another task is finding what the subjects are which the students enjoy, finding out their passions and interests, and getting their parents to enroll them for specialized classes for those subjects, so that the students can improve in their field of interest.
Most schools demand at least a bachelor’s degree in education from a prospective elementary school teacher. Other schools may also demand a master’s degree. Certification exams for getting the license to teach too may be made mandatory. Needless to say, these teachers also ought to be well educated in the subjects that they are teaching.
The salary aside, teaching jobs, by nature, generally tend to be very rewarding. So apart from the feeling that you’re doing the society a bit of good by educating some of its youngest citizens, you also have a good pay to show for it.