Are You Ready To Be A Teacher Of Moderate Disabilities?

There is something about the idea of becoming a teacher of those with moderate disabilities that makes many people excited; for some, it’s the only career they have ever wanted, and for others, it’s a realization that came to them later in life. Wonderfully, it is never too late to become such a teacher as there are courses and degrees available that are open to everyone.

Just because you can be a teacher, does that mean you should be or that you are ready to be one? It’s a hard job with long hours, but it is also one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. Here are some points you will need to think about if you are hoping to become a teacher – if you can be sure about these, then it is time to do something about changing your career because it seems like you are ready to be a teacher of children with disabilities at last.

Do You Have The Qualifications?

Aside from everything else, if you don’t have the qualifications to become a teacher of children with moderate disabilities, then you cannot be one. It makes no difference how passionate you are or how much this is your ultimate dream or even how good you are with kids; without the right qualifications and degree, you cannot teach.

Specialist teaching courses are available across the country, and if you know when you leave high school that you want to teach special needs, then you can start learning right away. If you decide on the idea later when you are already working elsewhere, you can learn online or at night school. It might be that you are already a teacher, and you just want to enhance your skills so that you can work with more vulnerable children; that’s possible, too – you can look at different teaching license types and ‘upgrade’ the degree you already have. Once you have the right qualifications, you will be seen as ready to teach. However, that’s not all it takes.

Are You Compassionate?

Some teachers just do their job and nothing more. They might have a lot of knowledge in their subject, but that doesn’t mean they are good teachers. It doesn’t mean that the kids in their classrooms enjoy their lessons or understand or are even interested in what is being taught.

Being a teacher of moderate disabilities takes a lot more than knowledge. If you think of your own favorite teacher – perhaps the one who inspired you to teach – you’ll understand. They will have had a lot of knowledge, but they will also have been kind and compassionate. They would have made their lessons fun so that they could be remembered. They would have seen pastoral care as an essential part of school life, just as much as lessons themselves are. This is the best kind of teacher. Are you able to be like this? Because a special needs teacher needs to be just like this and so much more besides.

Are You Passionate?

Teaching is a job that doesn’t end when the school day ends. It doesn’t end when school vacation comes. Teachers are always working, but they don’t tend to get paid for that additional work; they do it because they love their job, and they want to do the best for their children. This is why you will often hear teaching referred to as a vocation. When it comes to teaching moderate disabilities, the work is even harder and longer. Do you have the passion to teach? Do you want to help others? Do you want to see children thrive? If so, then you are ready to be a specialist teacher.