Becoming a teacher in South Africa – it’s actually an awesome job

Are you looking for a meaningful career? Become a teacher and enjoy great job satisfaction. You’ll be responsible for guiding the academic and personal development of your students. If you’re patient, creative, and organised, this might be the right job for you. Browse Job Mail and discover teaching opportunities across South Africa.

Reasons why becoming a teacher is an awesome idea:

1. While teaching can be challenging, this career is also very rewarding.
2. As a teacher, you’ll have the opportunity to make a positive impact on your students’ lives. Your encouragement and guidance have the potential to make a big difference and you’ll play a vital role in shaping our future generation.
3. You’ll earn a fixed salary while enjoying school holidays if you don’t have tests to mark or lesson plans to create. You’ll also be able to spend time with your kids during the school holidays.
4. There are plenty of employment opportunities across the globe.

Duties of a teacher

The duties of a teacher may differ slightly, depending on which subjects and grades they teach, but here is a general overview of their responsibilities:

• Developing daily and long-term lesson plans according to the curriculum set out by the Department of Education
• Presenting lessons to students for a set of subjects
• Maintaining discipline in the classroom
• Maintaining productive work habits in the classroom
• Attending staff meetings
• Creating and marking assignments and tests
• Discussing the progress of each student with their parents/guardians or other professionals where necessary
• Organising, attending, and supervising extracurricular activities where necessary
• Maintain classroom records, cleanliness, and orderliness

Skills needed

• Patience

Whether you’re trying to teach your students a new concept or dealing with discipline issues, this job requires huge amounts of patience. Patience is a vital attribute that is required to guide your students to success.

• Flexibility

Firstly, you’ll need to be flexible in terms of working late or getting up early to get tasks done. Unfortunately, as a teacher, your day doesn’t end when you leave the school. You still need to plan your lessons for the next day, mark tests, evaluate assignments, and do additional tasks where necessary.

Secondly, you’ll be a part of other activities that can include sports, fundraising events, concerts, field trips with students, and much more. And lastly, you’ll need to be able to adapt your teaching to the various students you’ll be dealing with since each child and class is different.

• Creativity

To achieve optimal levels of learning, you’ll need to keep your students engaged, which requires creativity. Keep the material you’re teaching interesting and you’re likely to achieve better results.

• Communication

Great teachers know how to communicate well. This means that you’re able to get your points across clearly and concisely. However, knowing how to listen properly is also an important part of communication. Take the time to listen to how your students are feeling and get feedback on how well your teaching methods are working for them. Don’t forget, teachers can learn from their students too. Professional and friendly communication is important when you’re dealing with your students and their parents.

• Critical Thinking

Teachers are required to handle a range of problems quickly and efficiently. You’ll need to be able to think on your feet if you pursue this career.

• Organisational skills

Teachers are responsible for a wide range of tasks. Being organised is the only way to stay ahead of everything that needs to be done. Proper organisation also sets a good example for your students.

Educational requirements

If you’re planning to become a teacher, you’ll need to decide whether you want to teach foundation, intermediate or senior phase students. Foundation phase involves teaching children from grade 1 to grade 3 while intermediate phase teaching is from grade 4 to grade 7. As a senior phase teacher, you’ll work in high schools with students from grade 8 to 12. Another option is to work with grade 10 to 12 students as a FET teacher.

If you would like to study teaching, here are some options to consider:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant subjects – available at most universities and tertiary institutes across South Africa.
• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) – available at most universities and tertiary institutes across South Africa.
• Bachelor of Education degree – available at most universities and tertiary institutes across South Africa.

With jobs available across the globe, it’s easy to see why becoming a teacher is a popular career choice. What are you waiting for? Find teaching vacancies on Job Mail and start applying today.