Do you love learning? Do you enjoy working with children? Are you looking for a career that will fit a family lifestyle? If so, consider earning your BA in Elementary Education from St. Thomas University for a long and rewarding career!
School districts all over the country need good teachers. Populations are growing, and the demand for new teachers is steady. Older teachers are retiring, and many schools need new teachers to fill those positions. Becoming a teacher is one of the most rewarding and impactful professions that you can have in a person’s life.
Consider these reasons why you should earn your BA in Elementary Education at St. Thomas University.
A Rewarding Career Path in Education
There is a reason why many of us can remember our elementary school teachers. Elementary teachers have the unique opportunity to speak into the lives of children.
1. Teach the Building Blocks of Education
Elementary teachers are vital to society, given that they help format and teach the building blocks of education. Teaching the basics of reading and math may seem boring to some, but students will use and build on these skills throughout the rest of their lives. The importance of teaching elementary students is vital to the health of our society.
2. Impact Goes Well Beyond the Classroom
While a child’s parents are usually the first to have an impact on a child, many teachers all across the nation spend more time with students than perhaps their own parents do during any given week. Simply put, a career as an elementary teacher not only helps secure the building blocks of learning, but it has immense social impacts on a person’s future.
3. Teaching is Family Friendly
If you hope to, or already have a family, choosing to earn a BA in Elementary Education is an excellent fit for flexibility. Many teachers with families can teach within the same school district, or even at the same school as their children. This makes it easier for scheduling holidays and after school care when you have the same time off as your children.
While it is true that teachers aren’t required to work nights, weekends, or holidays at school, they often do work these hours at home. Teachers usually do grade papers at night or need to plan for lessons outside of school hours.
However, teachers get many holidays off as well as a long stretch of time over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spring Break is another time where teachers can enjoy time away from work as well as summer vacation. Again, most teachers do end up working while on these breaks, but it is nice that they don’t need to take vacation days for these breaks that are already pre-planned into the school year calendar.
4. You’ll Rarely Have a Boring Day
Working with young elementary kids usually means one thing: a lot of noise. Children have an excitement and energy about them that elementary teachers thrive on. While many teachers do hold strict rules and guidelines within their classroom, there is always an elevated level of fun in elementary rooms.
On the rare days when the kids are quiet, you can then dive deep into lessons. Many teachers choose to receive their BA in Elementary Education because they like a wide range of subjects. As opposed to a secondary school teacher, elementary teachers get to teach a little bit of every subject, which helps break up the day and keeps it interesting.
Job Outlook and Placement Opportunities
One of the best perks about earning a BA in Elementary Education is that you can teach all over the country.
5. Steady Teacher Salaries
Individual states control public education, meaning that your salary will differ from teachers in other states. On average, elementary teachers all across the nation make about $45,000 per year. However, teachers are paid based on a regulated scale that takes into account your degree of education and years of teaching experience. Most first-year teachers will start out anywhere from $30,000-$40,000 per year.
Teacher salaries are pre-determined meaning that you will know exactly what you will make in a year according to the salary chart. This can lower the worry and stress of other careers where you could receive less compensation than in previous years. If teaching in a public school, this also means that your salary is public knowledge which could be odd for some people.
6. Placement Opportunities
One of the best things about becoming an elementary educator is the fact that elementary schools are located near and far all across the country. You can teach in downtown New York City or rural Alaska on a remote island. A career in elementary education allows you to move where you want to be.
With that being said, teacher salaries don’t necessarily change due to location. So, that first-year teacher position that you take in downtown New York City with a high cost of living will pay you the same as people in the country with a much lower cost of living.
Another item to consider is that every school district is managed differently. Schools within the same region could differ significantly in the environment and overall job satisfaction. This means that you are never usually stuck in a position and can easily transfer to another school or district from year to year.
Teacher Statistics
There are plenty of elementary jobs but less than average growth in the sector.
7. Overall Teaching Positions
As of 2018, there were over 1.5 million Kindergarten and elementary school teachers within the United States. Licensed elementary education teachers are usually also approved to teach through 8th grade, which adds another 600,000 middle school teachers to that number. Overall, there are well over 2 million K-8 grade teacher positions within the country.
8. Slower New Job Growth
Both elementary and middle school teaching positions are projected to grow by 3% through 2028. This is less than the average job sector growth at 5%-6%. Higher classroom enrollments and overall bureaucracy limit the amount that school systems can keep up with growing populations.
9. Strong Job Security
Overall, job security for a teacher is high due to the ability to change school locations or districts if needed throughout a career.
The Learning Policy Institute stated that 84% of teachers plan to stay within the teaching career field in the future. Therefore, 16% of teachers left the career field. Of that 16% turnover, 67% of teachers voluntarily either chose a different profession or took an early retirement package. Only 14% of the 16% turnovers were due to involuntary reasons such as layoffs or dismissals
The U.S. Department of Education stated that the percentage of teachers who plan on remaining in teaching didn’t change much from 1999 through 2012. Overall, teachers remain a committed group of professionals who want to stay within their field.
However, there is growing concern that teachers are worried about their jobs when factoring in standardized testing scores. While teachers may feel pressure to “teach to the test”, and therefore worry about their job security, it is unknown how many teachers actually lose their job directly due to student performance and standardized testing scores.
Education Requirements
Students looking to major in teaching can work towards earning a BA in Elementary Education. Graduates also need a license to teach within the state that they choose to work. Continued educational requirements are also part of a long career in education as well.
The Elementary Education program at St. Thomas University offers a blended learning approach geared towards working adults who can’t commit to a 16-week student teaching semester. This non-traditional approach allows graduates to teach K-6 elementary students as well as careers as a Reading Interventionist, Learning Center Teacher, or Learning Center Director.
There are plenty of reasons why Elementary Education is a desired field for so many STU students. Not only is the career rewarding and impactful, but it is also quite secure and geared towards those with families. Consider all of these reasons why you should earn your Elementary Education degree at St. Thomas University. Contact our admissions professionals for more information on how to begin this satisfying career path.
