Can I Become A Teacher At Any Age?
Older people who would like to become a teacher can feel insecure when they contemplate studying for their degree surrounded by twenty year olds. If you are middle aged or older, it can be like studying surrounded by people the age of your own children. You might even be wondering whether you can start teaching at your age.
Certainly there are plenty of jobs where there is a prejudice against older people. Companies often prefer to take younger workers on, because it costs them less and there is the chance that they will stay for longer, if the career works out for them. However some businesses are now starting to realize that there can be advantages to hiring older people, because of the skills and experience that they bring with them, and because they are more likely to be hard working, stable and committed to that company.
An older person, who is more mature and perhaps having raised their own children, can be an excellent candidate to become a teacher. Older teachers are likely to be calmer when it comes to disruptions and problems that arise in the classroom, and handle them smoothly.
Energy is one issue which might concern people when hiring a new teacher. Younger teachers are more likely to be able to keep up with children and not tire themselves out each day. The older person aiming to become a teacher, therefore, needs to show an interview panel that they have enthusiasm as well as energy. One option is to offer to be a substitute teacher or teacher assistant for a day, so that they can observe how well you keep up and how much energy you actually have.
The chances are, however, that any particular school will already have some older teachers on staff, and they will therefore appreciate the contribution their wisdom and experience makes to the school, and will be happy to give them a chance to become a teacher there.
Surprisingly, children, even in their teens, are quite happy with older teachers. Every teacher is often seen as an older person by children, and they may well not pay any attention to a large age gap between one teacher and another. Remember too that they have older people in their lives, such as parents, grandparents and so on, who they have loving relationships with, and they may well categorize you in a similar role.
You should not try to act younger than your age or be ashamed of it. Children do not react well to this, because they want you to be honest. They know that they will be older too one day and don't want to see people being ashamed of age. So be honest about your age when you become a teacher, and kids will respect you for it, and you will have no trouble teaching them.
