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Along with parents, teachers play the
most important role in the growth and development of a child. The terms
‘growth and development’ are very much dependent on proper education of
the child. Worldwide, there is a growing emphasis on child education. We
can look back to the history and find countries with better education
models and focus on child education have done well for themselves. Most
of the third world countries have poor record in education and
especially child education. However, with changing times, organizations
and educational institutions with the support of governments are putting
in extra efforts to educate children. The concept of preschools is a
wonderful result of all those initiatives.
Preschools don’t really provide lessons and classes to the kids. As
preschools are meant for very young children in the age group of 3-5,
the kids are actually prepared here for senior classes. The mental and
emotional aspects of children are taken care of in the preschools. Child
is introduced to concepts like social groups, group activities,
communication and interaction. All these important functions are
performed by preschool teachers who are primarily responsible for
nurturing and educating young children. Some of the common educational
activities carried out in preschools are group play, games, lesson
plans, and nursery rhymes. It is the role of preschool teachers to
provide students with academic foundations for further education.
Preschool teacher requirements vary from country to country and state to
state. The requirements for preschool teachers include elementary
education training and license. Most of the state schools require
teachers to have a Bachelors Degree or a high school diploma. The
preschool teachers are also required to attend early childhood education
courses. However, as said earlier, the requirements vary so some states
require preschool teachers to have at least a certificate or associate's
degree in early childhood education. The course curriculum of these
programs includes subjects like child development, motor skills, social
and cognitive behaviors, creative arts, language development and
emotional development etc.
Aspiring preschool teachers may find less stringent conditions in
private preschools. At some places, preschool teachers are required to
have completed 120 hours of formal training and 480 hours of practical
experience working with children. So basically, the preschool teacher
requirements differ from state to state. However, once employed,
preschool teachers enjoy more control over course curriculum compared to
elementary or secondary school teachers. They can also decide planned
activities for the kids by keeping in mind needs and requirements of the
children.
Preschool teachers play crucial role in shaping and developing
children’s all-round abilities. They introduce kids to basic mathematics
concepts, focus on language development, and make children interested in
social interactions and reading and writing. They also introduce kids to
books, art, games, music and computers etc. With further education and
relevant job experience, preschool teachers may become supervisors or
directors at preschool, Montessori and other pre-kindergarten
environments. According to data, there is growing demand for qualified
preschool teachers so that makes the job prospects quite lucrative.
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