Reply to Fast-track way to switch careers and become an elementary school teacher or reading specialist??

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[quote=Anonymous]Hi! I am currently a Literacy Specialist. In order to become a Literacy Specialist, you have to have a degree in Education/teaching certificate, 3-5 years of successful teaching experience, a Master's Degree in Reading Education, and a Reading Specialist Endorsement (this might vary depending on where you live). To move from a a classroom teacher to a Literacy Specialist  is quite difficult, as this is a VERY desirable/competitive position. You might want to spend some time on the International Reading Association website (http://www.reading.org) to learn more about the Literacy field. Also, as a Reading Specialist, you most likely will spend very little time teaching  students. Most of your time will be spent coaching classroom teachers, leading professional development sessions, and gathering/interpreting student data in order to implement intervention programs. If you are interested in spending the majority of your time working with students, this might not be the position for you. I agree with the other posters, you should definitely spend some time volunteering in an elementary school to learn more about the system and begin to make connections. Finally, you mentioned that you are interested in the the Education field partially due to the desirable work hours. Please do not go into teaching because you think it will be easier than your current job because you will be very disappointed. While your workday may be shorter, you will spend most of your nights lesson planning, grading, writing student reports, attending school functions, meetings, etc.. Also, the pressure that is put on classroom teachers is extremely stressful. Teaching should not be a fall back position because you don't like your current job. It really needs to be a passion, otherwise you will quickly get burnt out, just like you are now.

I hope this helps! I don't mean to to be discouraging, I just think it is good to have your eyes open before venturing into a new field. If you truly are passionate about working in Education, specifically Literacy, I think you should definitely go for it! I absolutely love my job. [/quote]

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