High School Teaching Careers and Education Info in Arizona

I had several misconceptions prior to attending school online. I thought my classes would be easy and attending school online would be a breeze. I could not have been more wrong. My classes have all been challenging and participation is a necessity. There has been nothing easy about my classes. The requirements have been stringent and participation is required. The amount of time I have spent studying has been way more than when I was in a traditional university environment. I spent two years attending school in the early 1980’s and three years attending school part time from 1993-1996. This experience has been much harder and way more fulfilling to me as a student.

I also believed that an online education would be somehow less prestigious than attending school in a traditional setting. I have been mistaken about that too. When I graduate in May of 2010, I will have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education. I will have fulfilled all of the requirements needed to become a teacher. There is nothing un-prestigious about those qualifications.

Before choosing my teaching school I wish I had done more research on "on-line" universities and not simply listened to others. As an active duty Marine, stationed in Japan, there are no traditional brick and mortar universities for me to choose from. Therefore I had no alternative but to go with an online university such as the University of Phoenix.

Having only one shot at my Education degree, I was very hesitant about choosing an "online" university because of the negative press many of them have received. Yet, after much research, I discovered that there are a group of highly reputable online universities and the University of Phoenix is one of them. Additionally, I discovered that, even though the University of Phoenix is primarily online, my entire program is taught in the classroom by licensed and experienced educators. Moreover, I must also take place in the standard semester-long internship in a public school. So I ask, what is the difference between my "online" university and a traditional brick and mortar school?

A second thing that I wish I would have known before choosing my college is the level of communication skills necessary for an education program. I have learned that effective and even imaginative communication is essential to teaching, or even learning to teach. While I thought I was an effective communicator, I quickly found that teaching takes a special type of communication; a type that not only passes information but also engages the mind. Before entering my teaching program I would have taken more courses on communication.

Overall I am very happy with the university I chose because it is giving me an education comparable with any other institution of higher education while I continue to serve as an active duty Marine. And while I feel I am playing catch-up in some areas of effective communication, I have been shown a weakness and can take action to correct it.

As a student in an education program that is on the cutting edge of new technology, I have learned a great deal about the teaching profession. Since the classroom setting of my program is primarily online, I have the opportunity to work with students from all over the world. This allows me to have access to a variety of teaching techniques that I may not be privy to otherwise. I would advise anyone interested in pursing a teaching degree online, to embrace the benefits of having contacts in your class that could range all over the world. Since my teaching program seeks a Masters degree rather than a Bachelors degree, the majority of students in my class were already active teachers. This was extremely beneficial for me to learn from experienced teachers to see if many of my teaching ideas would work. This assists in eliminating a great deal of the “trial-by-error” that is common among many first year teachers.

My particular program, however, focused on a group dynamic and had students work within learning teams to complete assignments in addition to their individual assignments. While the goal of this process is to foster peer-learning, which is rapidly becoming a proven teaching style, the actual implementation of this peer-learning contained numerous flaws. At the beginning of my program, I was placed in learning teams with students who did not have a real desire to teach, nor to advance their true education with regard to advanced teaching techniques. Therefore, I had to wait until these students were “weeded-out” of the program, to assure that my future learning team would be successful. This process took approximately seven months, or five classes. However, after those students were removed from our program, my subsequent learning teams were very successful and I feel I learned a great deal more from the team than from the instructor. I would advise any student entering into a similar online program that utilizes peer-based-learning to be patient and maintain constant communication with your professor. These tips can assist the student in ensuring they will be successful in their program.