Hi everybody, back again with a new kind of topic. Till now I have mostly written either for online students or for their parents. But I have not done justice with the online teachers. So this is a topic for online teachers. Or more perfectly this article is for those who can become an online teacher but may be not thought about it, or may be not aware about it. And there is something of interest for students or parents also. They can get some hints on how to take benefits out of these kinds of online teachers. And there are obviously quite convincing benefits, though not for all but for many students and parents. So let us see how online teachers as a second job can help and benefit themselves and as well as students and parents.
I don’t think this question needs too much explanation or definition. Especially after this pandemic of Covid 19, almost everyone of us got some idea or information of what can be an online class. And if you are a parent, guardian, student or a teacher then you most probably have already experienced online classes in some form or other.
In simple words, the teacher who teaches students through a digital online system is an online teacher. So easy a definition but so difficult a task. Yes, it’s true that it is supposed to be very difficult. Though most of us can be doing it without actually getting aware or understanding that it can be so difficult. Well it happens with us in almost every affair of our life, online classes are not at all new or abstract cases.
Who of us don’t know how to throw a ball to a batsman or hit a ball with a bat? I suppose hardly anyone is there. But throwing the ball or hitting the ball with a bat and playing professional cricket in the national team or even in the state or district team is, I suppose, not the same game.
Similarly, everybody can become a teacher, an online teacher, and what-not. But becoming a good professional teacher or an efficient online teacher may not be the same thing. It takes a lot more than just whatever we think or believe.
Anyway to make it short, when a teacher delivers his class through digital online media, like the internet, the personal computer, smart phones and different types of communication software and apps, then we say that the teacher is an online teacher.
So that inherently means that for the purpose of being an online teacher, one needs to know a few things more over one’s usual domain knowledge, teaching expertise and so on. And the extra few things include some technical knowledge about different digital communication gadgets, like the computer and smartphone, the use of internet for different educational purpose, use of social media for educational communication purpose, preparation of digital educational content for students, ability to communicate and motivate with one or more student in video conference and different online communication media, and the list is too long to exhaust here.
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Well the most witty answer perhaps can be like whoever can become a teacher can also become an online teacher. And that triggers another more intriguing question….who can become a teacher? And this question is a very burning question in education psychology and learning theory. This question is a fundamental question and also constantly evolving one. So let us leave this question here as this is out of scope of this article. I would try to figure it out in some other article later on where we will be discussing many theories and case studies regarding this.
So now to carry on the discussion, let us suppose that whoever can teach one or more subjects comfortably and efficiently to one or more students we can call him a good teacher. And though it can sound good to be the ‘best teacher’, but, let us be a little more realistic that we do not usually see or get what is actually can be called the best. The best teacher is rare to become and rare to get. So let us shred all the myths and dreams behind the word ‘best’ and accept that if we can successfully become ‘good’ then that will be itself an achievement to count. Thus we actually need and most probably to find who is a good teacher.
So be it the only job or be it the second job, being a good teacher is what is absolutely necessary for our context of discussion and consideration. Now let us see why and how one can become a good teacher even if it is his or her second job or part-time job.
This is a question perhaps I have the least necessity to answer ! But still, for discussion sake we can have a word or two.
Population is exploding in our country, so is the number of students and eligible job-seekers. Industry and employment are still not at that level so that it can equate with those numbers.As a result the payscale of existing employees are also getting affected. Human resources and manpower in our country are getting cheaper day by day whereas the curve should have been upward. A low per-capita income can never become a good indicator of a good economy. And also the income to expenditure ratio is increasing day by day. Thus we all are trying to discover new sources of additional income, even if one is already employed.
As an additional income source one can do anything. Any part time business or part time job. But still something undoubtedly more advantageous than many other things. And among that something teaching can become one very viable and comfortable option. You may ask why is that so? Well let me explain.
First and foremost reason is it’s abundance. The population of our country is ever growing. And there are children at almost every home. The count is expected to increase but not at all to decrease with passing days. So naturally, more and more home teachers are required for the increasing number of students.
With the increasing number of students, competition in schools is also increasing. With that the course syllabuses are also getting more and more extensive and complicated meeting the requirement of modern day education. For example, before there were no computer programming classes in schools. But nowadays they are almost getting compulsory. Even the content of syllabus of traditional subjects like Mathematics and Science are also rapidly increasing in both terms of quantity and complexity.
The school’s teaching system is also rapidly evolving. There are plenty of home assignments and assessments all around the year. Then there are project works and other internal assessment methods.
So with all these increasing factors in our education system with passing time, the need for home tutor is also ever increasing sharply. So you can expect to get a student or two to teach as a home tutor.
The second reason is also very relevant and very important. In most of the business and part time jobs you have to learn and acquire some skill sets. In the case of a job you may need some extra certificates also for your resume. But in case of teaching you need not to do anything new. You have already done all your studies through school and college and have got many certificates for the same. So you need not to do anything new. Instead you just need to revise a bit and that you can do easily I suppose. And with that you need to update yourself with the concurrent communication technology which is needed to deliver an online class. Also you need to polish your communication skills which is an asset for any teacher, online or offline.
In a part time job, there will be again a fixed timing. You might be already having a lot of inflexible timing issues with your first job. And that can already be a lot of frustrating and stressful for you. But in teaching, you can have some degree of relaxation from such very rigid timing issues. You can negotiate with your students and their parents for a workably convenient timing. You can also take out some holidays or occasional timing changes by negotiation with your student and their parents. You can arrange for alternative classes for such situations.
In business you can get much time benefits and freedom. But there is another big problem. Most of the business is capital intensive. That is, the success and earnings of the business is directly proportional to the amount of money you can invest. So you have to arrange a huge sum of money for that capital. But teaching is actually neither a job nor a business. It does not need a huge amount as the capital.
But you may have more questions. Like, after your scheduled office timings how can you manage to get some more time? Then there are issues of travel also. You already need to travel to your office and back to home everyday. That takes away a lot of your time and energy. So it may become very difficult for you to teach one or two students after your office everyday. Perhaps only weekends can make it possible.
Well it’s true that you can obviously take some students on your weekends. That way your weekend will become constructive and also with some earnings. But the real solution lies in online class.
When the question of a second job is arising, then online teaching can be the most effective solution. As an online teacher, you can save your time and energy from the travel to your student’s house and back. After performing your first job, you can return home, get refreshed and give the class right from your room at your comfort and convenience.
Thus, comparing at all possible aspects, online teaching becomes the most readily acceptable and convenient second job option.