Early Childhood Education: Don't Just Love Kids, Teach Kids

You may meet plenty of unhappy accountants, business executives, and city workers. But it's may be hard to find an unhappy kindergarten teacher. Surely that has something to do with being around kids, with all their energy and vitality. But it also probably has something to do with job availability and security.
Earning an online degree in through an early childhood education degree program can put you in position to be one of those smiling kindergarten teachers.

Online Degree Program: Early Childhood Education

An online degree in early childhood education can prepare you to work with young children. Online degree programs in early childhood education can prepare you for the classroom through courses that emphasize interactive activities and hands-on teaching approaches. At the preschool, kindergarten, and elementary levels, early childhood education teachers typically use a variety of games, books, artwork, and more to teach young children about mathematics, science, language, and social studies. Preschool teachers traditionally use play as well as interactive activities to develop vocabulary, introduce mathematical concepts, and more.
An online degree program in education typically includes courses to prepare you to teach, such as mathematics, music, art, literature, and more. Professional courses generally include philosophy of education, teaching methods, and the psychology of learning. In addition to an online degree, most school districts also require early childhood education teachers to hold a license to teach.

Early Childhood Education Career Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of teachers is expected to increase by 12 percent through 2016. Geographically, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia should see the largest school enrollment increases. Preschool and kindergarten teachers should see a 23 percent increase in employment opportunities and elementary school teachers should see a 13 percent increase.
In 2007, according to the BLS, preschool teachers earned a median annual salary of $23,130, kindergarten teachers earned $45,120, and elementary school teachers earned $47,330.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Elementary School Teachers
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kindergarten Teachers, 2007 Wages
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Preschool Teachers, 2007 Wages
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Teachers

Andrew Freiburghouse is a writer and businessman. As a partner at Los Angeles tax preparation firm Pronto Income Tax of California, Inc., Andrew learned the fine art of growing a small business into a not-so-small business. Currently, Andrew lives in Brooklyn, NY.