To Teachers: Real Training Matters More Than Fast Certificates

First aid training is always valuable. Safeguarding courses, short workshops, and professional development sessions all have their place. But let’s be honest — these short-term courses do not qualify you as a teacher.

In many schools, especially in international and private settings, “training” often means a few workshops, in-house sessions, or online certificates. While helpful, these cannot replace proper teacher education. Even more concerning is in-house training delivered by schools not affiliated with any university or teacher-training institution. In these environments, you may unknowingly be learning incorrect practices from unqualified teachers, which can shape bad habits that follow you throughout your career.

If you truly want to become a qualified, skilled, and respected educator, proper training takes time, patience, and commitment.

A strong pathway includes:

• Enrolling in a recognized teaching qualification or diploma that takes at least one full year, with face-to-face components — not just online modules.

• Shadowing experienced teachers as an assistant for a minimum of two years, observing best practice, classroom management, planning, assessment, and student wellbeing.

• Learning in schools with strong reputations and excellent mentors, where teaching quality is the top priority.

Your career will be far more sustainable and rewarding if you focus first on learning your craft, rather than chasing high salaries or fast promotions. Teaching is not a shortcut profession — it is a long-term vocation.

Choose your mentors carefully. Learn from teachers who are known to be leaders in their field, not just those who happen to be available. Bad training is worse than no training, because it builds weak foundations that are very hard to fix later.

And finally, if teaching is just a temporary side gig to support travel, it is worth reflecting deeply. Children deserve stability, commitment, and skilled educators, not temporary caretakers. Teaching shapes lives — it should never be treated as casual work.

Invest in learning first. The rest will follow.