Everywhere you look, teachers are in high demand. The global teacher shortage is not something new, but it does continue to be a problem. So, when a student says that they want to become a teacher, educators must ensure that every opportunity is in place for that student to succeed.
Of course, preparation for the journey toward a teaching certification is key, and there are several avenues that students can explore before they embark on a full collegiate excursion toward a career in education. For Thaao Dill, director of programming at the Adult Education School (AES), it’s vital to get your ducks in a row prior to looking at scholarships.
“AES learners with an interest in becoming teachers have a clear, accessible path to completion. To start with, they’ll be furnished with our GED Plus Programme. This includes individualised, one-on-one academic instruction in each of the four subjects, partnered with ‘success skills’ training such as time management, study habits and online application resourcing and completion, and a deep analysis of their values set, career aptitude and unique learning style.
“If these results map on to a career in education, we support them through the process of being accepted into the Bermuda College Associate of Science in Education Degree Programme, including bespoke prep for the College Placement Test, and outlining a short list of universities they can transfer the significant majority or entirety of their Bermuda College credits into.”
Once a path is blueprinted, and students are ready to put cement and stone into their chosen discipline, scholarships become very significant indeed, especially the grassroots ones.“The state scholarships, specifically the Teacher Education Award, are the most valuable financial support options for this particular training and professional journey, but we guide our learners to pursue some of the smaller bursaries offered by their parish council, area churches, sports clubs, for example, to reach their goals. There is so much money on the table available for committed Bermudian students, and AES does our best to equip our learners with the skills needed to successfully earn these awards.”
There are numerous scholarships and awards available to students who want to teach. Teaching itself demands a strong, near comprehensive grasp on a specific discipline, which opens many doors, to many opportunities.
Several scholarships are provided for non-specific study and, once a student knows what they want to pursue, they can apply to as many as they want. The Ministry of Education, mentioned by Mr Dill as the “state scholarships,” provide numerous general education awards, up to $35,000 per annum, and several Teacher Training Awards, up to $20,000 per annum.
The trick is to know what you want to teach. Know what discipline fills you with enough passion and drive to see it through, because college life will be challenging at times.
Cedarbridge Academy Counsellor Angelita Outerbridge advises students who are interested in becoming teachers to network with the professionals they work with every day:
“If I had a student wanting to pursue education, I would encourage them to begin networking; talking to teachers in the subject area, and age level that they are interested in teaching. I would assist in creating the connections to allow them to talk to teachers in the field. A part of future planning is research. The purpose of these links would be to find out different pathways that others may have taken, which would contribute to the development of their own pathway. There are many different pathways that students can take.”
The path to teaching will, almost always, start before tertiary education, but going into tertiary education with a clear understanding of what may be ahead of you is always a good idea. As far as scholarships go, Ms Outerbridge highly recommended students get on bermudascholarships.com early.“In regards to scholarships, bermudascholarships.com lists all available scholarships. Students are able to search specific scholarships that align with their interest. Students should make use of the website to research what is available. There are scholarships that are available specifically for students pursuing education.”
Most local scholarships and awards are listed on bermudascholarships.com. So, once you’ve made the monumental decision to bless the world by teaching, you should tap into this resource by registering your profile on the site.
From there you will find Parish Council scholarships, club bursaries, funding provided by the Bermuda Union of teachers, including the Angela Swan Memorial Teacher Training Award, and the Ellen-Kate Horton Teacher Training Award, further education Awards, privately provided scholarships like the Green Family scholarship and the Debra and Dudley Butterfield scholarship, and dozens of others.
These financial contributions are ready and waiting for dynamic young applicants who want to use their talents to mould Bermuda’s students into future leaders.
The Ministry of Education Teacher Training Award, as well as their numerous general undergraduate and postgraduate awards can all be applied to through bermudascholarships.com. The deadline for application is Monday 8 April and applications are live now.
Applicants must have completed five years of schooling in Bermuda, but this requirement can vary with non-government scholarships.
The Teacher Training Award also requires applicants to be enrolled in an approved programme of study at an accredited school, and maintain a 3.0 GPA. This requirement also varies.
Fortunately, because this award is also designed to meet the needs of the Bermuda Public School System (BPSS), post-scholarship employment is not only possible, but required. Successful applicants will be expected to return to Bermuda once they have obtained their degree, and teach in the BPSS for an equal amount of years that they benefitted from the award.
Lastly, the Teacher Training Award requires applicants to submit an essay answering three simple questions, which are questions students who decide to pursue a career in education should ask themselves anyway: Why do you want to be a teacher? What does comprehensive education mean to you? And, what contribution will you make to the Bermuda Public School System?
