7” 7” SKILLS THAT WILL CATAPULT YOU TO SUCCESS AS TEACHER

 

 7” 7”  Skills are 7 hard skills and 7 soft skill that matters most and are capable of making you successful as a teacher.

Hard skills refer to specific knowledge which is learned through training, and education by doing a particular job over a long period. Hard skills are used to perform a specific task or job. There are many hard skills teachers need to succeed in their classroom and outside the classroom. Skills like subject knowledge, lesson planning, assessment and evaluation, effective classroom management,  innovative teaching techniques, crisis management, and many others are needed by teachers to be effective in their job.

In this post, I won't be talking about these skills. I’ll be focusing on seven other hard skills that guarantee your success as a teacher both within and outside the classroom. These seven hard skills equip you with the knowledge to succeed in other ventures. These hard skills include:

Management skill

Technology proficiency

Sales skill

Social media skill

Customer service

Public speaking

1. Management skills

Management skills are a crucial set of abilities that go beyond classroom organization and discipline. It consists of a wide range of strategies that teachers use to manage themselves as well as others.

Why do you need this skill?

You need these skills to manage your emotions and personal challenges so that you don't scare people away from you, manage your students' behaviors and your classroom to ensure the best is gotten out of them, manage your colleagues in such a way that they treat you with regard and respect. This will build your confidence and position you for a leadership position.

2. Technology proficiency:

In this time and age, you need to master the use of computers and other gadgets to improve your work. You should be able to use at least the basic gadgets.  If you teach in secondary schools there are a variety of educational technologies you can use to enhance the learning experience. Among these are:

Learning Management Systems (LMS): Platforms like Google Classroom, Moodle, or Canvas for organizing resources, assignments, and communication.

Presentation Software: PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Prezi for creating engaging presentations.

Online Collaboration Tools: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Slack for virtual classrooms, group projects, and discussions.

Digital Assessment Tools:  This includes apps like Kahoot!, Quizizz, or Google Forms for quizzes, assessments, etc.

Video Content and Platforms: This includes using YouTube or curated educational video platforms to supplement lessons with visual aids.

Virtual reality or Augmented reality: Engaging students with immersive learning experiences, field trips, or simulations.

Not all teachers can make use of these technologies at present. So, being an expert in these skills will attract the management especially if they lack such skills. They'll bring you in to take care of processes that require these skills. It is an advantage to you as you are set to dine with the directors. Education is moving to a new level, so you should start thinking beyond markers and board.

Technology integration in the modern classroom is essential for 21st-century teachers. This enhances learning and ensures students do well in their exams.

3 Psychology

Psychology comprises a range of abilities that help you as educators to understand and manage the diverse psychological aspects of teaching and learning. Psychology is one of the important hard skills you should have as a progressive educator. Psychology helps you to understand your student's psyche and helps you to know the area your students are vulnerable to, their strengths, and individual challenges that affect their academics. It helps you to connect with them easily and helps them to do better in their academics. This ensures a sound teacher-student relationship and in turn, projects you as a master in the game.

4 Sales skills

You might be wondering what sales have to do with education. The truth is that as a teacher or an educator. You have a lot to sell. You are selling yourself to the students and must convince them of the lifelong value of what they are learning from you. Don't just teach for teaching's sake. You are also selling yourself to parents and must convince them that your delivery is top-notch and that you have all it takes to build a foundation for their child's future. 

You'll also sell yourself continuously to your school, and convince them that you are the best at what you do as well as sell your teaching philosophies to them. Convincingly selling your personality and teaching philosophies projects you as a leader and expert.

5 Social media skills

Social media is the greatest tool God has given to mankind in this era. It is a tool that can lead you to financial success without any benefactor. The question is, as an educator, are you making use of social media to your advantage?   In this time and age, You don't just go to social media to catch Cruise. You need to learn how to use social media to:

 Build your brand as an educator,

Market your brand.

And keep in touch with the Education community worldwide.

Social media will give you the exposure that ordinarily you cannot get from physical contact. Social media showcases you to the world. So you should leverage that to expand your career. Also, it helps you to build a community with whom you can interact and learn new ideas. You should also learn how to create content and write blog articles. You can help market your school with this skill.  Having social media skills positions you as a great asset to your school and they'll do everything possible to have you on their side.

6 Customer service skills

How do you manage your emotions as an educator when parents come complaining about you or your teaching Style, your manner of handling their child, or any other issue? This is why customer service skills play an important role. Good customer service ensures you don't appear reactive or defensive. It helps you remain calm and professional at such times and this prevents the escalation of minor tissues. This skill is very important because it ensures customer satisfaction without which retention of students may be very difficult. Possessing this skill brings you closer to the owners of the table and your chances of leading.

7 Public speaking

Public speaking skill enables you as a teacher to articulate concepts, instructions, and information clearly to students, ensuring effective communication in the classroom. Public speaking prepares you for a leadership position. An outspoken personality is usually considered in picking a leader. This is because, you can speak confidently and engagingly capture students' attention, address parents during parent-teacher conferences, and lead workshops or training sessions for professional development. Proficient public speaking will enhance your credibility, and help foster trust, among students, parents, and colleagues.

Soft skills

Soft skills are character traits that positively affect how you work and interact with others in a professional setting. They are naturally acquired and are usually not acquired in school or the classroom. They are interpersonal skills. There are many soft skills you must have as an educator and these skills are a must if you must be a sound educator. These skills include; communication, teamwork, punctuality, resilience, patience, reflectiveness, enthusiasm, conflict resolution, time management, and compassion.

Though the above skills are very important, I won't be speaking about them. I will be dwelling on 7 soft skills that will help to fast-track your progress as an educator. This would now ensure that you stand out and rise quickly to the management position. In no other of importance, these skills are:

 Leadership

Adaptability

Problem-solving

Emotional intelligence

Confidence

communication

Cultural competence.

1. Leadership

Your ability to lead from the position where you are projects you to the limelight. Start with how you lead your students in the classroom and how you influence colleagues positively. If you are always seen picking on people or causing disunity, you may hardly get into a management position. So you should be watchful of your reactions to members of staff of your organization and how you influence your students or pupils.

2. Problem solving skills

You don't want to be that staff that complains whenever problems arise, You should be the one who will research for solutions to solve any challenging situation that arises in the course of Duty. Avoid being a complain freak or being part of a pity party group. Be a problem solver. Naturally, humans are drawn to people who have solutions to their problems, so to excel be a problem solver and not a complainer.

3. Adaptability

The work environment is always changing, nothing is ever static in the work environment. New technologies may be introduced in your school, a new curriculum may also be introduced, and there may be a shift in management. What do you do when such happens? All you should do is pick up yourself and adjust without too much ado. If you must fast-track your career you must be adaptable. Not just being adaptable you must adapt quickly.

4. Social and emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence helps you to show empathy to students.  Empathy is the ability to understand what someone is feeling or experiencing. Students or learners may not be able to communicate their emotions or worries, it will take a teacher with emotional intelligence to understand and help that child. It also helps you to understand where your colleagues are coming from in the time of Misunderstanding.

This gives you an upper hand as a leader. It also helps you to sense the state of things in your organization. Sometimes your boss may be temperamental or have anger issues, but emotional skills will help you to manage such a boss to your advantage. Even when people are complaining about such a boss you already have. Emotional intelligence also helps you relate with people and gain their trust. This in turn brings connection which leads to success.

5 communication

This skill can never be overemphasized in education. Teaching and learning can never happen without communication. Communication is not just giving and receiving information. The areas of communication you need to work on are:

active listening

conflict resolution

negotiation

Non-verbal communication. These ensure you work effectively with others.

6 Confidence

Your success in life is driven by confidence. Confidence moves you higher the ladder than competence.

Competence without confidence will never lead to success. You'll need the confidence to bring your gift to the table. You might be excellent in discharging your duty but without confidence, you'll be working till your hair turns gray without ascending to a management position.

7 cultural competence

Your culture, tradition, and religion may be different from those of your learners, colleagues, and director.

You should be wise enough to draw a line when discussing such issues. These issues breed hatred, conflicts, and disunity in an organization. An open-hearted and tolerant personality is welcomed by everyone.  Work on respecting people's opinions on culture and religion and never let that come between official work.