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Who in your life has inspired you most through their mentorship? Is it a parent, family member, friend, teacher, peer support guide, or even a stranger you met by chance?
We all experience, to some degree, the transformative power of education in everyday life and beyond. And while we may take it for granted, education truly is “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,’” preparing learners with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate life’s challenges and successes (Nelson Manela, qtd. 1.1). Reflecting on this, I have realized how deeply mentorship has shaped my leadership journey, as each of the many diverse mentors I have had brought forth unique perspectives, guidance, and support which have contributed to my broader understanding of the world and my place within it.
Here are my reviews, learning reflections and key takeaways upon my work-integrated learning experience via Illuminate Universe’s The World of Education, as well as my leadership journey. This experience was unique in that the concise and digestible, yet thorough work-integrated learning experience prompted personal reflections on my past and potential future experiences as both a learner (from this learning experience, university-level studies, parents and friends, etc.) and as a teacher in extracurricular leadership roles and peer-to-peer interactions.
The Pillars of Education
Education has undergone dramatic paradigmatic shifts from its roots in informal communal teachings to structured learning with technology incorporated. Modern systems tend to stress the need for personalized learning experiences and the development of critical thinking skills; so educational psychology is a particularly ripe sub-field, as it is concerned with analyzing learning processes from cognitive and behavioral perspectives to demonstrate individual differences in intelligence, development, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept across various settings and stages of life. It has enormous theoretical and practical weight as a heuristic for developing adaptable teaching methods to accommodate and empower a myriad of student needs and concerns, from curriculum design to positive behavioral interventions.
Source: Chris McGoff on LinkedIn
Despite these changes, however, the transcendent cornerstone of education is mentorship and leadership. In a typical educational setting, this role is fundamentally fulfilled by teachers who design and deliver lessons and individual learning plans; vary learning mediums; conduct and mark assessments; and evaluate student progress–often working additional hours to support their students.
Using a robust skill set of communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and empathy, teachers bear witness to their students’ growth and joy as they guide them in making positive contributions and meaningful connections within and beyond their school communities. The learning experience contends that there are six key elements that make a great teacher:
Deep content knowledge for curriculum enrichment, adaptability, and making corrections;
Quality instruction using questions, feedback and assessment for effective and engaging learning;
Creating a supportive teaching atmosphere by emphasizing respect, curiosity, and resilience;
Efficient classroom management of time, resources, space, and rules;
Understanding and acting appropriately on educators’ self-perceptions and beliefs about their students; and
Engaging in continuous professional learning and collaboration with teachers, colleagues, and parents.
This made me think about how effectively I incorporate some or all of these elements into my own leadership and teaching experiences. I possess deep content and technical knowledge of the things I teach children and peers (ex. swimming, volleyball) and share with my local community for the purposes of education and awareness (ex. human trafficking, youth digital literacy and privacy), which I am continuously building through university-level studies and extracurricular initiatives that involve collaboration with higher-level mentors and professionals like professors and committee heads. And while I certainly do emphasize equity, inquiry and perseverance in my leadership because it is informed by an intersectional perspective, I recognize that one area for improvement is being more mindful of how my own social-justice oriented perspectives as a student of sociology and criminology might differ from those around me. It is important to remind myself that the people I lead all come from very different walks of life and thereby possess unique knowledge and skill sets – so the goal of my endeavors is not to totally assimilate my perspectives into others’ as a top-down leader, but to integrate our knowledge sets with one another, emphasizing the artful recursive relationship between leader and learner.
Source: Oxford Learning
Teaching as a Career: Routes, Recruitment, and Exit Opportunities
There are many different types of teachers and teaching careers spanning from early childhood to adult level education, from primary, middle, and high school teachers to bilingual, ESL, special educational needs, and vocational teachers. Other familiar careers in the field of education include principals, who oversee other teachers’ administration of the curriculum; educational administrators, who ensure efficient program delivery and operation, like deans and department heads; and school counsellors, who help navigate student success. But there are also perhaps less familiar, but equally significant careers supporting the development and delivery of education, including curriculum developers, who implement and evaluate programs and teaching materials; and educational technology specialists, who integrate technology into educational settings to enhance instruction and learning. These types of careers in education usually require a certain type of master’s degree, regional certifications/licenses, and practical teaching experiences, with the exception of professors, who pursue a doctoral degree and engage in research to teach at institutions of higher education.
The routes to becoming a teacher are thus highly variable, as the journey depends on the level and type of teaching desired plus previous experience, alongside regional requirements and demands for teachers. What all routes will have in common as a first step, however, is the need to research relevant professional programs with a complete understanding of the prerequisites involved. Only after a thorough assessment of one’s options and their associated benefits should one submit an application through the appropriate platform by the application deadline, including all required fees and supporting documents. These typically include official transcripts, proof of program completion, letters of recommendation, and sometimes a statement of intent, proof of language proficiency, or description of relevant volunteer or work experience.
Beyond this, many educators become inspired to make a career change that fulfills personal and/or professional desires in favour of related teaching opportunities like:
Educational consulting
Corporate training and development
Instructional design of various types of programs and materials
Educational technology (EdTech) creation, integration and support
Non-profit and advocacy work
Freelancing and entrepreneurship (e.g. tutoring, writing, app creation, etc.)
Further education
Given all of this, it is prudent to be aware of current recruitment trends in education, namely those driven by: (a) streamlined technological advancements in artificial intelligence and automation which have led to increased upskilling opportunities and internal recruitment efforts; (b) shifting workforce expectations, like calls for improved diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and optimization of the hiring process; and (c) the need for a personalized approach to talent acquisition, using storytelling and data-driven insights to engage with passive candidates.
I found the information on recruitment trends in education to be particularly relevant and useful for me, as I am currently in the process of developing a recruitment strategy for an extracurricular endeavors where I am piloting a mentorship program. When I first approached this task, I was so focused on developing the structure of the program in line with my club’s core philosophies that I did not fully take into account what applicants may be looking for from us as a potential mentor or mentee. Our somewhat rudimentary in-person recruitment strategy which appeals to candidates with the club’s core values and beliefs alone could benefit from personalization in particular. For instance, developing a social media campaign to share individual stories of the specific personal and professional benefits of being a leader in our club (ex. aligns with their career aspirations; has shifted their perspectives on taken-for-granted social issues, etc.) allows potential candidates to better imagine themselves in their shoes than simply reading a description of the role. In this way, this learning and leadership experience has taught me to be much more cognizant of current trends in recruitment so that I can make use of them for my own leadership endeavors, but also know what I should be looking out for from recruiters when looking for future jobs and leadership roles.
Source: Teacher Magazine
Personal Reflections
Growing up with a primary, ESL, and special needs education teacher as a mother helped me become inspired to learn some of the adaptive skills suggested for academic, social and spiritual success. I was able to provide feedback on lesson plans and help decorate her classroom in my junior elementary and middle school years, building critical thinking, organizational, and time-management skills early on. These are some of the key foundational skills emphasized throughout the work-integrated learning experience for effective mentorship, as it is very difficult to put teachings into practice without a well thought-out plan on how to translate theoretical knowledge into practical application. Moreover, the learning experience also highlighted how fulfilling a career in education can be for both students and teachers, recognizing that even the most organized lesson plans require reciprocal engagement and inspiration. Looking back, I realize that most of my positive experiences with teachers (and my mom) involved them integrating creative analogies, sharing personal anecdotes, and incorporating relevant (non-)fictional experiences and stories into their instruction to meaningfully bridge their students with an often tedious standard curriculum.
Source: University of Nebraska
It is no surprise that I ended up following in my mother’s footsteps as a teenager and young adult, starting with various sports teams and later joining a variety of clubs where I developed a knack for leadership using strong interpersonal communication, task prioritization, and problem-solving skills. For instance, I was able to work my way up to team captain of my volleyball team by my final year of high school at a competitive club, where I was able to take on an additional leadership role as a volunteer assistant coach for another team. It was here that I was able to practice for myself how to develop, interpret, and execute the types of lesson plans I assisted my mom with all those years ago, and implement specific behavioral management strategies for a young group of girls, like providing fun incentives for task completion (ex. having coaches join in on one of their TikToks at the end of practice) to encourage focus and efficiency. Further than this, I have taken on a number of new community leadership roles in university which are closer in line with my career aspirations, ultimately leading me to Illuminate Universe. where I have been able to acquire and synthesize more comprehensive knowledge about specific careers I am interested in pursuing with my existing knowledge, experiences and skills.
Where the future will take me and individuals with similar career aspirations is uncertain, but I know that I will always end up circling back to education. My love for learning will likely draw me back into academia through higher educational pursuits, and now that I am equipped with the tools I need to navigate a career in education–from specific application processes to exit opportunities in the field–I can see myself pursuing a teaching role as a proponent of social change and transformation.
Key Takeaways
Education has immense power and potential to foster personal and societal growth and development. It goes without saying that our lifelong process of learning starts at birth, where we gradually begin to experience and build upon basics to acquire increasingly specific knowledge and skills needed to develop our personalities by forming habits; navigate interpersonal relationships; and progress through certain levels of education. As a career, education provides direct avenues for making meaningful social change when understood as a dynamic role committed to adapting, incorporating and integrating diverse pedagogies, teaching methods, and technologies to build positive student self-perceptions and maximize their ability to absorb and then act on their learnings. Education thus rigorously acts upon and continuously shapes our thoughts, behaviours, and worldviews in a myriad of ways.
It is crucial to remember, however, that education, using Mandela’s term here, can be “weapon[ized]” as a tool of oppression. The concept of cultural hegemony (Gramsci, 1971) is particularly relevant to understanding this doubleness: It refers to the ability of a ruling class to impose their own ideology on society without drawing attention to itself. In this way, all of our institutions and practices are shaped by an artificial, yet seemingly inevitable status quo (attitudes, beliefs, values, etc.)–which, in the West, is based on competitive market-based ideology of late-stage capitalism–so that those with high status, wealth and prestige are able to wield its power to preserve their privileges at the expense of others. Whether it is the underfunding of schools in marginalized communities or mass political propaganda geared at stripping civil rights away from vulnerable groups like women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and/or racialized and Indigenous peoples, the concept of cultural hegemony illuminates the socio-political and economic undergirds of all of our institutions.
While this doubleness may seem bleak, we should not lose hope. Trailblazing individuals and organizations have inspired growth and change in generations old and new alike despite the challenges of trying to dismantle historical systems of institutional and structural discrimination that come with cultural hegemony–that the term even exists implies the possibility of resistance and empowerment. Critical analysis and reflection of what messages are being spread and to what end by our moral entrepreneurs (Becker, 1963) who construct and label what is considered normal versus deviant (ex. CEOs, celebrities, politicians, religious figures, etc.) enables us to decide for ourselves where we stand in society. And the further one goes along their personal path of education, the wider the horizons become for developing theory and criticism to understand the world for what it really is (or might be!).
Tips and Advice
Plan ahead
Source: Hammerjack
This may seem like an obvious one, but the basics are the basics for a reason. Pursuing academic studies, applying for an entry-level job in education, or attempting career change can involve tenuous, tedious, and difficult processes (as with any commitment); so, planning ahead by envisioning broader goals and outcomes helps ease stress and anxiety. While you probably already have your own day-to-day planning system (ex. using an agenda, calendar, to-do lists, etc.), the next step is conducting and then organizing research for your goal to ensure you have all the information and resources you need at your disposal. It can be helpful to create bookmarks on your default browser and group related links into folders for easy access like application portals or program websites; and a spreadsheet or table can be even more useful to manage and track deadlines, application materials, fees and costs, and more. In this way, you will be able to determine the desirability, feasibility, and likelihood of success in each experience.
Gain diverse learning and work experiences
Source: Iafor
Building on my previous advice, this is another broad, but crucial recommendation that applies to any field. As mentioned before, recruiters tend to look for candidates with an array of relevant experiences which demonstrate their passion to study or work in their field; in education, this involves some form of practical teaching experience in a classroom or comparable setting. Deciding what to commit to, however, can be tricky and overwhelming. As you weigh your options, it is best to start by asking yourself how the experience aligns with your personal and professional aspirations. Perhaps you would like to get published someday, so you look for research internships or practicums with schools and local non-profits; or you want to experience life in a new culture, so you learn the language during an exchange or study abroad program, even obtain a certification to teach it once proficient. From volunteering to online courses to employment, look for diverse quality experiences over quantity to demonstrate your commitment to continuous adaptive learning and skill development in the field.
Conclusions
Entering the World of Education with Illuminate Universe has profoundly ameliorated my understanding of the teaching profession by delineating key career characteristics of the field and practical steps to achieving success within it. As one navigates the ever-evolving landscape of education, mentorship remains a fundamental pillar that enriches and sustains diverse teaching career paths and ongoing advancements in instruction, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and continuous learning.
Reflecting on my own experiences in various educational settings as a learner and in several leadership roles as a teacher, I am reminded of the profound impact that dedicated educators and mentors have had on my development. The insights I have gleaned from Illuminate Universe’s course reinforce the critical role of education in fostering personal and societal growth; and despite the challenges posed by systemic inequalities and cultural hegemony, the potential for education to drive positive change remains immense.
As we move forward, it is crucial to approach education with both critical awareness and hopeful optimism. By seeking out diverse experiences and striving for inclusive and equitable pedagogy and practice, we can work towards creating a more just and informed world. Whether through teaching, administrative roles, or other educational pursuits, the journey of learning and growth is driven by the enduring power of knowledge and commitment to making a difference.
Citations
Becker, H. S. ,Howard S. (1963). Outsiders; studies in the sociology of deviance. Free Press of Glencoe.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the prison notebooks of Antonio Gramsci (Q. Hoare & G. Nowell-Smith, Eds.). International Publishers.
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