A lot of people might think being an education major consists of a lot of conversation and not a lot of work compared to other majors. What most people don't know about being an education major is that it is actually a lot of work and is a huge time commitment, especially during the semester or two before graduation.
My school has a great Education program and has previously been ranked fourth in the nation for the quality of the School of Education. Since my sophomore year of college, I have been immersed in the Dayton Area public schools, working side by side with seasoned teachers in the classroom, and have been honing my skills as a teacher in preparation for student teaching and my future as an educator. But, there's a hidden bonus to my major that has little to do with my education, and it's that all of the work I've been putting into my major is preparing me in all the best ways for life after graduation.
If you know a teacher or an education major, you know that pretty much every school requires teacher candidates to complete student teaching before graduating and receiving a degree and a teaching license. Student teaching is the equivalent of having a full-time job (without the benefit of being paid), but you also have the opportunity to network yourself with other teachers as well as forge relationships and learn from teachers who have been in the thick of the schools already for some time. There is no better way to prepare yourself for your future career than having the opportunity to do exactly what your job will entail post-grad while you're still in school.
Aside from being a great transition from the school and college mindset to the adulthood mindset, being an education major also provides a learning opportunity about time management. Being a student teacher means taking your work home with you and preparing lessons for the days to come, along with grading papers, tests, and quizzes. Not to mention any night classes students may need to take to finish educational requirements for graduation, as well as on campus part-time jobs that most students have these days. It's safe to say that education majors have their hands full, especially in their senior year of college, but that just lends the opportunity for growth to get our lives in order and to manage our time a little better to save us from stress down the line.
Although being an education major is great prep for moving toward adulthood, a job isn't the only aspect to that new chapter of life. Another huge part of growing up is being a successful adult who can maintain their own home and support themselves. This may be different for different people, but living on my college campus, in an apartment in the past and in a house on campus in the future, I've learned a lot of lessons that are preparing me to live on my own some day and to have my own home.
For my senior year I will be student teaching and observing in schools on a daily basis, and I will also be living in a house on campus. It is just as daunting as it is exciting to be basically living how I will live post-graduation. Cooking, cleaning, working, and maintaining my home, with some help from my best-friends and roommates, will be a challenge and an experience in and of itself, but it's an adventure I'm ready and willing to embark on.
And one last thing, being an education major is like no other because all of the other education majors are going through the same things all at the same time. With a friend to talk to over a bottle of wine on a Friday night, those long days in the classroom that we love so much will melt away as a venting session slowly turns into a giggle fest over the antics of students and how you can't wait to decorate your own classroom someday.
Whether it looks like it from the outside or not, being an education major has its ups and downs as well as its easy and hard times, but there is no doubt that every education major will be properly prepped for that post-grad life that seems so daunting in the early years of college.
