Why You DO Have What It Takes to Become an Online Teacher

Well hey again fellow stay at home parents! What if I told you that you could earn an income at home without sacrificing precious time with your children? Would you be interested? I’ve created a free guide to help fellow stay at home parents learn how to become an online teacher – no teaching certification needed! If you’re ready to take the first step, head on over to onlineteacherallyson.com/getstarted. 

When parents are getting started teaching online, I hear a lot of thoughts and fears they have about why they’re not taking the next steps involved. So today, I thought I’d debunk some of those unproductive thoughts, and reiterate why you can do this and are qualified even if you don’t have any previous experience with children (outside of your own of course!)

I’m not certified

The biggest fear – or unproductive thought – I hear from budding online teachers is “I’m not qualified”. Look, I get it. We are so programmed to look as teachers as somebody with a higher education – specifically in education. Teachers spent 4+ years learning how to teach effectively. They’ve spent 4+ years learning how to make lesson plans, engage with students, teach effectively and so much more. 

So what makes you – not a formally trained teacher – qualified? Easy. Your life experiences and expertise. This is the example I like to use with anybody who is feeling imposter syndrome about starting out – when your child wants dance lessons, do you look only at Julliard trained dancers? When you and your partner want to take a cooking class together, do you only look for chefs that have been trained at Cordon Bleu? No! If you’re anything like me, then depending on yours or your child’s skill level – they just simply need to be knowledgeable about their subject and more skilled than you already are. 

Here’s some examples

So, let’s say you want to teach online classes over how to crochet a baby blanket or a scarf to elementary aged children. If you know how to make the blanket or scarf well – and are knowledgeable enough to help troubleshoot along the way – you’re qualified! I can crochet a baby blanket or scarf for myself, but I’m not confident enough in my abilities to help troubleshoot – so this isn’t a class I have or probably will offer – unless I up my skill level first. 

Let’s say you’re fluent in Italian and you want to teach beginner’s Italian classes online. As a parent, or even adult who wants to learn, I wouldn’t expect you to be formally certified. I’d just want you to be fluent in both English and Italian with engaging lessons for the age group you are teaching.

Is this starting to make a little more sense? You don’t need the formal qualifications! I wish I could shout this from the mountaintops. You just need to be knowledgeable, confident, and engaging. The rest will come with experience and practice – also known as: more time teaching! 

I don’t know how to teach

I hear this one a lot. Most stay at home parents don’t have a college degree in education. They’ve never taught before. Some may not even have experience with children outside of their own. But, all this is okay! Most platforms don’t even look at teaching experience! And some, even consider experience with your own children. 

Want to learn more closely with me?

As for the skills? Well, those can be taught and learned. That’s exactly what I’m setting out to do in my upcoming digital course. Keep an eye out for it in the next couple months. I’ve been pouring so much time and energy into it. I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it. To get on the waitlist head over to onlineteacherallyson.com/getstarted. This will give you the free guide to get started on your own while you wait for the course to launch.

Not only will you get the free guide, but opting in now will give you the opportunity to get first access to the course. First access comes at a steep discount that will never be offered again – and you’ll get all the updates and upgrades I make as I continue to fine tune the course.

Even if you don’t…

But, even if you don’t purchase the course, I’m committed to helping you become successful online. One of the best tips given to me when I started teaching was to build relationships with students. Get to know them, their likes, their struggles, and what they’re good at. Not only will this help you with classroom management, but it will help you create classes they’re interested in as well.

This is a win-win situation for everybody! Relationship building doesn’t have to take a ton of time. I like to spend the first 5ish minutes of class talking to my students as they come in. We talk about their day, their plans for the weekend and so much more. As you get to know them better, you will be able to ask better questions and they’ll even start volunteering information!

Write this information down if you need to. Reference it when you haven’t seen a student in a while, when you want to break up your schedule with a new class, and when you feel like that student needs an extra push for the day. It’s such a simple tip, but it’s so easy to forget to do. I promise you won’t regret it. 

I’m not qualified

While it’s true that you probably can’t get a job as an online teacher at a traditional school, there are other avenues that you can take. In the online teaching world there are different platforms for different age groups and different topics of instruction. Not every parent is on the same platform because what they want and can teach are so different. For example: if you feel skilled and proficient in the English language, and you like to teach young learners, you will probably look for an online ESL (English as a Second Language) platform, or teach completely independent from a platform.

If you like to teach more advanced math (Algebra, pre-calculus), and like high school students, you may want to find a tutoring company, create classes for Outschool, or again, teach completely independent from a platform.

You have a marketable skill

What I’m trying to say is this: each and every one of you has a skill that is marketable. Once you determine what you’re good at and who you want to teach, the rest begins to fall into place.

One final example for you: if my child ever decides they want to take dance lessons, I’ll happily sign them up for a class. Even though I’m a teacher, dance isn’t something I’m skilled in. When I look for a class, I’m not going to look for a Juilliard trained dancer. I’m going to look for someone who danced in high school or college. In the beginning, they just need more experience and knowledge than me! (which admittedly when it comes to dancing isn’t much). Now, if my child becomes passionate about dance and decides they want to dance professionally, that’s when I will begin to seek out more experienced dancers. But, for the basics, and so much more – a college degree isn’t necessary. 

Its going to be too hard

“It’s going to be too hard.” I hear this so often from potential teachers and even myself. I’ve put off so many things because I thought it would be too hard. Because I didn’t think I could get it perfect (something I’m working on). I’ve put it off because I thought others were more naturally skilled or had more time to devote to it.

The truth of the matter is this: if it’s important to you, you’ll find the time to do it. Teaching you all how to teach online is important to me. I didn’t go to business school. I don’t have 40+ hours a week to devote to this. So, I get up early, I stay up late, I hustle during nap time. I work the pockets of time that I can find so that I can be successful in this ‘hard’ thing.

Same goes for teaching. If you truly want to quit your 9-5 you’ll find time to start with just a few classes over the weekend. Maybe you devote time when your partner is home to teach a couple hours. Maybe you stay up late and lesson plan, or get up early to prepare and learn. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent at bedtime with one headphone in listening to business advice through a podcast so I can be the best teacher you need me to be. 

It’s hard to leave your baby at home for your 9-5. It’s hard to learn something new. Choose your hard.

I can’t do it from home

This is a question I get almost weekly. They say something along the lines of “How in the world am I supposed to teach other children when I have mine running around destroying the house?!” It’s honestly one of my favorite questions because of all the crazy mental images I get flashing through my mind. I see the boxes of cereal spilled, the milk over poured, broken toys, and somebody is usually crying. I realize most parents are seeing their own version of this chaos.

Here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to be chaotic. I started teaching online because I wanted my family to come first always. It’s what I remind myself of when I’m over worked, stretching myself too thin, and I’m trying to schedule the next round of classes.

The boundaries you set for your teaching hours will be different but here are mine. I will teach early morning when my son is asleep and my husband is around to help for the ‘just in case.’ I will teach during naptime, but I have a backup plan for my sanity – because we all know we can’t always rely on naptime. And, I will teach when I have somebody available to care for my son. 

That last one used to get me. Wasn’t my family supposed to come first? It took some heart work for me, but that one on one time is so good for my son and his dad. They get to bond without me getting in the way. He gets to kiss the boo boos, he gets to wipe the butt, and he gets to be the snuggle giver. I’ve watched their relationship thrive even more because I’ve removed myself for less than an hour a day. 

It needs too much technology

Wow. I can’t tell you how long I let this one hold me back. The reality is you probably already have all the technology you need to get started. If you have a reliable internet connection and a computer strong enough to power a long Zoom call – you’ve got the technology you need. If you’re perusing Instagram you probably see elaborate classrooms with some crazy looking tech. Most of that was probably built over time.

If you scroll back to the beginnings of my instagram account (@teacher.allyson), you will see my very first classroom was a long piece of orange paper that wasn’t even long enough. From there, you’ll see a background with alphabet flashcards hung behind me. I honestly got most of this background from the Dollar Spot at Target. For all of this, I used my Macbook for classes. One screen. Built in webcam. $30 headphones from Amazon (after I got tired of borrowing my husband’s gaming headphones). 

Now, you’ll see two monitors, an external webcam, and a whiteboard mounted to the wall. Please don’t let this intimidate you. It’s taken me over 2 years to build up to this classroom space. Please don’t put any of your hard earned money into all the extras until you know this is something you want to dedicate yourself to for the long haul. 

The kids will find me boring

Boring. What do you find boring? I bet it’s different than what I find boring. Something I find boring that I’m pretty sure most of you will disagree with is Marvel movies. How many of you are in shock right now? But, it’s ok, because I just read that Jennifer Aniston isn’t a fan of them either! 

So yes, the hard truth is some kids will find you boring. But not all. When I was teaching ESL, some kids hated when I was over the top and energetic. Others loved it and thrived off of it. Even though you love fish and are passionate about teaching kids about home aquariums, some just aren’t going to be into it. And that’s okay. Your students will find you. You will find your students. It may take some time (and trust me it’s a killer. Been there.) But, it’s oh so worth it when you all find each other. 

You. Got. This.

Well, there you have it. I know it’s easy to feel like you’re not qualified enough for this, but you are. Please don’t stunt your own achievement because you’re too scared to try. I stunted mine for over 2 years. I heard about online teaching for two years before I decided to just go for it and I’m so glad I did! Now, I frequently wonder where I would be today if I had started then. Please don’t let that be you. You don’t have much – if anything to lose. But you have oh, so much to gain. I believe in you. I’m cheering for you always. Chat soon.