More millennials opting for teaching as career: Survey  

Pune: A recent survey of teachers in India shows that there has been an upsurge in the number of millennials opting for a career as an educator, bringing with them novel methods of new age teaching-learning.

The survey, conducted by Cuemath amongst around 3,000 teachers in the country, revealed that the millennials are increasingly saying goodbye to their high-flying corporate jobs and taking the teaching route to utilise their skills. According to the analysis, 50 per cent of the teachers come with experience in a corporate job. The data further reveals that over 58 per cent of teachers fall in the 20-35 year age bracket, a drastic change from the scenario a decade ago.

The survey also reveals that many youngsters, who are taking up teaching profession, did not intend to do so earlier, however, turned towards it later. Younger teachers also bring to the classroom the realities of new age learning and flexibility in teaching methods, the survey states.

“A lot of working professionals are turning to teaching today because of the satisfaction teaching as a career can offer. In fact, in our study, a mere 3 per cent of the teachers actually chose to do a B Ed initially, reflecting how teaching might not have been their plan A but is a career of a choice today,” said Manan Khurma, Founder and CEO, Cuemath.

He added, “I have been teaching for over 15 years now and having personally taught over 10,000 children, I believe that the need to create an impactful curriculum and introduce a new way of teaching has never been greater.”

Puja Lahane, a Pune-based young teacher, said, “Although I love teaching now, it was not my first choice of profession. I wished to make a career as a fashion designer, and pursued a course for the same, but could not continue it for some personal reasons. Thus, then I did B Ed, and got into teaching. I love my job and now I am taking courses and answering examinations to do better here. She also said that young educators like her inculcate novel methods of teaching in the routine, in order to make the process more advanced and flexible.”

The survey also stated that the millennial workforce returning to the classrooms brings with them the realities common to their generation, such as flexible learner-centred models. These teachers are more likely to support situations that allow students to pace their learning outcomes. From convincing parents about experiential learning to encourage them to think beyond marks, they are doing it all to help kids build a strong foundation.

Shruti Mirasdar, another teacher who was in the business of travel and tourism earlier, said, “It wasn’t a pre-planned decision to be a teacher. I got tired of the corporate job and wanted some challenge. Also, being from a family of teachers helped. Basically, the inspiration was to learn something new every day, and through teaching, I am learning immensely. The students teach you so many things, at times which you knew but had forgotten. I see a lot of teachers implementing new strategies while teaching. I have just started it, and find it fun. We teach first graders through videos, charts and everyday objects. Visual memory is much stronger than just rote learning.”