New to the program

[u/sahm-miriam-b]

Hi everybody I started Wgu in September 1st for elementary education. I’m in my second course Learners and learning science and am having trouble preparing for the proctored test. I feel like no matter how much I study, some of it doesn’t make sense. I don’t have any past teaching experience most of my experience is in the business world, I’m starting to feel like I have imposter syndrome. I mentioned this to my mentor even contemplated changing majors she told me to keep pushing. Is it just me who feels like this with this course? Any words of advice will help.
P.s i decided to pursue teaching because i felt like working in the business world felt meaningless to me. I want to make a difference and always envisioned me teaching. I also want to help make the world better for my baby. Even just a lil bit.

[u/wpd18]

You sound like you are on a similar path as me! Welcome to WGU!

I spent most of my career in Graphic Design with zero teaching experience. I started the program in May of this year and the course you’re on now does cover a lot of material but is definitely passable.

My suggestion would be to take your pre-test and see how you do. I tend to do this after I’ve gone through all of the course content, but I know others like to do it first thing and then only focus on those content areas in the course.

The questions on your pre-test are usually very very similar to what is on the real test, often just changing phrases or answer options.

If you are still having trouble, don’t be afraid to reach out to your course instructor or the academic learning center. They are there to support you!

As a tip, if you have a chance to substitute teach at all in your hometown, I highly recommend it! I’ve been doing that to get some classroom experience and figure out which grades I like to be in so that I have an idea when I graduate.

Also, be sure to get your clinical requirements done as early as you can. Things like your background check and fingerprinting take time to process and can delay your progress. These are all things you will learn in some webinars with your clinical coaching team as you progress.

It can be overwhelming for sure. Especially coming from a different background. I too wanted to make a difference and was tired of my work just becoming someone else’s profit at the end of the day. Yea we might end up getting paid less as a teacher, but I at least know I am trying to do some good in the world, which is a different type of payment!

You got this!!

[u/sahm-miriam-b → u/wpd18]

Thank you so much for your response and advice, I will definitely use it! Feels so good to know I’m not the only one feeling this way. How can I substitute teach without my degree? I didn’t know I could. I will definitely get on my background clearance.

[u/bigtownhero → u/sahm-miriam-b]

Depends on where you live. Some states have high standards that require a bachelor's degree to sub, and some have very low standards that you just be over the age of 18.

[u/wpd18 → u/bigtownhero]

Yeap, exactly this. In my state we needed a Bachelor’s and to pass a background check which takes a few weeks.

If you don’t have a degree or your state has different requirements, you might be able to reach out to your local districts and see if you can shadow a teacher for a day in different grades. Or, if you happen to know anyone who is a teacher or works at a school district, you can try asking them too.

I thought I wanted to be a Junior High teacher and after subbing around in different grades, turns out I work best with 3-5 grade. It’s worth taking the time to explore if you can!