Your boss just came to you and reminded you that you are missing several of your required hours of continued training and the year end is quickly approaching. You roll your eyes and think to yourself, “Why do I have to do these hours? I never get anything out of these training sessions and I don’t have time to go to training.” Depending on which state you work in and the specific requirements of your employer, you may be responsible for 6, 12, or even 24 clock hours of continued training each year. So you are going to spend several hours possibly of your own time on training, how do you make the most of your time so that it is beneficial, relevant, and significant?
Understanding the purpose and value of continued training will help you make meaningful choices in the training you attend. When you choose meaningful trainings that are relevant to your work, interests, or challenges, you are more likely to be engaged in the content and gain valuable information. So why are you required to complete continued training? Imagine your child is in first grade and their teacher begins to discuss the solar system and she tells her students that there are 9 planets and the smallest planet is Pluto. Your child comes home from school and eagerly recits to you all the planets and includes Pluto. You know that this information is incorrect and not what should be taught in school. It seems this first grade teacher didn’t see the value of continued training and never learned the updated content she should be teaching. When teachers continuously learn new information, strategies, and practices, they are able to become more effective teachers. Without knowledge of best practices and evolving data, we become stuck in the past and unable to help our students now.
Today there are many different opportunities for teachers to fulfill their required training responsibilities that are flexible and affordable. H & H Childcare Training Center offers hundreds of training courses in a variety of different formats with more being added each week. Courses are offered online and self paced, as a Zoom training, in person training, or a combination. Trainings are offered in all core of knowledge areas so there will be something to interest everyone. Browse the list of trainings in the format you desire and choose one that will help you grow as a teacher and support your students in the best way possible.