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What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Teaching For Adult Education?

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Gillian Smith Profile
Gillian Smith answered
I sometimes teach Adult Education classes and I find that the students tend to be very motivated because they've chosen to undertake the courses and have a real interest in them.

Another advantage is that many of the adult students have a lot to offer in the way of discussion and contribute a lot to the classes. This can work against the tutor and class though as very occasionally there are disruptive students who want to talk too much and think the whole class evolves around them! This is usually easily dealt with by a firm approach from the tutor.
Another advantage is the range of courses on offer. They range from leisure courses to postgraduate study.
The University of the Third Age is ideal for adults of around 50+ it is Adult Education on an informal level and has a tremendous range of courses on offer.
Adult education can be what you want it to be - informal or structured, academic and vocational or purely for leisure.
As opposed to formal pre- 18 education adult education is overwhelmingly voluntary and can also be a good source of social contact too.
Will Martin Profile
Will Martin answered
The advantages are greater if you want to work part-time, as the amount of work available may vary from year to year. The hourly rate of pay is often higher than you would get for private tuition, your students are usually quite motivated and the work can be very rewarding – sometimes you're giving someone a real chance in life such as a first qualification, or essential life skills. There are also some training opportunities, and occasionally other posts come up, such as mentoring other tutors.
However, unless you teach an extremely popular subject like IT, it's a very insecure life. Classes often fail to run, or close after a few weeks. Bureaucracy has increased enormously (many tutors are now expected to write detailed reports on each student, for instance), and support and equipment for tutors can be limited, especially if you are working in an isolated centre after office hours. The hours themselves are likely to include some evenings, which is either an advantage or a disadvantage depending on your own lifestyle.

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