Outschool - The Online School with a Difference
Many people teach English because it pays the bills, but it might not be their first passion. How about teaching something you truly love? Stop for a moment and ask yourself, what is my area of expertise? What do I love doing? Is it dancing, history, writing stories, gaming? Could it be something I could teach to children?
Courses taught on Outschool include Princess Dancing, Speech and Debate camp, Beginner’s Ukulele Class and Super Smash Bros Ultimate Club (don’t ask, I haven’t the faintest idea) as well as Spanish, ASL and English. As you can see, you can turn your passion or your skill into an online class for children. Teaching something you love means that you can be the best teacher possible as enthusiasm and knowledge of subject are two of the most important qualities for successful teaching.
Each teacher creates their classes. That also means you decide when and how often you teach as well as your own price. Outschool provides the platform to teach and does the marketing and advertising for you. Sounds great, doesn’t it!
Why choose Outschool?
In a nutshell, you can earn good money while you teach something you enjoy. Your students are children aged 3-18 from over 100 different countries. The key benefits are:
Flexibility: Make your own schedule. Teach as few or as many classes as you want when you want. Whether it is a 5-day course, or just one class once a week – you decide!
Creativity: Design your classes and teach what you love! (My personal passion is handicrafts such as macrame. What’s yours?)
Pay: On average teachers at Outschool earn $40-$50 per teaching hour (although a good friend of ours makes $110 an hour for her classes) a big difference to nearly all the online ESL schools. At Outschool you will set your own prices. Typically, teachers charge $10 - $15 per hour per student. The more students who attend your class the more you will make per hour. Outschool takes 30% when the student enrolls. The payment method is PayPal. Teachers are usually paid 7-10 days after the class begins.
Freedom: Working for Outschool, you run your own business instead of being an employee. While being an employee gives you a certain level of security, you can enjoy the freedom of not being tied to set hours or a strict teaching style. Outschool doesn’t have a minimum hour requirement.
Support: Outschool provides the platform and technical support.
What are the requirements to teach for Outschool?
Excited? Us too! But it gets even better! To teach for Outschool, you are not required to have any years of teaching experience or a bachelor’s or master’s degree. You also do not need to be a native English speaker, a big difference with the majority of online ESL schools. Actually, there aren’t many requirements at all. However, your location does matter.
Here are the requirements to start teaching:
A least 18 years of age
Located and a full-time resident of the USA, England, Wales, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand
Technical requirements: a laptop or desktop computer (most classes take place through Zoom), a webcam and a microphone as well as a good internet connection.
How about the cons?
Compared to teaching for a company that offers you lesson plans and students, Outschool is more work at the beginning.
You might also be thinking: I’m not that creative; If I don’t teach English, then what would I teach? or How can I get started planning my classes?. Everyone has something that interests them or some skill they have. Even if you don’t think it is that marketable, don’t worry, with the high number of students on Outschool you are bound to find some students who will want to do your course. Actually the more unique your class, the more success you will probably have. Brainstorming might give you some great ideas of subjects you could teach. Maybe you’re a passionate baker or artist and want to share your expertise. You also need to ask yourself if this is something that children, or parents, would like or find useful. Think of how to make your classes stand out.
Once you have the idea, you need to make your lessons. It’s not as complicated as it sounds – just do it step by step. Depending on what you teach, decide whether it’s better to have regular classes each week, or do a course for two months, for example. Just like with English classes (if you have taught some), set a goal for the whole course and also for each class. Think of how you will keep your students engaged, and how you can achieve your goals.
How to Apply?
The application process is simple and doesn’t take long if you have clear in mind what you want to teach and what your classes will look like. So, before you start, take some time to think about your lesson plans as well as your “classroom”, that is, your workspace. Here’s what you need to do:
Take a brief training that gives you an overall view of Outschool.
Fill out an application detailing your teaching experience and your subject matter expertise.
You’ll also need to record a short video (3-5 minutes) to demo a class you would teach and show off your teaching space.
If your application is approved, you’ll need to complete an online background check through either Checkr or Accurate, depending on your country of residence.
Voila – you’re good to go! Start designing classes you enjoy and teaching subjects you love.
Ready to apply - CLICK HERE - to start your application.