Qualifications to become a teacher

[rainoneventide]

I've researched about this on the Internet before, but I kept finding really vague descriptions that didn't make sense. So I'm gonna ask here:

What are the qualifications needed in order to become a grade school teacher? (Not a college professor)

Right now I'm majoring in English Literature, but I'm not sure whether you absolutely need to have some sort of teaching degree as well, or if you need to take any tests.

Thanks :]

 

[speculative]

I would check with your state's Office of Public Instruction. They usually list the requirements for teaching.

I've heard of programs over the past few years where you can be fast-tracked into qualifying to be a teacher if you already have a bachelors or masters degree, but do not have a teaching degree. Does anyone know about this program? (Off-topic but still on-topic also. )

 

[INTPness]

You need a 4-year degree with a teaching credential to be considered "highly qualified" under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. The teaching credential is usually another 20-40 undergrad units, some of which can be incorporated into (counted as) your B.A./B.S. requirements. The teaching credential coursework, theoretically, teaches one "how to teach" - teaching methods, classroom management, dealing with diverse populations, the educational system, etc. Also a big part of the credential is your "student teaching" - where you go into the classroom and teach under the supervision of a fully credentialed teacher for several weeks. Another part of the certification process is passing the state exam for whatever subjects you intend to teach. If 7th-12th grade, you would have to pass a "single subject" test - be it English, Math, Biology, etc. - whatever subject you were going to teach. If elementary, then I believe you have to pass what is called a "multiple subject" test - less difficult, but covering more areas - basic math, basic English, basic Science, basic history, etc - because you will be teaching your students a little bit of all of these things.

To answer the 2nd post in this thread, if you already have a B.A./B.S. (but no teaching credential), you are qualified to teach, but you are not "highly qualified". These days, 99% of schools are not going to touch you without a credential, because the school then has to send out a letter to all the parents of your students informing them that they are in the classroom with a "non-highly qualified" teacher. The parents, in turn, have the right to pull their student out of the classroom and put their student into a "highly qualified classroom".

The exception to this is when your B.A./B.S. is in a subject that there is a shortage of available teachers. If your local district is desperate for teachers in a given subject (usually only math and the hard sciences - biology, chemistry, and physics), and your degree is in that field, they will hire you if you agree to a contract to teach while obtaining your teaching credential on your own time. They will give you, say, 2 years to complete the 27-unit program or whatever it is, but you MUST be actively pursuing it while you are teaching. That is the only way they can get around the "highly qualified" thing. It used to be different, but this is how it is now under NCLB.

 

[rainoneventide]

Awesome, thank you, that really helps!

 

[Gewitter27]

I worry about the qualifications system, especially when my Enriched English teacher in 8th grade would regularly use adjectives in place of adverbs

Keep trying, and remember: Adverbs are always your friends.

 

[INTPness]

There are definitely some flaws in the system of qualifying to be a teacher. There are teachers (I reckon I'd be one of them, if I taught at the high school level) who have a lot of head knowledge about their subject (math, for instance) and are good test takers (so they know how to study for the state exams and pass them), but lack classroom skills or do not have much repoire with the students.

On the flip side, you have teachers who probably BARELY passed their state exams in their subject, but the students may think they're cool. They're essentially babysitters.

The former would be better off teaching at the college level, where knowledge is what *should be* being pursued. The latter, at least the good ones, probably can have a good impact on kids in the K-12 range - being the kind of teachers that we all remember or who made some sort of difference in our lives.

 

[SolitaryWalker]

I've researched about this on the Internet before, but I kept finding really vague descriptions that didn't make sense. So I'm gonna ask here:

What are the qualifications needed in order to become a grade school teacher? (Not a college professor)

Right now I'm majoring in English Literature, but I'm not sure whether you absolutely need to have some sort of teaching degree as well, or if you need to take any tests.

Thanks :]

You need a Teaching degree in addition to the bachelor's degree. Teaching experience is preferred, I'd advise becoming a substitute teacher first. Many school districts only require 100 college credits, some do not require any college education at all. It is easy to attain such a position granted that you apply at the right time and to the proper school district.

 

[edcoaching]

And even more important, you need to love kids no matter how they behave. There is no more exhausting, lower-paid job. Working at MacDonalds will be more rewarding unless that passion is there. Remember, it's like a birthday party for 30 kids, only it's 7 hours long and they come back for 180 days and you don't usually have another adult to help you!

On the other hand, you can actually impact the future