Is it difficult to become a teacher?

Question

I am only a sophomore in high school but have started to seriously think about professions and colleges and things like that. I love history and i love going to history class because it

just interests me and i learn it quite easily and remember almost all of the key points.

My question is, what are the requirements to become a teacher(in high school or middle school)?

by requirements i mean degrees/average amount of time in college/ and what your supposed to major in to become a history teacher.

is it difficult to become a teacher and is it difficult to be a teacher?

i still have at least 1 year to think about my future but i wouldn't mind getting a view of being a teacher from someone who is a teacher so any true answer will help.

thanks

Answer 1

I cant answer all your questions but regrading is it difficult to become a teacher?

well; I believe one shoudl love teaching before and then become a teacher!

a teacher need not only to master the material but also needs to have a lot of patience, have a vision, and a purpose.. that is to work with other minds to improve the way they think and live and not what they know.

it is not hard to become a teacher if you have the right personality, however; I believe it is impossible for one to becomea good teacher if he/she is not the right type of person.. even if someone has a PhD in a major; if this person does not like/love to share and learn he'll never become a good teacher..

So, ask your self:

Do I love to share?

Do I want to give other people a chance to become better persons?

Do I dont mind my student oversmart me and become better than I am?

Do I always learn?

and the more I learn I feel I need to learn more?

Do I seek perfection?

Can I deal with people regardless their ethical level, color, gender, age, .. etc?

Is inventing one of my virtues?

Can I inspire others ?

If your answers are Yes.. then your on the right track..

Good luck.

Answer 2

First of all, it is good to start thinking about your options and what you want to do after high school!  Good for you!

It all depends are where you are teaching and where your course of study is.  I graduated from a university in Texas to teach high school math, certified grades 8-12.  My actual major in college was mathematics, but I had to do some professional study courses (that turned out to be my minor because it was so many hours) in Education.  The education courses gave me the field experience in schools that I needed to be comfortable walking into my own classroom on the first day of school.

My content courses (Math courses) were more difficult than my Ed courses; however, my Ed courses were more time consuming because we had a lot of extra things we had to do, half of what is applicable to me and half is not!  Nevertheless, I would never change a single thing.  Being a teacher isn't a cake walk mentally, physically, emotionally, or financially (lol), but I can't imagine doing anything else!  If you treat high school kids with respect and show them you care about them and their interests, they will (most of the time) enjoy you, your class, and in effect, your classroom management and teaching can be top notch!

Answer 3

I am glad you asked!  Becoming a teacher is not horribly difficult.  In fact, that is the easy part!  If you go to school and study, you can go through college/university through a teacher education program!  Most programs now require that you spend more time in the classroom earlier on, as some teachers used to not have to be in the classroom until the very end of their college career . . . then found out that they hated it!  Ugh!

Either during or after the program finishes, you'll have to pass some teaching tests through your state.  These are usually not too difficult, but some are.  It all depends, and the better you can read, the better you'll do on them!  Believe me: I have taken most of them in the states I am certified in!

You'll find that teaching can be quite difficult--especially during your student teaching and your first year.  You have to learn classroom management techniques, teaching methods, how to effectively interact with other teachers, principals, parents, students . . . and then you have all of those people who may or may not speak English . . . students with disabilities you may be required by law to modify your methods for . . . and more!

Some days you'll want to laugh . . . or cry . . . or both.  It's often very difficult to know what to do on which day.  And . . . starting out, you may be cheaper to hire, but you'll have less experience, and whenever you enter a new environment for the first time, experienced or not, it is almost always harder . . . unless you were at a really bad school.

The three main reasons many teachers leave the profession within the first five years of their career are . . .

a)  low pay

b)  discipline problems with students

c)  horrible administrators

Thus, choose your school as carefully as you can when teaching . . . something you don't always have the luxury of doing when you first start!

What are the benefits?  Some of them are . . .

a)  You can get an immediate feeling of making a real difference.  You don't always get this in the corporate/business world.

b)  You can get your summers off to play and rest--and you'll need them!

c)  You usually get good benefits.

d)  You can earn a master's degree in education administration and become a principal if you like . . . or other administrator.

e)  You can have a lot of atonomy.

f)  You can tutor and work in the summers if you like.

g)  You can move to different states pretty easily and even teach overseas!  I am in China right now teaching school.  It's fun!  The scholars over here are soooooo mch more enjoyable than many of the ones I taught in the USA.

There are many other benefits, too.........

Now . . . Do you love kids and/or the population you will be working with?  This is the first and most important question to ask youself.  Then . . .

Do you love the subject you want to teach?

You might want to talk to other teachers and people who have been out there in the field for awhile.  They can give you invaluable information.  Feel free to contact me, and I will happily help you with more advice if you want it.  Good luck!  :)

Answer 4

Depending on your academic ability, probably not, but to become a good one?  Yes.