Three months vacation. Threeeeeeeeeee monnnnnnnnnnths vacaaaaaaaaaaation…How could you turn that down? Of course it's a good reason to become a teacher!

Sure, the massive summer vacation is one reason to become a teacher, but there are many other (better) reasons for considering such a career:

  • You really enjoy teaching.
  • You really like children (in a legal sense, of course).
  • You enjoy making very little money.
  • You have to practice your Steel Magnolias monologue in front of someone.
  • You like feeling smarter than others, even if the "others" are only 8 years old.

Pursuing a teaching career is one of the most noble things you can do; parents will be entrusting you with their children for eight hours a day, and it's your job to make them smart and responsible human beings that will not shoot other people. And as you slowly recall your teachers from elementary, junior high, and high school, you'll realize that being a good teacher is not easy. It takes work. But on the plus side, if you do a good job, you really can create a positive impact on your community.

What we're trying to say is that being a teacher is a wonderful responsibility, not just an avenue for getting two weeks off at Christmas so you can jet off to the Bahamas. You won't be able to afford it on a teacher's salary anyway.

1. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO

Before you spend thousands of dollars getting certified, you really should make sure you've got what it takes to be a teacher. Along with a fearless attitude toward the 18-and-under species, there are certain characteristics that teachers should have in common.

First and foremost, you must have PATIENCE. If you don't have patience, you're going to have a tough time when that kid from your first period kindergarten class continues to wet his pants day after day after day even though his mom insists he's potty-trained. In addition, you should be creative, fun-loving, tolerant, and a good speaker. And - the all-important question -- Do you even like kids? And don't kid yourself (no pun intended): Taking your little brother to a baseball game one Saturday is nothing compared to trying to teach 25 screaming seventh-graders how to diagram a sentence. Think about it.

One way to figure out if you can do it is to watch someone else in action. If you've got any friends who are teachers, ask if you can sit in on a class.

Another thing you've got to brace yourself for is the salary. It's not the stock market and it never will be; however, it's not as bad as all those teachers' strikes on the news make it out to be. Teacher salaries vary across the country and some states actually pay fairly good money to get certified teachers into their classrooms. In California, starting teachers can expect to be paid about $30,000; while in South Dakota, the average is about $26,000. (Don't forget, these are public school salaries. Private schools generally pay a lot less). But there is hope: if you're willing to move to Alaska, Connecticut or (heaven forbid) New Jersey, the average public school teacher makes about $50,000 a year. For more information on teacher's salaries across the country, the National Education Association puts out periodic ranking of teachers' pays.

The point is, you're not doing this for the money.

2. CHOOSE WHETHER YOU WANT TO WORK IN A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL

There are major differences between teaching in a private school and a public school (aside from the fact that public school teachers often wear a bullet-proof vest during assemblies).

Public school
Private school

Public school

Teaching in a public school can be frustrating because you often have to deal with government bureaucracy. No books? Blame the government. No chalk? Blame the government. Furthermore, depending on where you teach, you may be stuck in some rather decrepit conditions (overcrowded rooms, no air conditioning, outdated books) and the principal may not be able to help you at all.

However, public school teachers get paid more than private school teachers. Furthermore, if you luck out and teach in a well-run public school, it'll feel just like a private school and you'll love your job. But there's a catch: public school teachers MUST be certified. We'll talk more about the certification process later, but consider that you're going to spend a few years student teaching, after which you'll get a certification certificate. Depending on what state you're in, you may also have to jump over more hurdles (for instance, to teach in a Los Angeles public school, you need to receive a passing grade on the California CBEST, which is state-wide basic skills test).

Private school

Private schools often offer beginning teachers a nice place to start their careers because the principal has so much control. Classes will probably be smaller (and overcrowding in a class will usually never occur), complaints are handled more readily, and you (as a teacher) may have more control over your lesson plan.

Now for the bad news: most private schools offer teachers much lower salaries than public school teachers. The reason for this is because private schools are not continually monitored by the government, so they don't have to meet the same teaching standards. As a result, private schools are often willing to hire non-certified teachers. So if you don't want to wait two to five years to become certified (for instance, you want to teach right out of college), private schools can put you on the quick path to teaching enlightenment. The fact that you don't have to get certified also means that you can go teach in a private school for a year, see how you like it, and then get certified and become a teacher in a public school (where you'll earn more cash). But be prepared… in some states (such as Louisiana and Mississippi), private school salaries can dip as low as the mid-teens, whereas public schools pay about $5,000 more than that.

3. GET CERTIFIED

The most important thing you'll need to know when considering a career as a teacher is how to get certified. Certification is to teaching what the Series 7 Exam is to Wall Street - without getting your certification, you can't be a teacher (at least in a public school… but private schools are increasingly requiring certification too).

Every state has its own requirements, so your first step should be to talk to your state Board of Education and find out what your state's specific certification requirements are. While requirements vary by state, all states do require:

  1. A bachelor's degree
  2. Completion of an approved teacher training program
  3. A prescribed number of subject and education credits
  4. Supervised practice teaching

One cool thing about certification: as of 2000, 39 states (plus the District of Columbia) have an agreement that permits certification reciprocity. This means that if you get certified in one of those 39 states, your certification counts for all 39 states. These states include:

Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington DC
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia


Certification will usually be granted by the state board of education or a certification advisory committee. Teachers may be certified to teach the early childhood grades (usually nursery school through grade 3; the elementary grades (grades 1 through 6 or 8); or a special subject, such as reading or music. In most states, special education teachers receive a credential to teach kindergarten through grade 12. These teachers train in a particular specialty, such as teaching children with learning disabilities or behavioral disorders.

Since each state has different requirements for certification the best way to proceed is to contact the education department or licensing office in your state. You can get more information by reading Requirements for Certification, an annual publication, or The Manual on Certification and Preparation of Educational Personnel in the United States published by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification.

There are several avenues toward certification:

College programs
Full-time graduate school
Night school
Emergency credentials

College programs

Many universities offer education programs that will help prepare you for a career in the classroom, including giving you your certification and teaching experience. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education publishes an annual list of accredited schools, colleges, and departments of education.

A few things to consider when choosing a teacher's program:

  • Think about whether you want to teach in a specific setting (urban, rural or suburban), and then choose a university in that area. Much of the program will involve teaching in the local schools so you can get a feel for the local environment.

  • Think about what size college or teacher education program would be most comfortable for you.

  • Verify with the state department of higher education that the teacher education program you're interested in is state approved and accredited.

  • Ask about what kinds of opportunities you'll get to observe different classrooms and schools. You want to make sure you get plenty of experience and variety outside of the university.

Once you're in an undergraduate college, most universities make you wait until you're in your junior year to apply for admission to the teacher education program. Entrance requirements usually include personal interviews, 2 years of arts and sciences courses, a set minimum GPA, and tests. Two-year college students should check with the admissions counselor at the 4-year institution to which they will transfer to assure they are taking courses that will be accepted for credit toward graduation.

Traditional education programs are generally split into grade-related sections: early childhood, secondary to middle, and high school. The program for kindergarten and elementary school teachers include courses designed specifically for those preparing to teach in math, physical science, social science, music, art, and literature, as well as prescribed professional education courses, such as philosophy of education, psychology of learning, and teaching methods.

Full-time graduate school

Getting a masters degree isn't absolutely necessary to becoming a teacher, but some schools require that you either have one or are on your way to getting one (a master's degree in education requires at least one year of course work, emphasizing study in a particular subject area). For private schools, a masters degree in a certain subject is often all it takes to teach that subject, whether you're a certified teacher or not.

If you don't mind the extra schooling, a master's degree could help you inch up the education ladder towards, say, a career in school administration. Many teachers choose to work toward a master's after they've already been teaching for a few years. If you majored in something other than education in college, going to graduate school provides a focused path toward certification, since most grad programs are geared toward state requirements.

Of course, if you are already a certified teacher, you can head back to school to get a master's degree in a subject you'd like to teach. Most schools have a pay scale that is based on education and experience level, so having a master's - whether in education or, say, anthropology - can earn you a higher salary (maybe $1,000- $2,000 more). And many schools will help pay for your education.

Night school

This is all fine and dandy, but what if you've already graduated college and you're stuck with a degree in women's studies? Or, even worse, communications? Don't worry. There are ways to get certified in teaching without having to start college all over again. Most universities offer weekly night graduate programs that lead toward certification in two to five years (time varies depending on how often you take classes). The major disadvantage to this, obviously, is that it takes a long time, meaning you'll be stuck with that $20,000 a year teaching position at a private school until you're certified to work at a $30,000 public one.

Emergency credentials

Believe it or not, there are many public schools out there that don't have enough teachers and are desperately looking for new recruits. For such cases, most states can issue emergency credentials to college graduates who want to teach but who have not met the state's minimum requirements for regular credentials. These are given under the pretense that the teacher will eventually take all of the required courses for valid certification (so the teacher must take classes outside of work while they are teaching). It's a great shortcut to getting into the classroom.

Some states also offer alternative teacher certification to college graduates who lack teacher education training but have some experience in subject areas where teachers are needed. Provisional certificates have been offered to compensate for this shortage, and these teachers are given a specified time to complete requirements.

4. FIND A JOB

The easiest way to find a job teaching is to open up the newspaper. Even if it is the middle of the school year, you'd be surprised to see how many openings there are at local schools. (Remember that English teacher that ran out of the room screaming and never came back? Someone has to replace her…) Most schools do their hiring over the summer (usually June and July), but you'll find plenty of "We need you now" types of ads as the school year creeps closer, and often, even public schools will hire non-certifieds if it's late August and there are still openings.

Online is always an option too. Traditional job sites such as www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com include teaching vacancies, but the best way to find teaching positions online is to go to education-specific Web sites:

Once you've found a potential job, you'll have to go through the same procedure as you would for almost any job: submitting a cover letter and résumé (or C.V.), going in for an interview, and supplying some references. We're not going to get into these specifics here; we already have entire SYWs on them! So why not just check out:

5. KNOW WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU GET THERE

OK, so you've gotten the job. School starts in a week. Now what? Do you even know what you're going to do as you stand in front of all those sleepy, prepubescent faces?

Fear not. There are enough lesson plan sites on the net to make a teacher out of anyone:

But wait… there's more. You'll have to do a lot more than make lesson plans when you get into the classroom. Along with the pure teaching of classes, teachers at all levels must also:

  • Grade tests
  • Hold conferences with parents
  • Attend school meetings
  • For extra pay, teachers often lead extracurricular activities (such as the school play or the Senior Yearbook)

For newbie teachers who feel overloaded (or pro-teachers who need help), there are also plenty of support group-type sites for teachers. Usually, they're along the lines of teachers-helping-teachers resources (who else would take the time to present endless lists of "First Day Suggestions"?). One good one is Teachers Helping Teachers, a nonprofit service featuring links to lesson plan sites, advice columns and news articles about the field of education.

If you want even more, all you have to do is type "teacher" into a Web search engine and you'll almost wish you hadn't spent all that money on teaching education programs.

And now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy. Realize, though, that you can always switch your focus as your interests develop. Maybe you'd like to teach 11th grade forever; maybe you'd like to eventually be a principal; maybe you'll hate it and go back to law school (where your parents wished you had stayed in the first place). As long as you're happy… and enjoy those long vacations.