What does it take to become a K-12 teacher?

I could see that being a problem. Thankfully for my friend who I cited, he did have a good deal of jobs to choose from.

 

If you are going for certification, my best advice is to either take classes focusing on special education or math/science. Under NCLB, being "highly qualified" to teach math or science, especially for upper grades (6 and up), you become much more desireable to schools.
Or, do what I did and become a media specialist...

 

Something else to keep in mind is that qualifications to teach at public and private schools are also different. I know people who have gotten teaching jobs at private schools while they were completing their Masters. The problem is those jobs don't pay as well, but the sooner you can get to teaching the better.

 

Definitely an idea, but you're right about the pay. Also, some private schools want you to do something else besides teach, i.e., coach a sport, so it can be a real committment.

 

There are tons of threads on here about career switching. I will try and pull some up.

If you are really interested, go to your local district and ask to be a substitute teacher. If you can handle that and like it, you can teach.

Don't invest any money in college unless you have had a taste of the classroom first.

There are tons of teaching jobs in states where the population is growing. Just be sure it matches up with your cost of living.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/59319/

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/42258/

Poindexter just screws that search up.

 

You think public schools don't make you do something else? Every teaching job I had was attached to an extracurricular. That's how it was listed, and if I wanted to stay employed I had to do it.

 

Patience, man. Got to have patience.

And to further Mustangs point, some states require subject-specific certification, and some don't. My wife is a special ed teacher. In Georgia, she had to get certified in each subject she taught. Because she was special ed and basically teaching every subject imaginable at some point, she had to get a list of "highly qualified" certifications longer than her arm. And she had to have them for different grade levels too (i.e. elementary math requires a different certification than middle school math). At $75-$100 a throw, those suckers added up.

In Alabama, they could give a hang. You've got your education degree(s), you are good to go.

 

You need guts.
The best bumper sticker I ever saw said: "If you can read this, thank a teacher!"

 

Each state is different.

But, if you earn a degree from New York or Pennsylvania, that license will carry to a lot of other states. Just do your research before you get burned.

Great story where I work, a kid thought you had to be a Steeler fan to be a teacher. Every teacher they had for the first six years of their education were Steeler fans. This was 350 miles from Pittsburgh.

I am actually a central office person, no longer in the classroom, so that kind of explains all my posting during the day. Well, it doesn't, but if my boss gave me freedom to do more (which would point out his past failings), I would post less.

 

Some do, but in my experience, private schools more than likely have it tied to the job. That's not always the case with public schools (at least not in my area).

 

A pulse

 

A principal in my county was thinking about sending his kid to a private "academy." When he did the tour, he saw all the teachers he did not hire for his public school.