Becoming a Teacher - The Truth

When I was just a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a teacher. In fact, I conned my friends into playing school with me whenever I could, and of course, I was always the teacher. In school, English was always my favorite subject. I loved reading, writing, and grammar, so my goal of becoming a teacher became more focused – I wanted to be an English teacher at the high school or college level. I was accepted into our local two-year college after completing the eleventh grade, at the age of sixteen. My major was English, and I loved learning more about literature and writing. I also got hired by the college English Department to tutor other students. After almost two wonderful years of college, I was married and pregnant, and my husband and I moved to another town. I thought my desire of becoming a teacher had died a cruel death. I went on to have two more children, and although I was fairly satisfied with my life, I never quite got the idea of being an English teacher out of my mind.

When I was twenty-nine years old, my husband and I got divorced. I moved back to my home town, where I had attended college years earlier. I got remarried, and becoming a teacher was once again possible. I had my mom and dad nearby to keep the kids, and my new husband completely supported my teaching ambition. In just one quarter, I was able to finish my two-year teaching degree. The closest university was about fifty miles away, and I enrolled there to get my four-year teaching degree. I had to drive 100 miles a day, round trip, but I stuck with it. I took an overload every quarter, so I was able to complete my teaching degree in just four quarters.

To get my teaching degree, I had to take core classes, of course. These included English, history, math, and science. Whenever I had the chance to choose core electives, I always tried to choose classes that would help me be a better English teacher. For example, I took art history and art appreciation classes because I knew there was a lot of overlap among all the humanities. You might want to think about this when you’re working on your teaching degree.

You’ll also have to take specific teaching classes in your endeavor to earn your teaching degree. Some of these can be very challenging, while others are extremely easy. Actually, you might think some of the classes are silly. For example, I had to take a class on how to create bulletin boards, which I felt was a total waste of time. I’m creative and semi-intelligent, so I figured I could handle bulletin boards once I started my teaching career. I suppose the class would be beneficial for students who didn’t possess any creativity.

Before you can graduate with a teaching degree, you’ll have to do some “on the job training.” Most colleges will pair you with an actual teacher in your discipline for you to complete your student teaching. This is usually done during your last semester, and in my opinion, it’s the most important aspect of earning your teaching degree. No amount of classes can teach you what you’ll learn from actual experience with students. You won’t be “thrown to the wolves.” The teacher will be there to help you along the way. You’ll begin slowly, and by the end of the semester, you’ll be teaching the classes yourself and coming up with your own lesson plans. In most cases, your college instructors will come to observe while you’re teaching. If any teaching jobs are available at the school in which you’re student teaching, the principal and personnel director will probably observe your teaching methods, also. They might want to hire you to help fill the teaching jobs.

Once you complete and pass all your courses and finish your student teaching and any other requirements, you’ll get your teaching degree. Does that mean you’re ready for teaching jobs? Not quite – you still have to get your teaching certificate.

Before I could finalize my hopes of becoming a teacher, I had to get my teaching certificate. Each state has guidelines for their requirements for a teaching certificate. When I was trying to earn mine in Georgia, I first had to pass a major test. The teaching certificate test was very specific to my major. In my case, the exam tested my knowledge of writing, grammar, library science, literature, public speaking, and teaching methods. Some of the test questions could have been answered correctly by a second-grader, while a few of the questions were pretty tough. I remember one: Which writer consistently wrote in the vernacular? Four choices were given. I got the answer right, but I really had to think for a few minutes before answering.

Once you take the teaching certificate test, you’ll receive your results in the mail in a couple of weeks. If you didn’t score high enough on the exam, you’ll get the chance to take it again. Back when I took the test, prospective teachers had six chances to pass the exam. In my opinion, that’s ridiculous. I think a student should have only two chances at the teaching certificate test – anyone can have a bad day. But six times? If you fail the test twice, I think you should have to take more classes or perhaps rethink a teaching career.

Once you pass the test, there might be other requirements you have to fill before receiving your teaching certificate and becoming a teacher. In my case, I had to be fingerprinted and undergo a background check. Once all that was done, I finally got my teaching certificate and was ready for teaching jobs in my area.

I was lucky to land a teaching job right out of college, at my local high school. In fact, it was at my old alma mater, so I was ecstatic. My first year, I taught World Literature. After a couple of years, I began teaching creative writing and American Literature. I also taught journalism and was in charge of the high school newspaper. My first love was British Literature, which was a senior class. After someone retired, I got to teach Brit Lit and Advanced Placement British Literature, and I absolutely loved it!

Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding career, but it’s not for everyone. No matter how well you know your subject, you’ll find that your first year teaching will be extremely challenging. The toughest part for most new teachers is classroom management. Keeping thirty or so kids on task isn’t easy for beginners. You’ll need to come up with some good classroom management strategies. Forget what you learned in your education classes – you’re in the real world now. Experienced teachers can offer you advice about classroom management, but you’ll need to develop your own classroom management strategies that work best with your teaching style, your personality, and your group of students. Believe me – there’s no one set of guidelines for classroom management that works for everyone.

Something else you’ll need to hone are your teaching methods. Again, veteran teachers might be able to help some, but ultimately, you’ll need to employ your own unique methods of teaching. I don’t believe in “cookie cutter” teaching methods. The same methods of teaching don’t work equally well for all teachers. Also, I feel that students benefit from a wide variety of teaching methods.

If you’re toying with the idea of becoming a teacher, think long and hard before you commit to getting your teaching degree and your teaching certificate. Teaching might seem like an easy job, but it’s not. You’ll earn every penny of your teaching salary. Teaching jobs aren’t eight to four, as you might think. If the first bell rings at 8:00, you’ll need to be there by 7:30. On some days, you might have to stay at school until after 5:00. Sure, you’re “off” on weekends, but you might spend hours grading papers and creating lesson plans. As an English teacher, I often spent entire weekends grading essays and research papers. And if you think classroom management is tough, just wait until you have to juggle parents, administrators, state guidelines, and your department head. Don’t consider becoming a teacher unless you have a burning desire to teach. If you do, all the challenges and headaches you’ll face with a teaching career won’t matter. You’ll think becoming a teacher is the best thing you ever did!