What qualifications do I need to become a TEACHER?

Question

I want to go to University but what should I study to become a teacher? A bit confused!

Answer 1

You need to be able to do whatever you are told, to pander to your boss's slightest whim and to sh!t yourself whenever a child does something that could make you look incompetent. Also, if a child does something naughty, be prepared to write three reports of what happened and to spend an hour ringing his parents and sympathetically discussing your "concerns".

That was stage one. Stage two is being prepared to stay up all night planning five or six lessons for the following day, then staying up the next night marking all of their work (properly!) and being prepared to up your game when OFSTED come in.

Stage three is being prepared to take on extra responsibility after school for no extra money, in order to improve your cv, and when you are criticised by your superiors, thanking them for their wisdom and trying to be better in future.

I could go on. Don't bother. Just look at the government adverts. Are they not the biggest load of wallop you ever saw in your life?

Answer 2

If you have a pasion for Teaching I take my hat off to you. It takes much more than a 4 year education to be a teacher!

SundaeG1rl is correct in that you might give substitute teaching a try. I did this as well because I wanted to be a teacher & I wanted to work with grade school kids (K-5)

I subbed for a year and was hired on as a Teachers Assistant. From the teachers I talked with, (some fresh out of University all the way to those near retirement) the more I realized that what I thought was teaching and what they require you to teach are two very different things.

In the US it is all about the TAKS test and the scores. Every school wants to be EXEMPLARY so they start drilling the tests into the kids before the end of the first semester.... That is all they talk about, all they care about. Not the kids so much as the Numbers.
The idea of "No child left behind" has left so many kids behind that it is a disgrace. Kids that need a little extra help are moved to classes that are either exempt from testing or to ones that are given learning curves.

The paperwork alone that teachers have to contend with is terrible. Office politics are horrendous. Teachers pit against each other and then stab others in the back to get what they want. It's like high school teeny bopper games on an adult basis.
As I said I worked and watched for 3 years and decided I could not deal with that mess. Give me the Corporate Politics anyday. That I can handle..at least you KNOW you are in for a ride because everyone wants to step on or over you to get to the top.

Answer 3

Generally speaking in the UK you need good A levels. You choose what subject(s) you want to study. You apply via UCCAS to the universities of your choice that teach that discipline. If you meet their requirements you do a three year degree course, then you do an extra year to get a teaching diploma. You then apply to teach in a school and have a probationary year during which you are monitored and inspected. If you make the grade you are then a qualified teacher recognised by the Department of Education.

Contrary to general belief teaching is not a doddle. You must be a good communicator, be able to assert yourself so as to control your classes, be patient and painstaking, and be prepared to do thorough preparation of lessons and take loads of marking home after school. There are also frequent staff meetings of one kind or another, lots of paperwork and many constraints due to the National Curriculum.

You should have a Careers Adviser in your present school or a Director of Sixth Form Studies who can help you and advise you about application procedures.

Answer 4

First of all, you need a Bachelor's degree, either in a specific subject over 3 years, or in Education (where you'll be specialising in a subject) over 4 years. If this one, then you're ready to go. If the 3-year Bachelor's, then you need to do a PGCE for a year afterwards (also at a university).

Alternativelt, you cuold become a teacher of English as a foreighn language and could try a variety of places such as International House's intensive 4-week course, or INTESOL's in-your-own-time correspondance course.

Good luck with it.

Answer 5

Talking to an advisor at the University will provide you with all the details. You will need to attend an accredited program and take all the required classes and pass required state exams. You also need to decide if you want to go into Multiple Subject (elementary school) or Single Subject (Jr. HS, High school and college) teaching. And for sure, you really need to know if you have what it takes and you like it. My opinion: Good teachers were good students.

Answer 6

Good for you! I've been a teacher for over 20 years and I still love it! Do some research on the Internet and talk to university counselors, they are a big help. Your first year at college you'll take basic courses, so you have time to get prepared for a degree program.

Answer 7

It depends on the country you are in. In the UK, a degree (BA, BSc or BEd) plus a year's postgraduate training. You can do this via PGCE or GTTP. You can also combine both courses in a 4 year BEd (essentially spreading the teaching through the whole degree, rather than doing a one-year course after your degree).

You then need to do a 1 year NQT post, where you are monitored to ensure you operate properly in the 'real world' of school. If you don't and they fail you, you can never work in a State School again! Strangely, if you fail your PGCE, you can re-take it.

Answer 8

Before you commit yourself, try and get some work experience at a local school of your chosen age group. Trust me, it will make or break your decision, but it will be invaluable and look good on your CV.

I thought about teaching until I went and did work experience at a secondary school. Holy crap, wild dogs wouldn't be able to drag me back! It wasn't the teaching, or the kids, or anything like that, it was the mere fact of being institutionalised that drove me bonkers (I thought it was just my school I hated as a child - turns out I hate all kinds of schools and being in them gives me the willies!)

Also, a lot of trainee teachers crack under the paperwork strain. Beware!

Answer 9

Depends on your current level of education...

Get good GCSEs, (minimum grade c in Maths, English and Science)
The get some A levels

Then go to Uni to study one of a variety of degree courses that give you QTS (Qualified teacher Status)

Answer 10

You would major in education (and a specific area, such as English Education, for example) at a four-year university. The classes you will be required to take will prepare you for teaching. You will also have to take an exam when you graduate.