WHat do i have to do to become an elementary teacher?

Question

Should i go to a commuinity college then transfer to a university.
What classes do i have to take? Do i have to be certified at CPR? How many years does it take?

in michigan

Answer 1

You don't mention where you live, and it does vary by state (and if you are outside the US then I have no idea).

Generally speaking, in the US, you will need to start by getting your Bachelors (4 yr degree) in education, child development or, if you plan to teach at a higher grade level where you teach a specific subject a degree in that subject. You can do this by going to a community college for the first two years ..usually less exspensive and much less competitive to get into..as long as you make sure that the course you take will transfer for an education degree...generally getting all the basics out of the way...college level math, English, Lit, bio and psych and soc. You can then transfer into a four year school (if you have any in mind, find out their transfer policies as soon as you can, again to be sure the classes you want to transfer will be accepted). During the time in the four year school, you'll take classes on classroom management, curriculum planning and eventually classroom observation and some student teaching. Most states at this point require teacher's to have a Master's degree, but many will hire you with a Bachelor's as long as you begin working on your Bachelor's by a certain point and finish it withing a certain amount of time. At this point, another option can be to apply to a program that will pay for your Master's if you agree to teach in inner city or rural schools for an agreed on amount of time..usually two years. You will be required to have current first aide and CPR certification as well as taken a certain number of credits in continuing ed every year. If you can finish to your Master's straight through, it usually takes about 5 years. If you decide to try teaching and then finish your Master's, it can take two to three years longer. I wish you well...we need more people considering this career field.

Oh I forgot...many states have started having education majors graduating with their bachelors taking a certification exam. These can be tough..I know the one in MA covers the entire educational spectrum and is not geared by the classroom level you plan to teach at...but are required by law to go into a class.

Answer 2

It will vary from state to state.

I know in California you have to have a Bachelor's degree. If you want to teach a certain subject you base your studies on those things. In California you have to apply under a specific subject.

You also are required to take an extra year of school learning basic teacher fundamentals.

You can start in a community college, and transfer to a university later, this is much easier to do. However you are going to eventually need to go to a "4 year" college to get the advanced Curriculum your going to need to know on the subject you plan to teach.

At least that's the gist of how it goes here in California.

Answer 3

yes you can go to a community college first take your basics and then transfer to a 4 year university. I did that and it keeps the cost down a bunch. to be a teacher you have to have a bachelors degree and you have to be certified..to get certified you have to take a test..you also have to have a specialization (like reading, social studies, math or art) and you'll take a test in that area as well. you can look on this website Michigan.gov click on education and children's services (over to the left hand side) and then educators and then click certification than Michigan teacher certification and there you go..hope this helps!