Becoming a Teacher

Black Collegian, Apr 2005 by LaCour, Nat

Difficult, wonderful, exhausting, fun, stressful, enlightening, rewarding beyond compare: That's what you hear when you ask veteran teachers what their job is like. Then, when you ask veteran teachers if they would choose the same career if they could live their lives over, the answer is usually yes.

Teaching requires enormous patience, and there is no ready-made formula for good teaching. Studies on effective teaching demonstrate that there are nearly as many successful styles as there are successful teachers.

But there are some qualities in good teachers on which nearly everyone agrees.

Candidates for teaching should be:

* Among the highest academic performers

* Well versed in the subjects they teach

* Knowledgeable about how to teach

* Able to use different strategies

* Interested in ideas

* Committed to teaching and learning

* Eager to make a difference in students' lives

Many good teachers recognize that their strengths are valuable and needed outside the classroom. That's why we find many teachers who also are active outside school to serve their communities.

Bringing more diversity to the teacher corps is critical to improving education: Research suggests that some minority students do better when they are in classrooms with teachers of the same race and ethnicity. Encouraging highly qualified, highly motivated minorities to enter the teaching profession, therefore, can help close the achievement gap. Keeping those teachers, through mentoring and support during the first few years, is just as important.

Before thinking about becoming a teacher, remember that teaching is not just an opportunity to earn a paycheck but also a tremendous responsibility. Educated, motivated teachers can make a tremendous difference in the lives of their students. Each school year, dozens or even hundreds of students depend on an individual teacher to help them fulfill their potential and make the most of their lives.

Many new and mid-career teachers don't make teaching a long-term profession. Nearly half of new teachers quit within five years, and half of those who teach in urban schools leave within just three years. To borrow a phrase from American Federation of Teachers President Edward J. McElroy, "The schoolhouse door has become a revolving door." And that revolving door can do tremendous harm to students who need committed teachers who will be there year in and year out.

Preparing to Become a Teacher

Becoming a teacher requires at least a bachelor's degree, usually related to the field in which you plan to teach, and in most states some form of advanced training is needed. About half of teachers hold a master's degree. Some earn the advanced degree before entering the classroom. Many work on a master's degree after they have begun their teaching careers.

Today's classrooms present teachers with more challenges and therefore demand a deeper understanding of successful classroom practices. Dedication and a desire to help children are important, but teachers also need a strong academic background and solid professional preparation.

Most large colleges and universities offer degrees in education, which are part of the certification process in each state. In an AFT report called "Building a Profession: Strengthening Teacher Preparation and Induction," we outlined our recommendations for those seeking to become certified teachers.

While our proposals generally exceed states' requirements, they demonstrate our belief that new teachers must be well prepared before they set foot in their classrooms and must receive professional guidance and support during their first few years on the job.

Here are some of our recommendations:

* Require an academic major so that teaching candidates have a firm grounding in the subject they are preparing to teach.

* Develop a core of pedagogical knowledge that all teachers should share. Today we have a body of knowledge based on new research, and the research evidence has led, for example, to a consensus that has ended the "reading wars." College-level courses that reflect this new knowledge will help young teachers make the important decisions about how best to shape their lessons.

* Strengthen the "clinical experience"-that is, the actual training on the job. Much of the practice teaching that prospective teachers get is brief (f O to 12 weeks) and it is often hit or miss. Spending an extended period in a well-run program, under the tutelage of a master teacher, would give young teachers an experience similar to the one that physicians get from an internship.

States, acting within the "highly qualified teacher" definition of the federal No Child Left Behind law, set the requirements for teacher certification. Decisions about hiring teachers, though, are made by local school districts. This means that teaching candidates need to consult a variety of resources to get more specific information. A good starting point is http://www.aft.org/teachers/becoming.htm, which includes links to licensure requirements in each of the 50 states.