What is it like to become a teacher? I'm thinking of becoming one as well :)

Joana, I'm excited about your interest in becoming a teacher. I've been teaching for 20 years and still find the work rewarding. I enjoy teaching because I am a life-long learner and often find myself learning with my students. My teaching experience spans elementary, high school, and college. I've also volunteered in a preschool.

Attending school is compulsory in the US, which means children ages 6-16 are required to go to school. While many youth attend "regular" school, life circumstances sometimes means learning happens in other contexts. In addition to public and private schools in cities, the suburbs, and rural areas teachers are needed in other situations. Consider teaching children unable to "go to school" because they are in hospital, incarcerated, or are professional entertainers. Children in these situations should have the same access to great teachers, as their peers in "regular" school.

Good luck!

In your other questions, Joana, you've indicated an interest in art, communications, and young children. You might find a career as a Montessori teacher especially rewarding. See the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education for more information.

You've also indicated an interest in health-related helping professions like nursing. Occupational Therapists, Feldenkrais Practitioners, Community Psychologists, and Health Educators all wear "teachers' hats" different from those worn by most educators in your local school system.

Teaching is a rewarding profession. Even when finances are tight, seeing the "ah-ha!" moments on children's faces is priceless. It's wonderful to know you're really making a difference. Becoming a teacher takes dedication, but if you really want to teach, you can do it!

Hi. Here are some other options to consider that might not be seen as traditional.

There are many opportunities to teach English as a foreign language in other countries. I did this in Japan for three years after I graduated from college with a business degree and minor in East Asian studies. It was a great way get immersed in a foreign culture and feel a sense of reward by inspiring young people. There is the JET program, which is international, and places aspiring teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools. Other countries have similar programs, and there are many "boutique" language schools that cater to adults seeking greater English language proficiency.

YouTube is a platform to inspire and teach people about subject areas that you are passionate about. There's a lot of content out there already, but if you have a unique and inspiring way of conveying information to people, you could have a global impact.

Employees of large corporations need to be trained on technologies, processes, tools, practices and policies. Experts in training development work with subject matter experts to create and deliver classroom and online training courses.

Many underprivileged youths also need after-school tutoring. This is an extremely rewarding activity for both you and your students. Students can learn effective study and homework habits from you, as well as connect with you on a human level. This really helped me to empathize with those less fortunate than I, and honed my ability to improvise when my planned course of action proved ineffective.

There are many other teaching opportunities out there to explore. Good luck!

<span style="background-color: transparent;"> I am an English teacher, we work with other teachers of all different subjects. We have 5 teaching blocks or periods per day, 1 prep period, and 1 lunch period. Depending on the grade level the work environment shifts. But generally we are teaching different cohorts of students each period of the day, typically teaching the same lessons depending on grade and level, and or prepping and grading work. I love working as a teacher. </span>

It's helpful to take higher-level classes in Sociology, Psychology, and Human Development. Definitely take at least two or more 2000+ level courses in these subjects. You will learn about society and how it functions in a way that may be harmful to our student and how to combat social constructions and become more aware of them. This will make you a better teacher in the long run and having and understanding of sociology as a whole will make you a better person, help you understand your students and connect with them. Studying psychology and human development will help you learn about the way people learn (and therefore you will learn how to best teach your students). Depending on the phase of life adolescents and children are in, they learn differently, and their brain works differently as well. It is essential to have an understanding of this prior to becoming an educator. It will also help you to connect with students, parents, and families. Human Development and Family Studies will also allow you to become more culturally aware of students and families that come from different backgrounds; this will allow you to unlearn implicit biases and recognize them in yourself and others (and therefore, grow from them). Overall, these three fields of study are absolutely essential when pursuing teaching. Taking the time to take 2 or more classes in each of these subjects will help you become the best teacher you can possibly be. Other than these, the more obvious answer is take as many classes as possible in the subject-area you want to teach AND take education courses.

To be a good teacher, essentially, treat them like human beings. Your students are people too and communicating effectively with them, essentially means communicating with them. Be genuine, compassionate, caring, and show them you care about them as a person and beyond the classroom. Your students need to know that you have a genuine compassion for their feelings and that you care about what they have to say. This starts with building relationships with your students, allowing them to get to know you, and showing a genuine interest in getting to know them.

Many colleges provide incredible teaching programs. A few of the best in the nation are Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and UConn

Teaching involves a number of different skills and qualities. I would say the most important are:

1. People skills - being friendly and working well with others. You will need to be personable, caring, kind, friendly, compassionate, and understanding. These qualities make a great teacher. But you also need to be stern and firm in your directions, rules, and discipline
2. Public speaking - every day in your class you will need to be able to speak and present information to your students, practice speech, and practice fluency of language and talking in front of others
3. The subject you plan to teach - become a master of the subject you plan to teach, make sure you know as much as possible and learn as much as you can about the subject you plan to teach. Take as many classes as possible in this subject and learn everything you can about it.
4. Psychology & Human Development - start reading books and research articles on human development and psych. It will be helpful for you to know how people learn at different stages and the best ways to teach them at these stages (depending on stage of development and schema).

I became a teacher long ago and went back to school to get my masters and asked this question - what else can I do with my teaching degree? This is what I did and you can do as well ....

You can teach adults .... adults who need basic skill training in reading, writing and math will benefit from a teacher's understanding and ability to develop lessons. Teaching adults can be a part time job or full time. You could do it part time in the evenings while you discover where you want to land.

If you can write, you can write lessons for teachers or for students! I love to write and have been doing this for years. I am able to "teach" many children from my home .... I can help many teachers from my home.

Find a community organization in your area - a teacher can help with after school programs or special events for children.

If you choose to be a classroom teacher, don't leave out special education as an option. That was my major and I loved it. There are many types of special education opportunities - from working with children with severe emotional or behavioral problems to children with disabilities. Very rewarding work.

Good luck in your journey!

I agree with what Stephanie said. I started out as a classroom teacher teaching band and music classes. I now teach adults. My students are improving their reading and speaking skills and hoping to go to college soon. I love teaching and teaching adults has introduced me to so many wonderful people with different backgrounds.

I teach adults part-time. I also develop lesson plans for other teachers and programs that work with adults. I'm going back to school for my doctorate in the fall so that I can teach college classes.

I like that I can teach adults, college students, and write lessons. I don't have to be in the classroom all day to make a difference. I can help all different types of people in lots of different settings.

Good luck!

There are many different types of teachers. It is not just limited to the typical elementary, middle school, high school, etc. types of teachers.

There are teachers who teach any subject they are comfortable with on YouTube or on personal websites. There are so many fields that can be taught such as Journalism, Acting, Physical Health, Psychology,etc. The most important parts of being a teacher (at least in my opinion) is to have knowledge in the field but more importantly, have a passion for it. You want to be able to motivate and express your passion to your students.

Find the subject that has your interest the most and the one you feel that fits you as perfect as possible and go with it.

<span style="background-color: transparent;">I am an English teacher, we work with other teachers of all different subjects. We have 5 teaching blocks or periods per day, 1 prep period, and 1 lunch period. Depending on the grade level the work environment shifts. But generally we are teaching different cohorts of students each period of the day, typically teaching the same lessons depending on grade and level, and or prepping and grading work. I love working as a teacher.</span>

As others have commented on, there are many types of "teachers". Teachers (in the traditional sense) can teach in a classroom or online (either live, or not - live is "synchronous"; or not (asynchronous).
However, one aspect that I don't think has been touched on is coaching or mentoring. Coaching also fills a gap in skills and typically is for professional development.

Teaching, coaching, and mentoring (at least in the working world) is not to be the conduit for learning, for learning's sake. It is to change performance (to become more efficient, effective, faster, better) and that is the sole purpose of education in the private sector.

One type of teacher/coach/mentor (that has yet to be mentioned) you may wish to consider is a social service worker. Amongst other things they provide help to people in need whether it be looking for a job, housing, mental health, dietician, or other services. You can teach employability skills, essential skills, life skills, etc. It is a very important service and it definitely has a place in the "helping" space.

A lot of teachers have a passion for learning that motivates them to teach. If you have an insatiable appetite to learn new things and enjoy working with other people in one-to-one and group experiences, you already have some of the basic ingredients to become a successful teacher.

Something to remember about teaching is it isn't just about being an expert in some area of knowledge and telling people about it. Teaching requires many types of skills (communication, planning, writing, public speaking, understanding learning, patience, empathy) and you will probably want to think about those things as you decide if teaching is right for you.

There are many types of teaching and learning, both online and offline. It might be good to start with areas/subjects that you are passionate about or know well already. Look for opportunities to use those skills in a learning/teaching situation, maybe in your local area, to help decide if teaching others is the right fit for you.

I wish you all the best with your learning journey!