How to Become a Secondary School Teacher

High school and junior high school teachers give stability, discipline, direction and knowledge to adolescents from a variety of backgrounds. A real passion for your area of expertise is essential if you want to help shape young lives and maintain your classroom authority.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Academic Counselings
• Career Counseling
• Postage Stamps
• Envelopes
• résumé paper
• résumé software

1. Begin working with adolescents as soon as possible by volunteering in your local junior high or high schools as a teacher's aide and in church groups, teen educational outreach programs or sports associations. Contact your local school district or city parks and recreation department for details.

2. Document all your volunteer work and collect references from supervisors: You may be required to have as many as 80 volunteer hours completed before you are accepted into a teacher-credential program.

3. Earn a bachelor's degree in the specific subject area you want to teach, such as art, music, English, history, mathematics or biology. Consider obtaining a minor in physical education, music or a foreign language to make yourself more marketable to a school looking for teachers who can do more than one thing.

4. Find fifth year/postgraduate programs you can apply to for a single-subject teaching credential. Find out about entrance requirements, including standardized tests and prerequisite courses.

5. Complete your teacher credential program by taking graduate courses in education and your preferred subject area and by passing national teacher certification exams and those required for the state you want to teach in. At the same time, complete your supervised teacher training in your specific area of expertise in grade levels 8 through 12.

6. Establish an employment file in your graduating college's educational placement office, which will become your job-search headquarters. There you will find current job listings, and your file will be sent out to prospective employers on request.

7. Research and join professional organizations related to your specific area of teaching, such as the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE).

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that credential requirements for special education, elementary education and kindergarten are significantly different from those for the single-subject credential.
• Spend as much time as possible working with adolescents before you make the decision to devote the rest of your life to teaching them.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.

[sarah954]

on 1/8/2010 Sounds like teaching isnt for you. Being bitter is something you do, not the child. Making sure YOU can handle teaching is YOUR job alone. Otherwise, you dont deserve the title. Its not a job people pick for the money, you have to be willing to make a difference where you can, and any teach can tell you that you wont reach everyone, but you will DEFINATELY reach some. Having the RIGHT teacher can make ALL the difference.

[coolguyrko]

on 6/17/2008 I am from I reland and was wondering what to study in college if i want to become a Secondary[High School] History teacher in New Zeland.Also if anybody cares i am going to become a voulenteer in Zion Wildlife Gardens.

[jenehernandez]

on 3/20/2007 I am interested in becoming a COSMETOLOGY TEACHER for either HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE. Can anyone out there tell me how to get there? Please be very specific, lots of details.

on 1/23/2006 Teaching is a noble profession for those who have the patience, flexibility, and positive attitude about their students. Teaching is not for everyone, but if it is for you, you should feel very honored to call yourself a teacher.