How to Become a Middle School Teacher

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Laura from youngwritersworkshop.com and I am going to talk about becoming a middle school teacher. Now the way to become qualified to teach is to have a Bachelor's Degree and this degree could be in education or in another field and then also to earn teaching credentials. There are schools that do not require teaching credentials for example private schools often hire teachers who are not or don't have a teaching credential but I recommend going through a student teaching program and that is what is involved with earning a teaching credential. Middle school teaching depending on the state most often requires a secondary credential which is a single subject so you would earn a credential which is a single subject such as English or Social Studies and prepare to teach that one or two subject as opposed to a multiple subject credential which is what you would have if you were teaching a lower grade. I usually recommend that people that think that they want to become a middle school teacher should really work with this age group adolescent. This adolescent age group is really interesting and one that really does require a passion for working with adolescents so get some experience in a volunteer setting or as a substitute teacher, a way to work with a specific age group and get a chance to really find out if its a good fit for what your passion is. I have also found that there are some really good books out there for example in Carol Gilligan a classic book that helps you to understand adolescent girls specifically but any reading that you can do about adolescent psychology informally or even in the form of a class is really helpful in preparing to become a middle school teacher."