Teachers - CareerBuilder

Teachers

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Teachers act as facilitators or coaches, using interactive discussions and hands-on learning to help students learn and apply concepts in subjects such as science, mathematics or English. They are moving away from the traditional repetitive drill approaches and rote memorization toward helping children understand abstract concepts, solve problems and develop critical thought processes.

Many classes are becoming less structured, with students working in groups to discuss and solve problems together. Preparing students for the future workforce is the major stimulus generating the changes in education.

Preschool, kindergarten and elementary school teachers introduce children to numbers, language, science and social studies. They use games, music, artwork, films, books, computers and other tools to teach basic skills.

Recognizing the importance of play in furthering language development, improving social skills and introducing scientific and mathematical concepts, preschool teachers build their program around it. Letter recognition, phonics, numbers and awareness of nature and science are taught primarily by kindergarten teachers. Most elementary school teachers instruct one class of children in several subjects.

Middle and secondary school teachers help students delve more deeply into subjects introduced in elementary school and expose them to more information about the world. Middle and secondary school teachers specialize in a specific subject, such as English, Spanish, mathematics, history or biology. They also can teach subjects that are career-oriented.

Teachers plan, evaluate and assign lessons; prepare, administer and grade tests; listen to oral presentations; and maintain classroom discipline. They observe and evaluate a student's performance and potential. Teachers grade papers, prepare report cards and meet with parents and school staff to discuss a student's academic progress or personal problems.

In recent years, site-based management has gained popularity, involving teachers' decisions regarding the budget, personnel, textbook choices, curriculum design and teaching methods.

Seeing students develop new skills and gain an appreciation of knowledge and learning can be very rewarding, but teaching may be frustrating when one is dealing with unmotivated or disrespectful students. Occasionally, teachers must cope with unruly behavior and violence in the schools. Teachers may experience stress when dealing with large classes, students from disadvantaged or multicultural backgrounds and heavy workloads. Schools, particularly in inner cities, may be run down and lack the amenities of schools in wealthier communities.

Including school duties performed outside the classroom, many teachers work more than 40 hours a week. Part-time schedules are more common among preschool and kindergarten teachers.

Training and qualifications

All 50 states and the District of Columbia require public school teachers to be licensed. Licensure is not required for teachers in private schools. Teachers may be licensed to teach the early childhood grades (usually nursery school through grade 3); the elementary grades (grades 1 through 6); the middle grades (grades 5 through 8); a secondary education subject area (usually grades 7 through 12); or a special subject, such as reading or music (usually grades kindergarten through 12).

Requirements for regular licenses to teach kindergarten through grade 12 vary by state, but all states require general education teachers to have a bachelor's degree and to have completed an approved teacher training program with a prescribed number of subject and education credits as well as supervised practice teaching.

In many states, vocational teachers have many of the same requirements for teaching as their academic counterparts. Some states will license vocational education teachers without a bachelor's degree.

In addition to being knowledgeable in their subject, teachers must have the ability to communicate, inspire trust and confidence, and motivate students, as well as understand their educational and emotional needs. Teachers must be able to recognize and respond to individual differences in students and employ different teaching methods that will result in higher student achievement. They should be organized, dependable, patient and creative. Teachers also must be able to work cooperatively and communicate effectively with other teaching staff, support staff, parents and other members of the community.

Job outlook

Job opportunities for teachers over the next 10 years should be excellent, attributable mostly to the large number of teachers expected to retire. Employment of preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations, but there will be many vacancies, particularly at the secondary school level. Intense competition to hire good teachers is already under way in many locations.

Earnings

Teachers held about 3.8 million jobs in 2000. Of those, about 1.5 million were elementary school teachers, 1.1 million were secondary school, 590,000 were middle school, 423,000 were preschool and 175,000 were kindergarten teachers. About 15% of elementary, middle and secondary school teachers work for private schools.

Median annual earnings of kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers ranged from $37,610 to $42,080 in 2000. In 1999, more than half of all public school teachers belonged to unions.