History and Requirements of the Teaching Profession - Essay Example

The state government employs the majority of teachers in the United States in high school, public elementary, or middle level. Teachers in America may also work in private institutions of learning. The ultimate mission of a teacher is to produce a skilled and informed citizenry.

In the earliest times, cultural, and social values, religion, knowledge, traditions, skills, and morality were passed on from to generation through informal education. Education was achieved by imitation and observation. It was in oral form. Parents, kids, and extended family acted as teachers to the young.

The complexity of the ancient civilization, customs, and knowledge about agriculture, boat building, military, and other activities called for the demand for teachers. The revolutionary war led to an improvement in education in America. The majority of the teachers at the time were male (Saleh & Khine, 2012).

Horace Mann 1647 opened the first free public school. A significant step in the education sector took place in 1857, coming up with National Teachers Association. It gave rise to the current teacher profession.  

Requirements for the Teaching Profession

Becoming a teacher is not easy. A secondary teacher has to pass through high school, complete college, and obtain a four-year bachelor's degree in the field or subject they wish to teach. In addition, they have to go through one to two years of college in a Credential program. The program entails classes on how to teach. It also tests knowledge of PRAXIS, CBEST, and SSAT (Saleh & Khine, 2012).

Teachers are of different types. Each has a unique and complicated job. Elementary teachers teach grades K to 8. Secondary teachers teach grades 6 to 12. Special Ed teachers teach students with disabilities. The substitute teachers fill in for the absent teachers. Finally, we have professors who teach in colleges.

A secondary teacher teaches in one major subject area like Mathematics, English, Science, History, and Arts. Their daily duties involve making lesson plans, attending lessons, grading papers, assigning grades, contacting parents, keeping attendance, and disciplining students among other responsibilities. A teacher has eight hours a day, five days a week with vacations off and summers. Some teachers work for ten hours a day if other duties are included, apart from class attendance (Saleh & Khine, 2012).

Public school teachers are state employees. The school district employs public teachers who receive government funding. Like other state employees, they run under state legislation like budget cuts, propositions, and grants. Private school teachers are not state employees.

A teacher’s salary is subject to education and experience. In California, most public school teachers start with an average amount of $34,000 a year. The salary is a function of experience, and every credit is taken beyond Bachelor's Degree. For example, a teacher who starts with a Master’s Degree earns approximately $42,000 a year. Masters or Doctorate holders with an experience of over twenty or more years in the same district earn about $85,000 annually (Saleh & Khine, 2012).

Why Chose the Teaching Profession?

I think this is a noble career for me since I love to multi-task and be busy. I like being around people, and I have enough patience for the profession. I have a strong educational background. In addition, I am working hard sufficient to be a teacher. My decision is due to a couple of benefits in the teaching profession.

 I prefer a job where one gets the freedom to try out creative and new ideas. Moreover, aligning with my values, a teacher has a feeling of making a 0difference. I prefer close family ties, in line with their kid’s vocation; a teacher finds the time to spend with the family. In addition, a teacher gets full medical and dental coverage. The profession also has a well-established retirement plan with less to no co-payment. The teaching profession is admirable as it is one of the most stable jobs in terms of job security; the student population never diminishes (Saleh & Khine, 2012).

A teacher also receives tenure after teaching for three years. The tenure protects a teacher from retrenchment and gets a chance of staying at school. In tough economic times, those tenured get an opportunity to find jobs in the district, solving cases of layoffs. Therefore, I find the teaching profession the best place to be after school.