A love for children and education is priority. Have the desire to inspire and motivate students so that they can progress successfully throughout their education. Patience is a positive qualification to possess as a teacher in order to maintain a working classroom daily, as well as patience when dealing with administrators and parents. Teachers lacking in patience could find their career more stressful and challenging. Management skills are also useful when keeping order in a classroom.
Educational qualifications for teaching vary depending on the level of education you plan to pursue. To teach pre-kindergarten classes you need a minimum of an Associates Degree with a focus in Early Childhood Education or Development, but a Bachelor's Degree is always preferred. For elementary and secondary education teachers a Bachelor's in Education is required. Some states allow for a person who holds a Bachelor's Degree to obtain a teaching license while taking education courses in order to become a certified teacher. Many states also require that the teacher is pursuing or will pursue a Master's Degree in Education within a set time frame. The teacher may prefer to instruct a specific subject, such as history or math, in which case they would need to major in that subject as well as education.
The Board of Education in every state has specific guidelines that must be met in order to obtain and keep a teaching license or certification. The teachers union in a given state will assist with making sure you have all information needed to keep your licensing up to date.