Each state has different education requirements for teachers, but most states require a bachelor's degree in education for teachers. Some universities offer a five-year master's degree in education. Different areas of the country have specific state tests for teachers. You get your teaching certificate after doing student teaching, completing your degree and passing the state tests. Once you start teaching, you education isn't finished. Teachers take six hours worth of college credit classes every five years in their certification area. Most of these classes are graduate level classes.
Anyone becoming a teacher gets a background check, complete with fingerprints, completed by the state. If you have any felonies or committed any major crimes, teaching is not for you. If you receive a ticket for driving too fast or going through a red light you're fine. Still, drugs, DUIs or other crimes can keep you out of education. Teachers work with children, and parents want law-abiding citizens teaching their children.
Teachers have many responsibilities in the classroom. Teachers need nerves of steel because children can tax you patience. Children require constant supervision. In the classroom, teachers serve the role of teacher, mother, father, friend, disciplinarian, mediator and monitor. If you care about children and have patience, this may be a good profession for you. If you go into teaching just for a job with long summer vacations, you may have difficulty. Teaching is a chosen career, not a job taken by default.
Teachers often encounter a lot of paperwork, phone calls and stress. Teaching is a high-stress career. Writing lesson plans that cover state curriculum standards, creating tests, keeping records, managing grade books and preparing students for state exams is stressful. When you work with other teachers and staff members, it makes the load lighter, but the work still piles up. Add IEP'a (Individual Education Plans) for special education students, and your workload goes into orbit. Keep in mind, regular classes have special education students too. Then you have to meet with parents, send home communication to parents and make phone calls when students act up. All of these responsibilities require flexibility and reliability.