High School Teaching - A Hard, Yet Fulfilling Career

One of the hardest, yet most fulfilling, areas of the educational field is to become a high school teacher. High school teachers are usually guaranteed a full time position that can last for many years with good benefits.

Every city has at least one high school so there is never a shortage of work in this field. Due to the age of the students, this can be a very fun group to teach but also can cause an inexperienced teacher some difficulties. Teenagers can be defiant and lazy so it takes a special person to excel in this field.

If you ask high school teachers what made them decide to have that career, many will tell you it was because of a high school teacher they had who made a tremendous impact in their lives. Many people can remember exactly the name of the teacher and what they did that was so special. Whether it was showing them the proper way to do math, or working with them privately after school and encouraging them often, the teachers help change people's lives for the better. For me, I had a gorgeous chemistry teacher who was a lot of fun. If not for her, I would have failed chemistry miserably. She made chemistry really exciting and took time to show me what I was missing in my equations.

To become a high school teacher, you will need at least a bachelor's degree in education. High school is more specialized than elementary school so you will want to focus on your favorite subject and take many supplemental courses to help you in the classroom. For high school teachers, many schools prefer if you take some psychology, classroom management, and special need identification courses. These help you maintain a calm yet fun classroom and lets you spot and deal with problems before they get out of hand.

A great place to start before high school is middle school. It allows teachers to get a feel of what high school is like but a little bit easier. There are less drugs and nobody can drive! The teachers will still get a good feel for the different peer groups that will be in high school and be able to identify kids with emotional or mental problems.

Everyone can remember high school and how they acted so if you decide to teach high school, remember what you and your friends were like. Did you give teachers a hard time or were you a model student? That's what awaits you in high school and it takes a very strong person to successfully run a well balanced and educational classroom.