Some people may say that a teacher’s life is a breeze. All you have to do is say some words and give out worksheets. This is a horrible stereotype that goes around and I want to set things right.

Teachers are just like life coaches to their students. Many students look up to their teacher for support. Teaching can be a very rewarding experience.

Certification to teach is divided up into sections. Early childhood- (preschool-third grade.) Elementary- (1-6/8 grade.) Middle grades- (4-8.) Secondary Education- (7-12.)

Good teachers need to have a way of making school fun for all of their students. If they don’t, the students won’t learn as much.

Teachers also have to do a lot of paperwork. From grading to planning, most teachers are up late almost every single night. My language arts teacher, Mrs. Moore, says, “What we love to do, and what most teachers love to do, is teach. Unfortunately, that ends up being a much smaller percentage of what we actually do everyday, than what we’d like to do.”

Without teachers, nothing would get accomplished in our world we call home. There would be no electricity. There would be no books. There wouldn’t be anything.

Teachers inspire their students to be bigger people. They influence creativity and greatness.

Teachers normally work around 50 hours a week. That includes work outside of the classroom. Most teachers work a school year of 10 months with 2 months of break.

In Georgia, there is a massive teacher shortage. "Georgia badly needs more high-quality teachers and more diversity among its teachers," Kettlewell said. The number of teachers in Georgia needs to double, or more, to get back to a normal status. To tackle this situation, the state of Georgia has developed 5 top guidelines.
1. Maintain a sustained emphasis on quality.
2. Raise the University System's teacher production targets.
3. Expand the role of the state's two-year public colleges in preparing teachers.
4. Make the USG's new Teacher Career Center available to all USG teacher-preparation programs and two-year colleges.
5. Increase the emphasis on pre-kindergarten teaching.
6. Place special emphasis on the recruitment of teachers to teach science and mathematics.
10. Offer on-line programs and increase the flexibility of course scheduling.
The Board of Regents plans to have the crisis resolved by 2010. (U.S. Department of Labor)

As of the 2005-2006 years, the U.S. Secretary of Education has declared these areas as Georgia’s critical teacher shortage:
-Behavior Disorders
-Biology
-Business and Office Education.
-Chemistry
-French
-Health Occupations
-Hearing Impaired
-Interrelated/Special Education
-Orthopedically Impaired
-Trade and Industry
-Visually Impaired.

It’s important to know that if you do become a teacher, that you like it. If you don’t like teaching, your students won’t like you and you will likely be fired. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” (Ward Quote 17).

What makes a good teacher? Many teachers are different, but there are a few “standards” that almost all teachers follow. First of all, a teacher needs to be prepared. The teacher needs to know the subject they are teaching, and need to have a clear plan of how to teach it. Secondly, a good teacher needs to have a firm control over his/her class. Teachers must also be relaxed when they are teaching. If a teacher if stiff or uncomfortable, the point they are trying to make to their students won’t make it. Lastly, a good teacher must never, ever play favorites!