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THE JOB
Teachers act as facilitators or coaches, using interactive discussions and hands-on learning to help students learn and apply concepts in subjects such as science, math or English.
Kindergarten and elementary school teachers play a vital role in the development of children. What children learn and experience during their early years can shape their views of themselves and the world, and affect later success or failure in school, work and their personal lives.
Secondary school teachers help students delve more deeply into subjects introduced in elementary school and expose them to more information about the world.

SKILLS
Kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school teaching requires a variety of skills and aptitudes, including a talent for working with children and the ability to create an effective classroom learning environment.
Teachers must also possess excellent organizational, administrative, problem-solving, conflict-resolving, and record-keeping abilities.
Research and communication skills are essential as is the power to influence, motivate, and train others.
Teaching also requires a high level of patience and creativity.

EDUCATION
All 50 states and the District of Columbia require public school teachers to be licensed, but it is not required for teachers in private schools.
Requirements for regular licenses vary by state. However, all states require a bachelor’s degree and completion of an approved training program with a prescribed number of subject and education credits as well as supervised practice teaching.

OUTLOOK
Overall employment of kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2008.
The job market for teachers varies widely by geographic area and subject specialty. Many inner cities and rural areas have difficulty attracting enough teachers, so job prospects should continue to be better in these areas than suburban districts.
With enrollments of minorities and non-English speaking students increasing, coupled with a shortage of minority teachers, efforts to recruit minority or bilingual teachers should intensify.