The Journey of a Teacher

Throughout the year, I constantly need to ask myself, "Is this what I want to do when I am older?". It is an important question that we must all ask ourselves when in any internship. This is what Honors Mentorship is all about. They take teens in high schools, place them in internships, help us become aware of the realities of our dream jobs with a mentor, and help us answer this question in the end. For a large part of my life, teaching was (and still is) something I have considered as my future career. Getting there might be hard and confusing, so some of this post will be dedicated to what I would need to do to become a teacher.

• Obviously, a high school diploma or a GED is required
• In college, after you complete your Core classes, go through the Education pathway/major and focus on whatever subject you want to teach (Social Studies in my case). Do required hours with a mentor, take subject test
• Earn a Bachelor's Degree in the subject area you would want to teach or in Education
• Teachers must have a license/certificate to teach in a certain state. You have to take a test for this certificate

Although my list is short, I figured that a basic, summarized list would be best because everyone's journey is different. These are just the requirements necessary for becoming a teacher, specifically, in Georgia. If you would like to learn more, I will attach a link to a website that has always helped me in the past and where I got this information from.

On a different note, growing up with a parent that works in Education, I have always known what the basic tasks of a teacher were. Also, being a student right now, I see my teacher doing what I would probably be doing when I become a teacher. Luckily, I'm not going in this blindsided. As technology is being used more in the classrooms, teachers (especially Mr. Cantrell) are doing everything online (which makes grading a lot easier). I had the opportunity this week to sit with Mr. Cantrell in a Canvas (online program for students and teachers) Meeting. Another teacher, Ms. Jones, sat with me and walked me through the program and taught me how to post assignments, grade them, and basically all of the useful tools Canvas offers. It is definitely a program I hope to be able to use in the future.  

~Sarah

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