How to be a Teacher in America

The United States of America is suffering a shortage in teacher. In the next five years, up to 40 percent of the current teachers are about to have their retirement. Over the next decade they might need some 2 million new elementary and high school teachers, or over 200,000 each year.

Being a teacher is not an easy task, good future of the youth depends on them. Quality education is the primary concern of most Americans. That’s the reason why they are given seminars that would test their ability to teach. The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) offers a program called Passport to Teaching that would be of an enormous help for them. The American Board deals with the needs to place highly qualified teachers in every classroom. They help the states, districts and communities meet the requirements for NO Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Passport to Teaching requires no experience. It is open to all teachers, professionals who want to have a career-switch and fresh graduates of any four-year bachelor's degree. Successful applicants can then teach math, science, English and special education subjects in US elementary or high schools. Here are some ways on how to avail the program:

1. Apply for Passport to Teaching by completing the application online at https://mypass.abcte.org.
2. Assess your level of subject area and submit the payment for the program fee.
3. Request a transcript from your university of college with the forms from the American Board.
4. Complete the background check supplied by the American Board.
5. Make yourself familiar with the policies and requirements of the American Board with their candidate handbook.
6. Have a communication with the experience educator or Learning Plan Advisor through phone or e-mail anytime.
7. Identify your strength and weakness by performing the Self-Assessment.
8. Create and prepare an Individualized Learning Plan. This can help you in your teaching career.
9. Register for the time and the location of your exam.
10. Put your Passport to Teaching in use, you can apply into public, private or charter school.

To learn more about this opportunity that awaits you, there are seminars for all professionals who are thinking of working in America. The highlights of the seminar help you determine whether America is right for you, the rising demand for a new breed of teaching professionals, how to obtain a US teaching license for all professionals and how to make your dream came into reality.

This article was first published in www.ofwguide.com on December 9, 2005