How to Become a High School English Teacher

Finding a job in the education field can be a little tough in today's job market but if you love language arts and enjoy working with older kids, a high school English teacher position may be a really great choice for you.

The idea of combining a love for the subject matter of English and teaching the related skills and concepts to others may be your dream job. One of the most exciting facets of becoming a high school English teacher is there is a need for English teachers, so upon meeting all the teacher certification requirements you may actually be able to land a job as a teacher.

Although the demand for quality English teachers is not as high as some of the other curricular areas, there is definitely a need. A highly quality English teacher needs to be a special kind of person with lots of patience and excellent skills in the English subject matter.

High School English Teacher Requirements

States have their own individual teaching requirements and certification standards to become a high school English teacher. All states require a high school English teacher to obtain a Bachelor's degree in teacher education and be state certified in high school English to hold a high school English teaching certificate.

When a candidate is enrolled in a teacher education program, he or she would take the general education requirements and then English high school teaching courses at the upper levels and also English methods courses.

To become a high school English teacher, each prospective teacher must go through a teacher education program where part of their program involves student teaching for approximately a semester in a high school English classroom and then the candidate would need to pass a state licensure test to be certified to teach high school English. A teaching certificate cannot be issued by the state unless all the teacher certification requirements are met, so it is really important to make sure that all required steps and actions are completed.

Obtaining a master's degree in education is not required to teach, but a prospective teacher with a master's degree in English education would always be advantageous as teaching positions can be competitive and any English coursework above the bachelor's degree would offer an opportunity in obtaining a position.

Alternatives as to How to Become a High School English Teacher

There are some states that have unconventional routes to obtaining high school English teacher certification as opposed to the typical route as mentioned above.

An example of an another route to high school English certification would be for the prospective teacher to hold a bachelor degree in any field and then go through a master's program in teacher education which is the route I took and I am very glad I did choose that particular route to take.

It is really imperative to confirm a particular state's certification requirements as each state also has diverse requirements in regards to the alternative routes as to how to become certified as a high school English teacher.