I am considering busting out of my rut, and have been told for a few years now that I should teach History/Social Studies. It’s a subject I love, and can go on for hours about.
But, assuming I go to school and get my BA in History, how do I go about turning that into a career teaching Jr. High or High School History classes?
(ftr: I live in PA, if that helps)
Thanks in advance!
First you need to investigate the requirements for getting a teaching license in PA, then plan accordingly. You may want to look in to any emergency/short term/substitute/temporary certifications you might be able to get quickly, then try it out before committing major time/resources.
What Oak said. Every state has different certification rules so you need to know what the situation in PA is. Lots of states have reciprocity agreements, so if you might relocate or live near a border check into this.
Most districts have alternative certification programs so you can student teach, or even teach as you earn your cert. These programs vary in quality - as a graduate of one I can attest to this. If I’m correct on this recollection, NCLB has added requirements so an emergency cert is only good for so long before you have to get a permanent one.
http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/site/default.asp
This link takes you to the web page with all the requirements. It seems you have to get a bachelors degree in education (which has the student teacher internship as part of the program), then take the Praxis tests, and complete the application for certification. It does not appear that you need a masters in PA. So, you’re looking at 4 years of college.
Good luck! It’s a great job, really.
Even if it’s not actually necessary, it’ll probably be expected. It’d probably be a lot easier to get a job with the master’s.
I got my BA in fine art, with a minor in art ed. I took all the classes necessary to become certified and did my student teaching, which took an extra year.
So I’m certified in Massachusetts, and even though Vermont (where I live now) has reciprocity, I STILL have to take the damned Praxis test to teach here!
I’m pretty sure most states require a Masters, but they give you like 5 years after you are hired to get it. And most places pay based on education- more credits equals higher pay. So a higher degree may be a bad thing for you when they are hiring, especially in this economy.
Funny thing, in Vermont all they eventually require is a Masters, in ANYTHING! It doesn’t have to have any relevance to your teaching area.
Also, look into if you need to be HQT- a Highly Qualified Teacher. Stupid NCLB caused this.
Some places will grant you certification based on past experience rather than college classes, but you have to have like 25 years in your field, and still pass the Praxis. And it’s mostly science and other tech fields.
Becoming a teacher ain’t no easy thing!
Tristan, even someone with a natural gift for teaching and a love of the subject can find that actual “teaching” gets lost among other priorities in some school systems. Sometimes it even depends on the individual schools. But if you can tolerate the distractions and endless paperwork, there is nothing as thrilling as helping kids to make the connections.
Have you thought about sitting in on some classes in public schools? (You might give classes a chance to settle in next fall before you try this.)
It is certainly never boring!
Not true, generally. But it does usually increase the pay. 
I just recently (last year) finished conversion into a high school math teacher. In Ohio, since I already had a BA in Political Science, this simply required that I take courses in math and education. I was done in two years of work (summers included). But if I had wanted to become a Social Studies teacher, I could have chosen one of two alternate paths. I could have finished off course work for teachers in Social Studies (mostly History courses I didn’t take in college) along with courses in Education, OR I could have taken Ohio’s alternate path into teaching for experienced folk, which involves becoming a teacher, being sponsored by the district for which you teach while taking education courses, and after something like three years, being annointed as a full-blooded teacher.
You might want to check the Pennsylvania link to see if Pennsylvania has an alternate route to becoming a teacher for those who are already degree holders, assuming you already have a Bachelor’s in something.
Also, check into the requirements for substitute teaching. In some districts, you don’t even need a 4-year degree and there’s no better way to find out if you’re cut out for the classroom.
Exactly what I was going to say.
And don’t just try public schools. My wife coordinated subs for private schools for years and says that they set their own standards. Some people are more suited to substitute teaching and prefer to continue doing that over having a regular classroom. An art sub she used to hire frequently made most of his living as a freelancer and used the teaching income to round out the slow times.
Private schools also set their own standards for teachers - the standards are usually more rigorous in the subject matter, but without a requirement for teaching credentials.