On a practical level, teachers need a wide variety of skills and abilities. They have to be ready to spend many hours at home planning their lessons and preparing homework. They have to be well organized in class, patient with students, able to appear bright and interested even if they are in fact tired or unhappy, and lively enough to control a group of young people for almost 200 days a year. Outside the classroom, they may have to prepare teaching materials, to choose books to use as texts, to help organize the work of other teachers, or to organize spare time activities for students.
If you think that you have all the necessary qualities, you may feel that you would like to be a teacher. If you live in the United States, one way to decide is by joining a club for future teachers, such as Student Action for Education. Clubs like this give advice about your field, and also allow you to watch teachers at work, attend meetings and experiment with teaching methods and equipment. You could also talk with the job advisor at your school or university. Finally, you could try teaching a younger student or becoming an advisor at a summer camp for children. Any activity in which you are dealing with, children will help you decide whether you have a calling for teaching.
