UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Personal Qualities of Teachers

1. High-Achieving: The individual has a history of success no matter what the endeavor. 2 Responsible: Instead of blaming others or circumstances, the individual takes full responsibility for achieving a positive outcome. 3 Critical thinker: The individual reflects about the linkages between cause and effect instead of simply reacting to the effect. 4 Organized: The individual is able to juggle multiple projects and tasks successfully. 5 Motivating: The individual is able to influence and motivate others to action, as evidenced by effective leadership in extracurricular activities such as student-run organizations or athletic teams. 6 Respectful: The individual assumes the best about people, especially people in low-income communities. 7 Shares the goals of the organization: The individual wants to work toward TFAs mission of eliminating educational inequities.

Professional Qualities of Teachers

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do, developed by teachers in the United States, provides a good example of professional standards as values. The principles include: 1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning. 2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students. 3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. 4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. 5. Teachers are members of learning communities. These are core propositions, or values, setting out in general terms what United States teachers think accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, regardless of the level or specialist field in which they taught. The five propositions provide the philosophical basis for the development and elaboration of standards for specific fields and levels of teaching (such as primary teaching, or high school science teaching).

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Requirements to become Professional Teachers

1. Degree from accredited teacher's college Select a teacher's college or college with a teacher's program. Make sure the college is accredited. Admittance is different for all colleges, but most schools will look at your grade point average and the course program of study. Colleges like students who have taken challenging classes, such as Advanced Placement courses or honor programs, but don't let that discourage you. During your junior year in high school, start looking at colleges and their requirements. 2. Bachelor's or Master's degree Choose a college program. If you choose to major in secondary education, you will need at least one major and a minor or two majors. To make yourself more interesting to potential employers, major in two areas. Because of No Child Left Behind mandates, you must be highly qualified, which means at least 45 hours of course work in your major area. For elementary education, you may have to specialize in either lower, middle or upper elementary grades. If you are required to teach a core course, you will need a major in that core area. Elementary programs usually focus on grade levels and a major in a core course, such as English/language arts, math, science or geography. Special education programs require a focus in a specific area, such as learning disabilities or mental handicaps. Include a good liberal arts background in your electives as well. 3. Proficiency in core content areas Acquire your teacher's license or certification. Each state has its own process that you must follow to get a teacher's license. You may be required to take a state exam or the PRAXIS, a series of assessments used by states to license teachers. Your college will guide you through the process. Because every state has different licensing procedures, if you decide to teach in a different state, you will need to fulfill the requirements for that state. 4. State license Know the laws of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires teachers to be "highly qualified." This means you must have a Bachelor's degree in education and demonstrate proficiency in a core content area if you are teaching in one of those areas.

AUSTRALIA Personal Qualities of Teachers

There are many personal qualities and skills that make someone a good teacher. These include: being good at explaining things; being a people person and enjoy working with a wide range of people; enthusiasm; having a strong knowledge in particular subject areas; being a good time manager; ability to work in a team as well as using your own initiative; keeping your cool under pressure; having patience and a good sense of humor; being fair-minded; coping well with change; and enjoying a challenge. Good teachers know that by listening to and working with colleagues, parents, other professionals and community members that they can inspire students and improve their learning.

Professional Qualities of Teachers

Know the students and how they learn. Lead teachers are expected to select, develop, evaluate and revise teaching strategies to improve student learning using knowledge of the physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students in order to meet the needs of students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds (AITSL, 2011). Know the content and how to teach it. Lead teachers must be able to lead initiatives [] to evaluate and improve knowledge of content and teaching strategies, as well as to monitor and evaluate the implementation of teaching strategies to expand learning opportunities and content knowledge for all students (AITSL, 2011). Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning. Qualified lead teachers should demonstrate exemplary practice and high expectations [] and lead colleagues to plan, implement and review the effectiveness of their learning and teaching programs (AITSL, 2011). Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments. Lead teachers are expected to be active in the development of productive and inclusive learning environments, as well as to lead and implement behavior management initiatives (AITSL, 2011) in order to ensure students well-being. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning. Lead teachers are required to evaluate school assessment policies and strategies to diagnose learning needs and to co-ordinate student performance and program evaluation using internal and external student assessment data to improve teaching practice (AITSL, 2011). Engage in professional learning. Lead teachers should initiate collaborative relationships to expand professional learning opportunities, engage in research, and provide quality opportunities and placements for pre-service teachers (AITSL, 2011). Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community. Professional and community networks and support[ing] the involvement of colleagues in external learning opportunities (AITSL, 2011).

AUSTRALIA Requirements to become Professional Teachers

1. Gain the relevant qualifications for teacher registration by obtaining either a four-year bachelor of education (BEd) or a three-year degree, such as a bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BSc). You can then enter an education faculty of a university and complete a graduate educational methodology degree, which will enable you to teach in high school. 2. Note that in Australia, if you obtain a BEd or other primary degree, you must have two majors or teaching areas to be registered as a teacher. When considering courses, make sure you select two teaching areas. Note also that in Australia, a three-year degree is equivalent to a U.S. four-year degree, as eight courses are completed each year in Australia, as opposed to six in the United States. 3. Become registered with the relevant Teacher Registration Board in your state. In Queensland, there is the Queensland College of Teachers, which is automatically notified of all graduates in education from universities around the state. Newly graduated teachers, however, will still have to contact the College of Teachers to obtain their registration information. 4. Apply for teaching jobs. Once registration is finished and you have an ID card, you can approach any private school for a position as a teacher; however, if you wish to teach in the state school districts, which pay higher rates, you are required to go before a panel of Education Department staff for a suitability review. This is an interview, during which you are required to answer in writing exactly how you would handle a number of different teaching scenarios, thus demonstrating your teaching abilities. 5. Receive an S (suitability) rating following the interview, which will determine how quickly you will be offered a position in the state school system. A rating of S1 will be offered a job almost immediately, and an S2 may have to wait a few weeks. An S3 may need to take whatever school is offered, no matter where, and an S4 really should study some more and try for another interview in a few months. 6 Learn the operating rules peculiar to each state system. The rules will differ slightly in each state in Australia, but they are essentially the same. The teacher unions in each state are no longer compulsory, but most teachers become members mainly because the unions offer comprehensive legal representation in case of litigation