Todd Carusi, age 13, of Fowlerville, Mich., for his question:
HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD TEACHERS?
Today there are about 3 million teachers in the United States with another 300,000 in Canada. Much teaching is done informally outside of school. In the home, parents teach their children everyday skills as well as values and habits. But a student's most important learning comes from formal teaching, provided by able, professional teachers inside classrooms.
We have had informal teachers since the dawn of civilization. Skills have been handed down from members of one generation to the next since ancient times.
The teaching profession, however, has developed mainly since the early 1800s when the first teacher trained schools began in western Europe. Prior to this time, schoolteachers received very little or no special training.
Today, almost all countries require teachers to complete a professional training program and to meet professional standards. Teacher requirements in the United States and Canada are extremely high, and as a result, excellent teachers are available in classrooms.
The best teachers seem to make learning enjoyable. They have a full knowledge of the subjects they teach and they know how to arouse their students' interest in them. Good teachers also take an interest in their students and do lots of extra things to help them learn. They seem to realize that some students find learning difficult and so require extra patience and encouragement.
Today in the United States, 37.1 percent of the teachers are under 30 years of age while 22.8 percent are between 30 and 39 years old. Those between the ages of 40 and 49 make up 17.8 percent of the teaching force while 22.3 percent are over 50.
College training is required today of almost all teachers. In addition, teachers are expected to continue their professional growth throughout their careers. Many teachers use their summer vacation time to take advanced college courses or to attend conventions for teachers in their fields.
Many school districts provide their teachers with conferences and workshops after school hours or special reading materials to be studied at home.
Schools in Canada and the United States need many thousands of new teachers each year. Openings are created by teachers who either retire or go into other lines of work.
Not too long ago almost all elementary school teachers in the United States were women and almost all college and university teachers were men. But this balance is changing slowly and today about 15 percent of the lower grade teachers are men.