What to Expect

The attention span of a 10-year-old kid can be incredibly short. Holding it for the length of a class can be an enormous task. Elementary education students spend a lot of time learning techniques to keep their students tuned in.

Deanne Burton has a degree in elementary education. She says professors would ask students in her class to act like elementary school students. Reading off cue cards, some disturbed class presentations by dropping their pencils or making noises. Others would just stare at the floor for minutes.

It was very beneficial, she says. It helped her prepare for the teaching internship at the end of her program.

Still -- the first day of her internship was nerve-wracking. "I thought I was going to die," Burton says.

She didn't. And it turned out to be a rewarding experience.

Emily Spooner is a graduate of the elementary education program at Boston College. She also experienced moments of anxiety during an internship. During her senior year, she spent eight weeks in a second grade classroom.

"I was immediately put in charge of different parts of the curriculum, and found myself with more responsibility than I had anticipated," she says. "I was nervous, but soon realized that the only real way to learn to be a good teacher is through experience."

Spooner was put in charge of the class at the end of the eight weeks and she says it felt incredible. Indeed, she says the best part of her program was working with the students under her care.

"Seeing children benefit and blossoming from my teaching is more rewarding than any high salary or praise from a boss," she says.

But before you can experience the thrill of teaching, you will have to get through all kinds of different classes.

"I was required to complete a variety of classes, from general history, writing, literature and mathematics courses to in-depth education courses on classroom management and special education," says Spooner.

The study of technology is also an important part of the curriculum. Burton had to learn how to incorporate different forms of technology, from transparent overheads to web pages, into the classroom.

You will also get a lot of training in public speaking if you get this kind of degree. Burton says she often had to do two presentations a day. "If you don't like public speaking, or if you are not prepared to become a public speaker and an advocate for children, this is probably not the profession for you," she says.

Make sure that teaching is something you are going to love to do, says Spooner.

"It is difficult, it is trying and it is the most incredible thing you can do for society. When I leave my job every day, I know I have made a difference. Even in the tiniest little way, I have touched a life. And that is why I teach."