<p>I am going to be a junior in High School, I'm from Illinois, and i want to become a High School English teacher but i have no idea where to start looking when it comes to finding good colleges for becoming an English teacher. I am also very lost as to finding out what i should be doing to prepare for going to college to be one. I'd say i am a pretty good student, i usually get mostly B's some A's but never anything lower than a C-. i do well in English i love to read and understand literature but i do not do so well when it comes to grammar. So, what i pretty much need is finding out good colleges i should be trying to get into, what classes i should take there, and what i should or can be doing in High School for this. I appreciate all help and suggestions.</p>
<p>If you want to stay in Illinois, your best bet is probably to at least START by looking at state colleges and universities. I am a teacher and love it, but you won’t make a ton of money, so you don’t want large college loans to pay off! In-state tuition is bound to be less than out-of-state or private schools.
In addition, each state has its own licensure rules for teachers. While it isn’t hard to get your license in one state and then move to another, you may have to take a course or two in order to meet the NEW state’s requirements.
Most colleges and universities do a pretty decent job of preparing teachers, so find a school that appeals to you - big or little, urban or rural, near home or some distance away.
Go to the website of quite a few schools and request information through the admissions pages. Look at the programs and brochures and pick a few to visit - maybe even this summer. Start close to home. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in a nearby school, you can get an idea of what it is like to scout out a school. Sit through their admissions presentation and meet with an admissions officer and possibly some students and professors. Ask lots of questions, especially about opportunities to get into the classroom even before student teaching and other programs. At each school you visit, you will be honing in on what is important to YOU. You will hear about a variety of programs, classes, school environment, organizations, living arrangements, etc. some you would never think of on your own, but once you hear about them, you will know you WANT that or DON’T want it!
In general, start preparing to take ACT or SAT tests. Summer might give you a chance to take a few practice tests and identify areas on which you could improve. You can check study guides out of the library; don’t worry if they are a few years old, they will still provide some good practice.
Also, start listing all your extra-curricular activities, both in-school and out of school. List jobs, paid and volunteer. You will want to develop a r</p>
<p>English is a classical liberal arts discipline. Google liberal arts colleges and let the fun begin. BTW, I would hope every college large and small offers an English degree. Find one that has a good English program with the necessary credentials and classes to qualify for a teaching certificate. GL</p>
<p>I am in Illinois as well, a Communications major! So we are in neighboring fields.</p>
<p>What type of area do you want to be in? I have my heart kind of set on DePaul or Roosevelt, because of the Loop. I have never even been to Chicago, but I love midtown Manhattan, and apparently the Loop is a distant second.</p>
<p>Start by going to google and typing “il colleges universities”. You ahould get some super helpful links. On any given .edu, click on “academics” and see if they have the program you are looking for. Go from there!</p>
<p>Look up the teacher credentialing requirements for the state you want to teach in.</p>
<p>Fortunately, English literature is a relatively common major in colleges and universities, although some schools may have a larger set of course offerings than others.</p>