Teaching Profession, History of

Teaching is the mechanism by which skills and knowledge are imparted to an individual, and society has entrusted teachers with the responsibility of providing the populace with the skills and knowledge deemed necessary to engage as citizens and lead productive and meaningful lives. To be effective, teaching must be interesting, stimulating, challenging, and satisfying, and it must result in learning that is culturally significant, is valued by society at large, and prepares individuals to meet the needs of their changing world.

The American public school system was built on the premise that the quality of education children receive can have a tremendous impact on their quality of life and their ability to become contributing members of society, especially given the demands of globalization in the twenty-first ...