The Education Major

Departments of Education exist in the belief that there is some art or science or magic required to teach children, apart from a sound knowledge of the subject being taught.  A LOT of students take an Ed major.  I still remember registration at U of Delaware years ago.  The line to register for Ed courses ran around the gym a couple of times, whereas the lines for everything else (English, history, math, chemistry, physics etc) were only a dozen students or so. 
   Unfortunately, there is no art or science of teaching.  Effective teachers use interpersonal skills, such as leadership,  concern for their students, love of their subject, to maintain classroom order and get teaching accomplished.  As an example, some of the best teachers I ever had where in the Air Force.  We took sergeants right off the flight line and set them down to teach in the Field Training Detachments (FTD).  I took a number of FTD courses.  Those young sergeants were very good teachers, as good as any I'd ever had.  Their classes were all 19 year old airmen, full of energy and short on patience, ready to give the teacher a hard time.  No problem, these guys got their student's full attention, they even got them to do their home work, and they came out of the course knowing more than when they entered.  No ed courses required.
   Should you take an Ed major?  It does give you instant access to public school teaching positions.  The entire public school hierarchy is composed of Ed majors,  they only hand out teacher's certificates to fellow Ed majors.  It is possible to break into public school teaching without an Ed major, but it is very hard. 
   The down side to an Ed major is terminal boredom while in college.  The subject matter is zilch, and you have to suffer thru a dozen courses that hash over the same nothingness, over and over.  If you can stand the endless drivel, it's easy to ace an Ed course, all you have to do is stay awake in class and take a few notes. 
   For those who really do want to teach, major in English or history or mathematics.  Look for a job in private or parochial schools, they are less infested with Ed majors and are apt to hire you after a successful job interview.  After a couple of years teaching you can apply for a public school job (which usually pay better) and they will assume anyone who survived a couple of years of classroom teaching can teach.