Teaching is a high and honorable calling.  Teaching teachers is a high, honorable, and hard calling.  Teaching others how to teach is confusing to say the least.  It is difficult to teach others to get inside the heads of their students and understand how they learn.  For those that are called, it is necessary to obtain a masters degree in teaching education.  The requirements are much the same as that for a teacher, as a Bachelor's degree in education must first be earned.  Whatever your specialization area for your Bachelor's, that is what you will be certified to teach others to teach when your complete your Master's.

Often times one does not realize the desire to teach education until they are well into their teaching career.  Something about teaching younger people makes them realize they really want to teach others to be teachers.  This requires them to go back to school to obtain a masters degree in teaching education.   While it can be done more quickly by devoting all of your time to it, many do not want to give up teaching in the process.  In this case, it is possible to work toward the graduate degree at night, on weekends, and online.

A masters degree in teaching education not only opens the door to teach education at the university level, it can open other doors as well.  Administrative positions in your current school or at different schools become a possibility, including vice principal and principal positions.  Pay usually increases in these areas with a Master's degree as well.  It can be time consuming, and it may get old attending classes on weekends and at night, even if it is done in online, but it is most often very worth it in the end.  The long days and weekends are only short term and the benefits are long lasting. 

It can take anywhere from a year to two years to obtain a masters degree in teaching education. It all depends on the specific program, and the time you have to put into it.  If you are able to devote your time solely to obtaining the degree, or work quickly, you may be able to complete it faster than you would be able to otherwise.  There are programs that allow for all of the work to be done online, as well as those the incorporate a combination of online and traditional learning.

Though it is not necessary to stop teaching during the time you are working toward a masters degree in teaching education, it is important to realize it will be hard work and it will be time consuming.  The key is to remember the payoff in the long run along with the fact that the school work phase is only temporary.  The support of family and friends as well as your boss and co-workers is extremely important, even vital, to successfully completing the program.   Once complete, enjoy the benefits of higher pay and more opportunities as you feel great about yourself for what you have accomplished.