"To be a math teacher, you need to follow the three P's: patience, persistence, and preparation. Keeping these in mind will make you the most successful math teacher you can be." Two of these, patience and persistence, you are either born with or can learn - they are universal to all good teachers. Preparation is determined by a number of things: the schools you attend, your location, and your subject matter. It is preparation over which you have the least internal control.
Patience
Some people are born with it and nurture it. Some people can learn it. Some people are born with it and don't realize it. I am part of the last group. To me, patience isn't something I consciously think about; patience is an offshoot of the compassion I feel for my students. When I watch students in the classroom, I can see the students who understand the concepts immediately, and I can see the students who struggle. While I praise those who grasp things quickly, I also make a conscious effort to give additional help to those who don't. Patience, to me, is what allows me to fall behind in the "agenda" of the math curricular plan. Patience is what allows me to reevaluate each year what I feel is important for students to learn. It is what motivates me to repeat lessons that students don't understand; to present those lessons from the perspective of several different learning styles.
Persistence
Patience and persistence go hand in hand. I think that, more than most subjects, math teachers have to be persistent. In no other subject have I heard the volume of "why do I have to learn this." Math teachers need to be persistent in their teaching in order to have students understand the importance of math in their daily lives.
Preparation
States differ in the preparation that is involved in becoming a math teacher. To teach math at the elementary school level (considered grades Kindergarten - 6), you will need to have a bachelor's degree (from a four-year college/university) in elementary education, student teaching experience, and, in some states, you will have to pass a basic competency exam. To teach math at the middle or high school levels, you need additional education: a bachelor's degree in mathematics, the required educational methods courses, student teaching experience, and, in some states, you will have to pass a basic competency exam.
