I did not mean to imply that what I said applied to all teachers, Matt.
However,
here it seems more important that one holds a Diploma of Education, than it is to be able to read, write and spell.
I have an undergraduate degree, a post graduate degree, and two professional qualifications. I could teach a Dip. Ed. course, but I'll be damned if I will do one! I've retired now, so it's academic for me.
I also taught for a
semester (actually a term, but schools don't seem to understand the difference, and routinely refer to "four semesters a year"!!) at a private school about 20 years ago.
However, that Dip Ed is kept as a barrier to entry by the Teachers' Union, to keep otherwise highly educated people out of the teaching profession.
Our major universities have remedial English classes for native speakers who have supposedly satisfactorily completed 12 years of schooling ...
.
And we have a shortage of teachers, even though their pay is within the top 7% of all earners here.