What qualifications do you need to be a grade school teacher?

Why would you want to do that, don't you know education is phased out to make room for the more revenue efficent,"Build a prison,close a school" program the Bush adminastration is drafting into law, before his end of term. If you dont believe me,watch or read the news, phase 1 begins in Calfornia,this year,right now, as a matter of fact, its in the news.I think New York, and Florida are next, its a budget thing, "its cheaper to keep em, than teach em". Plus,it frees up more money for government expansion, it takes a lot of money to pay all those people to figure out the best way how "to throw money at a problem" Dontchaknow?

In Thailand...

If you're Thai: being related to/friends with the school administrator, principal, or one of their staff members that are in good with the boss.

If you're a foreign native speaker of Mandarin: you must be fluent in Thai, and know someone who know's someone to get you out of China with a work visa in Thailand

If you're a foreign native speaker of English:
1) you must be white, the whiter the bettter.
2) you must have a college "diploma" - obtainable for 1000 Baht on Kao San Road in Bangkok if you don't have one already.
3) you must not be a KNOWN pedophile or felon, so please don't volunteer this information or advertize your whereabouts to InterPol as no one in Thailand will ever check.
4) [new requirement] you must take a 3 hour Thai "cultural awareness class" at a cost of 500 Baht to the Ministry of Education. There will be no examination at the end, so be sure to be on your honor.
5) Being a washed-up, border-line schizophrenic, alcoholic with a failed marriage and a weakness for Asian bar girls is a plus.

Teacher liscensure?

In Illinois you need a 4 year degree in elementary education and then you will have to take 2-3 state exams to prove you are qualified to teach.

For the state of Utah, you need to graduate with at least a Bachelors Degree.
Most 4-year universities have a comparable teaching program, few have an
excellent one. If you are interested in going to school in this neck of the
woods, you can call any of the universities and they will tell you what they
have to offer.

The answer will vary by state. There are also different levels of teaching licensure, each of which requires different qualifications. In Massachusetts, any college graduate who passes the written exam can be issued a provisional teaching license. But that only lasts for a few years, and to move on to the higher levels (which you need if you're making a long-term career of teaching or want the full salary) you need to get a masters degree, take specific education courses, and complete a lengthy supervised student-teaching practicum. Other states may require more or less than this. Some states require proficiency in the history of that state (I believe Illinois does).