In this document the topic of recognized professions is discussed in terms of the occupations considered to rank as professions and the particular training, obligations, and ethics assumed to have been acquired by a person before he or she can be recognized as a professional. In analyzing the teaching profession, the author outlines the demands and expectations placed upon teachers and defines teaching as a genuine profession (ranking with law and medicine in the fact that students are, in effect, "clients." The implications for teacher education and the selection, recruitment, and certification of teachers are examined in the light of the definition of teaching as a profession. (JD)