Famous Celebrities Who Used to Be Teachers

Celebrity Teachers

Whoever said, "Those who can't, teach," has never met this group of celebrities. Here are some teachers who went on to slightly higher-paying careers.

Sting

Although the students would have referred to him as Mr. Sumner, Sting went to the Northern Counties Teacher's Training College from 1971 to 1974 and taught for two years at St. Pauls First School in Cramlington in northeast England. As an elementary level school teacher Sting taught a variety of subjects.

According to one source, Sting used to write songs while his students were taking tests.

Stephen King

Best-selling horror-author Stephen King graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Maine. He also received a certificate to teach high school. King lived in a rundown trailer while teaching English at the Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine. Hampden is a public high school established in 1803.

King wrote short stories to help make ends meet and began a few novels while he taught - one of which was Carrie, the novel that would launch his career.

Gene Simmons

After graduating high school, Gene Simmons went to college to get a degree in education. While in college he performed in a number of bands, which never went anywhere. Simmons graduated college and became an elementary school teacher in Spanish Harlem before finally meeting up with Paul Stanley and launching KISS.

Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel, as half of Simon and Garfunkel, on of the most successful duos of all time, earned a Bachelor's Degree in Art history and a Master's degree in mathematics. Garfunkel met Paul Simon in sixth grade and the two performed underthe names Tom and Jerry. Garfunkle adopted the monicker, Tom Graph (showing his early interest in mathematics) because he liked to graph hits from the pop charts.

After college, Garfunkel taught at the Litchfield Preparatory School in Connecticut, during which time "Bridge Over Troubled Water" became a hit.

Roberta Flack