This article examines traditional teacher education programs for prospective primary or elementary teachers in the United States. The article first describes the settings, levels, students and curricula of these programs. Two radically different programs are used as examples. Next, the article considers the various controlling agents of U.S. teacher education including federal and state governments and national accreditation bodies. The article then examines several trends in U.S. teacher education, such as alternative certification schemes and increased attention to second language instruction. Finally, the article proposes several ways in which other countries could use this information about teacher education in the United States.