A question from a reader:
Hi Ms. Ravitch,
As a young person (about to finish undergrad) interested in potentially becoming a teacher but with a lack of formal educational training, I’m wondering if you might have some recommendations for me, for strong fellowship/teacher-training programs.
TFA doesn’t seem to provide enough support to its teachers (and in so doing, to the students they teach). Working for a huge corporately-run charter school (even if it does provide more support than TFA would for newbies) doesn’t seem fair either, particularly when it takes up building space, doesn’t train a culturally-sensitive or critical-thinking approach to teaching, and siphons money away from public schools. Trying NYC Teaching Fellows looks like it might also be a bust, for lots of the same reasons that TFA is. Is there ANYWHERE I can go with little prior formal teaching education to get a fair, supportive, and well-structured start to a future teaching career, or should I just go back to school?
Thanks for your advice,
Pendle
Diane Ravitch's blog 
All schools are the same as they all must follow a standardized mentallity. Hang in there, help is on the way. http://www.wholechildreform.com The truth be told…. and it’s about time http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-agenda-of-children-or-how-to-piss.html
Is this a joke? If not, how about going back to a local University with a strong teacher certification program. Go over to your local high school, middle school, or elementary school and ask to talk to the principal. Ask them what university and qualifications do they best feel will help them, their students, and you be successful.
Best advice: Get into a highly regarded University Masters program that will give you, not only the academic background but, and most importantly, a firm foundation with the practical necessities of teaching through more than methods courses. You need real field work, real student teaching that provides great mentoring with both a cooperating teacher and a clinical supervisor with loads of good teaching experience that you can really learn from.
From a personal perspective, trust the best teachers you ever had and ask them too.
I might also suggest you read my Doing The Right Thing: A Teacher Speaks.
I will send you a free copy. (This is not an advertisement. I believe in what I wrote and stand by it.)
South Carolina has a very successful alternative program called PACE. With a degree in a critical subject area like mah or a desire to teach in a critical needs school, a person can teach while completing a three year program. They get strong supervision and mentoring.
The catch is one have to have worked for at least two years after graduation.
I’ve seen strong teachers come through PACE.
If you live in New England I would recommend the Upper Valley Educators Institute in Lebanon NH. Here’s a link: http://uvei.edu. You will attend class with folks like yourself, folks who are changing careers, and folks who are seeking second careers… and you will be mentored by veteran teachers who have lots of practical experience, and you will receive lots of practical experience.
In Texas we do not understand at the classroom level the attack on public school throughout the rest of the country. Make no mistake however this is not a joke and Texas has opened the door and is rapidly moving toward the reality above unless the classroom teacher begin to pay attention and lift their voices.
Teaching Fellows programs, with few exceptions, are as problematic as TFA, so you are wise to avoid those.
I know a very successful teacher who worked for two years as a substitute teacher by day while earning her teaching credential at night. That is just anecdotal evidence, but it could be one way to get real classroom experience (and a paycheck) before taking on the responsibility of your own classroom.
Substitute teacher credentialing requirements vary by state and district, so this may or may not be possible where you live.
A lot of teachers cut their eye teeth with substitute teaching. It’s a way to get experience in all sorts of situations, but it’s not an easy job. I call it “paying our dues”.
My suggestion is to go back to school for a dual master’s/teaching certification program. It’s what I did many years ago when I suddenly realized that soon I would have a BA in history and not a clue what to do with it. The graduate coursework will give the writer the necessary skills and knowledge to be a better teacher.
+1
After meeting and marrying a wonderful teacher I converted my marine science degree into a K-12 science teaching certification while simultaneously earning my masters in education. My full year internship at a middle school preceded my student teaching at the same school. Get as much experience in the classroom as you can before jumping into the deep end!
If someone asked how to become an engineer or a doctor, or any number of skilled occupations, the answer would be to go to college and take the necessary courses; to get the necessary degrees. So my answer is that you are not finished with college – you need to do the coursework to get a degree in teaching.
Kitty Vangunten
See if you can observe classes in the town/city where you’re interested in teaching. Start with classes that are in your Major. Follow the class over a period of time/days. First time you’re on the room, the students may “play nice.” After they’ve gotten used to your presence, true personalities may appear.
Take come education courses. Question your true motives. Is it really what you’re looking to do as your career?
I cannot be certain, of course, that this is the best advice for the very particular person who prompted this posting.
But I do think your suggestions are excellent and practical. I would only add that if the individual in question could actively participate [e.g., as a volunteer or tutor] that would enhance the experience.
Just my dos centavitos worth…
Thank you for your comments.
😎
I like your suggestions (2 cents). Actual experience is the only true way to know. I’ve seen a number of teachers come and GO, over the last 2 years, since the advent of the Dreaded CCSS/Vam-based Evals. In my school, New teachers are working in a very tense atmosphere (I’m being polite).
Volunteering for a trip, or something easy is not teaching. Living the daily grind is the only way to know if you’ve got what it takes.
You’re right akgreenberg, volunteering and even substituting is not the path to teaching. It is the route to seeing if you really want to PURSUE teaching. Too many people make the commitment and almost complete the coursework only discover when they are student teaching that education is the last career they want for their future. Even worse, they graduate and actually get that first job only to quit a short time later. It happens all the time.
So, before a student incurs a large amount of debt, tip you little toe in the water. (I also gave my daughters the same advice about going into the medical field – two were what we used to refer to as “candy stripers”.)
Since my mom and uncle were teachers, I was able to volunteer in their schools, not only in their classes, but in the other teacher’s classrooms (while a senior in high school and freshman in college). It was an invaluable experience. The highlight for me was chaperoning several overnight camping trips with the sixth graders. I got to see both perspectives – as a student and as a teacher.
This sort if experience will give you a taste of teaching to see if you want to make it a career.
Go back to school. Many classmates in college will already be teachers and will give you good insights into the profession. Have the intern/student teaching experience which lasts from at least half a year to a full year, there are no 5 week substitutes for this experience. By listing all of the cons of the “programs” you answered you own question.
Getting your Master’s in education seems like a perfect fit. You seem to want to do the right thing for your future students, and my recommendation as a retired teacher is to get more training. Pick the school carefully because you need lots of time in the classroom with an experienced teacher so that you can get some on-the-job training before you enter the classroom on your own. Best of luck to you in the future —
Sandra Wickham
Woodland Park, CO
If one of my children asked me this question I would focus on their long term success. If they are 100% certain they want to be a teacher, I would recommend going back to school in a MAT, Post Bac, or Masters program. I would also guide them to Diane Ravitch’s blog, BATs, etc, so they could learn how the profession has and is changing. I don’t know the content covered in the TFA training but I understand that it is 5 weeks. I question how anyone can develop the skills and knowledge base needed to become an effective teacher in that time frame. Granted, I would enjoy the opportunity to review their curriculum. I do not recommend online programs for initial licensure but some schools offer blended programs that are high quality. In the end we all make our own decisions and this individual needs to make this decision based upon what is best for them and most important what is best for their future students.
Dr. B.
Teaching is a profession. In order to become a professional, you need professional training. There is no simple workaround for becoming a concert violinist, or a fireman, or a medical doctor, or a skilled plumber. You will need a professional training, period.
So why not get back to school and receive that training? It will include both disciplinary knowledge, practical teaching skills, and an understanding of the people (children) you teach. You need all of these three to become a succesful teacher.
Take the teaching profession seriously, and it will take you seriously. There is no workaround, sorry. Not even in times of a lack of qualified teachers. We won’t lower the bar, because we owe our children that we won’t lower it.
Pendle, honey,
If you really want to become a classroom teacher, go back to school and do it right.
–Mercedes Schneider
A Real Classroom Teacher Who Spent Six Years at LSU in Order to Do It Right
Agree! Go back to school and do it right. Think for yourself and please question the DEFORMS.
The last thing on earth I ever thought of doing was teaching in a public school. I earned a BA in Theatre Arts and set out on a long journey in pursuit of becoming a theatre artist. Along the way, I began to teach classes and workshops on creative dramatics at various venues and found out that I enjoyed teaching drama and I became quite good at it. Fast forward twenty plus years and I applied for a job of drama teacher in a new public magnet school for the arts in my home city. I was hired even though I was not certified. It was all a big experiment and federal funds were guaranteed for the first year. I was told not to count on the job as a permanent one.
Surprise surprise! The school took off and became wildly successful! My principal suggested I go back to school to earn those education credits that would get me a license and a full time teaching position. I did that and have been happily teaching in this school for 20 years. I give you my teaching story synopsis in order to prove a point — teaching is not something you learn over night. A fast track to teaching will probably not give you the training you need to succeed. I would have floundered big time, if not for the art teacher across the hall that first year, who clued me in on all the things I didn’t know about teaching in a public school system, which is very different from teaching in a studio situation.
Teach for America and other such insta-teach programs are designed for short term hires. Very few last longer than three years. Which the new corporate ed folks love because that keeps the pay scale incredibly low. Teachers like me, who have been in the system long enough to earn a decent salary and good health benefits, are being pushed out the door. Our wonderful arts-integrated magnet school is now suffering the indignities of Common Core curriculum and Race to the Top mandates meant to humiliate experienced teachers. Our teachers cannot use our wonderful arts integrated lessons any more — the academic teachers must use scripted lessons purchased from the likes of Pearson. Meanwhile, the arts teachers are made to waste incredible amounts of time on collecting data on our young students — not to improve their growth, but rather to grade the teachers. Students are pulled out of arts classes to take computerized standardized tests. 4th graders are reading about Child Labor Laws in their Language Arts classes. 8th graders are reading about Forensic Anthropology in their LA classes. Why can’t they read about famous artists or the physics of ballet or the chemical compounds in paint? They can’t because those things won’t be on the BIG TESTS that are focused on the Common Core. It’s much easier to pay big bucks to get materials that focus on the tests, even though our students are not being served by the reform materials.
So to answer your question directly, go back to school but make sure the school is not buying into all the reform tactics. I wonder if there is such a school left in this country?
It depends on which state the potential teacher is from and what his/her certification will be in.
Do not take shortcuts…apply to a good graduate school and work on your Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in the area you wish to be certified in ( I suggest you look for areas of greatest need). You will very likely need to student teach. The time goes by quickly…trust me…this is the avenue I took..28 years teaching math in NYS to date.
The only major concern I have with the suggestion of getting a master’s degree is that it may mean this person will make it impossible to get hired. Districts won’t often hire newbies with master’s degrees because of the cost. If this person wants to get certification, he or she could probably get into a teacher certification program at the university he or she currently attends or another university with a strong education program. With already having a degree, the certification program will probably take a year or a year and a half, including student teaching.
An excellent point, well stated.
I think the vast majority of us with education experience would caution you not to enter the teaching profession. It’s more of a temp job than a career nowadays, and not one that is easy to transfer. When I quit teaching and got out in the real world to apply for jobs, no one was impressed with my years of teaching experience. I couldn’t even apply to manage a store or restaurant because I didn’t have retail/restaurant experience. No one sees the ability to manage a classroom and all that that entails as transferrable experience. My ed degree and work experience did not set me up for a good future. I don’t recommend my path to others.
If you want to help children, volunteer in a school. You’ll do much more good than the test-givers (that’s what I call “teachers” since they are no longer allowed to teach.)
That attitude only makes things worse.
Planned obsolescence is not part of a quality teacher education program nor is it part of the mind set of dedicated educators. Quality teachers have learned to close their doors and teach creatively and effectively while still meeting the federally mandated requirements that have been passed down to, states, LEAs, and teachers. It isn’t easy, but I don’t know any professor of education that would say teaching us easy. It is a hard job with little extrinsic reward, but potentially a great deal of instrinsic value.
Dr. B.
Sadly, there is a lot to consider if one wants to enter the profession of teaching right now.
In Connecticut, many universities offer the essential teaching courses (Methods for teaching, Ed. Philosophy, SPED, etc) at the graduate level. It includes student teaching and support through your initial years of teaching.
Unfortunately, our Commissioner of Education and all who pretend to support public education are re-writing the requirements “on the fly’ so they can hire whomever they want, despite the fact these people are not the most highly qualified.
While holding new and existing teachers to high standards, and expensive hoops through which we must jump, they are alternatively paving the way for those whose background is more effective at taking over schools and handing them to privatizers, all in the name of educational equity. I think “spreading the wealth” to corporations is what they really meant:
Paul Vallas – Supt in B’port: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/07/21/the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth/
Steve Perry: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/10/22/man-teaching-experience-calls-americas-trusted-educator/
Steven Adamowski: No experience as an educator? No problem. Re-name the job to “special master” http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/10/07/windham-parents-teachers-speak-adamowski/
Shannon Marimon: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/12/13/commissioner-pryors-education-department-connecticut-experts-need-apply/
ALTERNATIVE route via TFA – http://www.teachforamerica.org/where-we-work/connecticut and http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/08/29/think-bridgeports-tfa-issue-bad-try-windhams/
But somehow TFA preparation programs escaped the scrutiny of this organization which claims to rate the effectiveness of teacher programs: http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2013_Report
Maybe don’t come to Connecticut.
Sadly, there is a lot to consider if one wants to enter the profession of teaching right now.
In Connecticut, many universities offer the essential teaching courses (Methods for teaching, Ed. Philosophy, SPED, etc) at the graduate level. It includes student teaching and support through your initial years of teaching.
Unfortunately, our Commissioner of Education and all who pretend to support public education are re-writing the requirements “on the fly’ so they can hire whomever they want, despite the fact these people are not the most highly qualified.
While holding new and existing teachers to high standards, and expensive hoops through which we must jump, they are alternatively paving the way for those whose background is more effective at taking over schools and handing them to privatizers, all in the name of educational equity. I think “spreading the wealth” to corporations is what they really meant:
Paul Vallas – Supt in B’port: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/07/21/the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth/
Steve Perry: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/10/22/man-teaching-experience-calls-americas-trusted-educator/
Steven Adamowski: No experience as an educator? No problem. Re-name the job to “special master” http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/10/07/windham-parents-teachers-speak-adamowski/
Shannon Marimon: http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/12/13/commissioner-pryors-education-department-connecticut-experts-need-apply/
ALTERNATIVE route via TFA – http://www.teachforamerica.org/where-we-work/connecticut and http://jonathanpelto.com/2013/08/29/think-bridgeports-tfa-issue-bad-try-windhams/
But somehow TFA preparation programs escaped the scrutiny of this organization which claims to rate the effectiveness of teacher programs: http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2013_Report
Maybe don’t come to Connecticut.
Consider a second B.S. I’m assuming you’re graduating with great strength in a content area, now focus on children and instructional strategies for the ultimate trifecta. Teaching is serious and strenuous work, when done correctly. If you want to do what is needed for children and their education you need to ensure you are well versed and skilled in the foundations of child/adolescent development, curriculum and instruction, and content. There are no shortcuts to developing the knowledge and skills necessary to be a quality effective teacher, especially when you understand the significance your preparation, or lack of preparation, will have on the futures of children.
Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana has a 9 month Masters in Education program in which you also get your teaching certificate. It’s an intensive program with two semesters of coursework with instruction from high quality faculty overlaid with two different field experiences and followed by a semester long student teaching placement. You finish the program with your masters coursework completed but you don’t get your masters degree until you have a job and complete a capstone project. For this you use your own classroom for your research on a topic of your choosing and you have to give a presentation to peers, the current cohort of Masters students, and instructors. I am a graduate of this program in my 9th year of teaching at a Title 1 school.
Before Pendle commits to an elementary, middle school, or high school teacher preparation program, I suggest spending time in the classroom as a substitute teacher. It’s not the same as teaching, but you will get exposure to the various grade levels and that will help identify your “best fit”. I would also recommend earning a master’s degree over a second bachelor’s. Should you decide on middle school, earn multiple certifications/endorsements and be open to teaching a variety of subjects.
Go back to school. Most states still require some form of structured program from an accredited school of education to become fully certified in that state—this would include taking the required tests, student teaching hours, etc. Having said that, my experience in teaching in a school of education was disturbing. All the reports written about the shortfalls of schools of education are true: not enough hours required in subject matter fields, poorly designed student-teaching experiences, and no instruction in pedagogical content knowledge. Some of the elite schools of education (e.g. Columbia, University of Michigan, etc.) to have programs that overcome these problems, but the cost and gaining admission would be a challenge. I should add, that I have had several young people talk to me about careers in education and must be honest, that in this new accountability driven environment, schools are not enjoyable places to work. I started teaching in the 60’s and was a principal up until 2002 and had a wonderful experience in teaching and administration. But from my new role as consultant and university advisor teaching is not a career anymore —its a job. A conversation I had with a kindergarten teacher of 15 years says it all: “You know, I just don’t know what I am doing anymore. Honestly, I thought I was really getting good at teaching. Now, I’m recording data on I Pads, giving tests all the time to five year olds, and writing lesson plans with standards that make no sense to the kids in my class. I have given up, just tell me what to do.”
In Colorado try http://www.boettcherteachers.org/
As much as we need good teachers I would tend to agree with ex teacher. There is so much political intrigue going on now. If you REALLY wish to teach, there is nothing like interacting with children of all ages. I LOVED teaching but was so glad to get out because good teaching is unrecognized all too often and the political intrigue is so prevalent. I personally could not recommend teaching as a “profession” any more as it seems to me it has become something other than that.
If determined to do so: good luck. Again, great teaching is essential if this country is to continue to be great.
Advice above is good. Research carefully before making a final commitment. Best wishes. Maybe things will change. Dr. Ravitch and others are working hard to change things. Hopefully they will be successful.
I got a background check and did the two-day training course to become a certified substitute in WV (where subs make 80% of a teacher’s salary). I enrolled at Marshall University and took nine hours of special ed course work. I bid on a special Ed Jo , was placed on an emergency certification permit, and spent six years as a special ed teacher. During that time I drove to Georgia repeatedly and sat their GACE tests for a variety of test-only add-on certifications that transferred back to WV through reciprocity agreement. Now I’m a Title I math interventionist in a middle school setting, teacher mentor, and president of AFT Local 4906. Support? It helps to be married to an educator. My district was very supportive, too.
In case folks don’t know: The NYC Teaching Fellows Program requires that you pursue a masters degree concurrently with the beginning of one’s teaching. From the tenor of the commenters on this blog, my guess is that this wouldn’t pass muster around here, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone here knew that a masters degree is part of that program.
I taught very briefly and loved the job but hated the employer/environment. It was not a good fit for me, and I didn’t have any teacher training to know why and be able to troubleshoot. But I’ve worked for nearly 4 years as an education researcher now, and have learned that my instincts were good, I just needed support that wasn’t being offered. I recommend volunteering as a tutor, finding opportunities to lead trainings/meetings as a way to determine if you have good instincts.
I’m actually in a similar boat. I know I am going to make a great teacher, in spite of my bad start, and am trying to figure out the best way to get into the profession. My own mentor told me that a Curriculum degree was worth less than a content degree (she taught high school social studies), which is why I have considered TFA and AmeriCorps. The challenge is the expense. I already have student loans from undergrad and a tiny tiny one from grad school (almost paid my way through that working 20 hours/wk!) and TFA, AmeriCorps, and student teaching won’t give me enough financial support to comfortably pursue my dream of being an educator. Still, a degree program (MT or MA/Curr and Instr) is what I’m leaning toward.
My other alternative? Work a while and generate a strong retirement and investment portfolio, with a hefty emergency fund and savings account. Then, I won’t have to worry about money when I jump in.
Good luck from a fellow traveler!
Private school teachers make a lot less, but don’t have to deal with No Child Left Behind, Race To the Top insanity. As a parent, I found that some teachers know content, but cannot maintain order.
Whatever path you take Pendle, I highly recommend the Rick Lavoie dvd programs and his workshops, if he comes to your town. One child of mine has a brain totally incompatible with the U.S. K-12 sort students by birth year system. NCLB,RTTT have further intensified problems with this system. Rick Lavoie does a fantastic job of explaining how the brains of students not in the middle of the bell curve of grade level by birth year system work. If you university public library or local public library don’t carry them, you might request that they purchase them. There is also interlibrary loan. The first program FAT City, the Frustration, Anxiety, Tension worksop is one of the best selling educational tapes/dvds. Tle little clips on youtube aren’t a substitute for watching the dvd.
First, make sure you really want to do this. It’s a mostly thankless job at the moment, so you need to be the type of person who finds their own reward in it (if you like kids, this shouldn’t be difficult). Even so, I know a lot of excellent teachers who are looking to retire or move onto something else, some of whom periodically go home crying at night. For this, you might consider volunteering and/or substitute teaching. Do this at several schools so you can get a feel for the variety out there.
Assuming you want to continue, get your education degree. There are more than a few good teachers at my school that started out as Teacher Assistants. They earned their degree while getting practical experience in the classroom. It also put them a step ahead when it came time to start interviewing.
Above all, whether you are volunteering, substituting, TAing, or interning, be on the lookout for friendly teachers who know what they’re doing and learn from them.
There might be some local programs that do a good job with their alternative programs (someone mentioned PACE in SC above); however, there really are no good shortcuts. A good alternative program is going to take the same time and effort as getting your ed degree. Someone mentioned getting an MA in education, which can be a good plan. I have my BA in English and my MA in English Ed. I somehow ended up as an ESE teacher in an elementary school, but that’s a story for another day.
Good luck to you!
I would strongly recommend a master’s level program with a strong on-site component … for example: http://www.relay.edu/programs/
Not buying it… clearly a plant.
She is legit. I know her. I am the principal of a public school and we have a meeting scheduled for me to help her navigate.
don’t be so cynical.
Montclair Urban Teaching Fellowship. It’s a master’s and structured and supported urban teaching.
How can someone with enough incite to understand that TFA doesn’t give enough teacher support and that charters drain money from public schools not understand that teaching is an extremely complex profession, just like becoming a physician? Would Pendle ask how to become a surgeon without having to go to medical school? If by any chance this person is sincere, s/he needs to follow some of the good advice already given above. Get inside a school and learn all you can. Clearly, you have no idea how complex and incredibly important good teaching really is. You need to fully understand that before you proceed. Then, if you have a good background in content knowledge, do go for your masters in education. Here in NYS teachers do have to have one to attain professional certification. Make certain the program you choose has a well developed student teaching program. No matter how gifted your theory and methods education classes, you have to put them into practice under the supervision of experienced teachers and college supervisors. And be prepared to work harder than you ever have in your life! You will not receive much gratitude from the public, but the first time you see a student’s eyes light up with understanding when you have helped him/her get there, you’ll know what an amazing career it really is!
I can’t remember the statistics on how many new K-12 teachers out of college don’t even last 5 years, but my memory is that it is very high. If university education programs reaaly were effective at preparing teachers, would this dropout of teachers leaving teaching be so high?
Are the teachers that do remain in the teaching profession doing so because of the quality of their college program, or because they stick it out and figure out how to survive the system on their own?
I think teachers should go through a high quality training program. Just not sure how many of them there are.
Chris, the number of teachers who leave within their first five years of teaching is cited usually as 40-50%.
As far as I know the numbers Diane posted are correct and AT&T the rate veteran teachers are leaving early the average length of service that was @ 15 years in 1990 is now < 5 years.
Thus there are a few questions. One revolves around proper preparations, the second revolves around quality mentoring and supervision, and the third revolves around having a workplace census ice to the creative work that teaching is….
I’m not too sure it’s necessarily the teacher’s training programs at fault here. We need to look at teachers’ working conditions, which can chip away at a young teacher’s idealism pretty quickly. Twelve hour plus days, lack of adequate planning time, clueless administrators, isolation, increasingly uncontrollable children, underfunded schools, lack of support from parents, and unrealistic mandates would make any sane person bolt for the door as soon as he/she could. The miracle is that so many teachers stay.
Do we know for sure that this 40% of dropouts is due to not liking being a teacher? is it possible that a lot of the teachers leave to start a family? I know at least 5 woman who left the profession to start families. They would not have stayed working with more training or mentoring, it was a life choice.
Your claim about starting families was at least as prevalent prior to 1990 when the decline in tenure began. Perhaps the real question is how many loved their jobs enough to come back.
Boston Teacher Residency! Or any Urban Teacher Residency United program.
My professor at University of Michigan, Magdalene Lampert, is teaching in this program and I think it’s a great option: http://bostonteacherresidency.org You’d have to commit to teaching in Boston’s public schools for 3 years. There are similar programs in other urban areas.
She is a good teacher and that program is strong. I want to reiterate the point made above that one shouldn’t presume one will be prepared as a professional educator by taking the shortest, easiest path. Georgia College has an excellent undergrad program, very high retention rates (over 90% of graduates are in the field after 5 years–about double the typical outcome), and highly sought teachers. I’d check it out,
Chris, the documentary, “American Teacher” is all about our high teacher drop-out rate. It shows why some teachers leave the profession and also gives ideas for what happens in other countries that do not lose so many teachers. It is definitely worth watching.
Try Notre Dame’s ACE Teacher program. The ACE teachers in my school get a LOT of support from their professors and mentors in the program and many of them are good teachers.
I second this option. There are also many programs based off the structure of the ACE program offered through various Catholic Colleges throughout the US.
The ACE Program website is a good place to start:
http://ace.nd.edu
You could do what I did. With a science degree in astronomy and another in physics, I went to work at a university (Medical School, strangely). At most universities, employees get free tuition and classes, and I picked up my Education classes (those needed for certification) for free while engaging in science research (that I loved) in a department that had too much “campus politics” for my taste.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the courses necessary for certification. I found that some of the most interesting and enlightening work I have done was as a result of fulfilling those requirements (but, at the graduate level… I must say that the very few “education” courses I needed to take at the undergrad level were not as worthwhile. In those undergrad-level courses, students often sat like fungi trying to discover what to regurgitate, which was far from stimulating).
I have never second-guessed my choice to jump to secondary education. With degrees in specialty areas, a keen interest in psychology and a desire to help the next generation, I found the career of my dreams. The kids are great, the administrators vary. I’ve worked with some very fine minds in fine schools, and have been subjected to some pretty bad administrators (but only for a year or two, as I had the credentials to move on at will).
As a person with a specialty degree as well as certification credentials, you will have that same freedom. However, don’t try this path unless you are VERY certain that you have the depth of commitment to the next generation that will allow you to justify the loss of income (and, now, respect) as well as the tremendous workload that you will face.
I have taught both in public and independent schools, and there are still good public schools and bad independent schools. The administration is key (look for a headmaster or superintendent that shares your vision). You interview them, and don’t settle for less than you want. In your early years, no matter how excellent your preparation, you will need support. Wisdom comes with experience.
Teaching is a “calling”, it is not a “job”. Don’t enter the profession on a whim.
Perhaps outside your plans, but there’s always international experience like the Peace Corps. I joined after floating around a year after college, in 1983. It was these two years of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) that led me into the profession, gave me solid training (and, most importantly, experience). I followed that with grad school and, 30 years later, I’m still teaching, though now it’s social studies. Worth considering, and it looks great on a resume!
The Urban Teacher Residency Programs can be good training with a full-year of class time and coursework to ramp up and get ready. And then there is also good support once you have your own classroom (still not near Finland or needed prep, but about as good as it gets here). I’m sure the quality of the program in each city varies, so some research will be needed. They all prepare and qualify you to teach in their district schools. Another option, as you said, is to go back to school. Again, there are good teacher education programs at many of the universities. They may not all be good, but there are some truly excellent ones.
Thanks! Can you remember any of the truly excellent ones?
You are correct in your assessment of TFA, teaching Fellows,etc. As a veteran successful NYC Eng teacher for 51 years, I recommend, wholeheartedly, that you go back to school and enter a teacher training program that includes methods of teaching, child and adolescent psychology classroom managemen techniques,,lesson planning and most important ,student teaching!!!Read my book,As Bad AS THEY SAY, Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx, published by Fordham Press and lavishly praised by Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kole, NY review of books,etc.It is used in Princeton U as a guide for new teachers in urban areas. Good luck! Janet Mayer
Univ. of Mich. has a good MAT program with a good balance of pedagogical courses and addition substantive work. Some with a BA take jobs in boarding schools, and learn the content and the craft that way. If you want to teach, that’s great. If you want to “save the world” through teaching don’t bother. What’s your major?
I don’t see why wanting to make the world a better place and wanting to teach are incompatible…. I’m in the social sciences, and I also study Romance languages.
There are any number of colleges that offer 5th year programs to prepare someone to teach. Another option would be to get a masters in teaching that would incorporate those courses you need from the undergraduate program. These transition programs do a good job preparing slightly to significantly older students for classroom teaching. Look for programs strong in the level you are interested in. Be sure that you will have the student teaching option and check out the certification requirements in the state you would like to teach in. Another option would be to become a teacher aide for a year or two to see education from the inside.
Yes, if they have a good math background they should check out MATH for America which is 180 degrees different from TFA.