i would suggest going to college in a state that has an excellent public school system. I work in northern NJ, and our schools are supported and well funded. Teacher salaries are better than most. It really sucks the life out of you to work in an underfunded school.
In many places, there are in classroom requirements beginning in freshman or sophomore year. It’s not like student teaching because the student isn’t running the class and isn’t there full time, but they are required to be in the classroom X hours per semester to pass that class.
NJWrestlingmom, my best friend’s D is at Rowan. Loves it, but she failed one of the Praxis exams the first time (not the core) because she was battling pneumonia and couldn’t continue with her sequence, so she ended up needing an extra semester to graduate. Some schools still allow students to continue as long as they have it all done by graduation and meet the GPA requirements, which are almost always quite rigorous. My D did adolescent ed, which required the equivalent of a double major. I don’t know where education got the reputation as an easy major.
Anyone considering teaching should definitely review the college’s requirements as well as those of the state because all can vary a lot.
Many of the education courses will have observation components, whether as part of the class itself, or as a separate “lab” course. The sooner the student can get into a classroom to observe, and the more hours required there, the better. I have an MS Ed but no state certification, and teach in adult ed. (ESL and GED prep). Very little of what I do with my students comes from coursework I have taken. Almost everything is from what I learned during classroom observation and a supervised teaching internship. Seeing what works well, what doesn’t work so well, how class time and materials are organized, how much time is needed for planning and prep, all of that is invaluable.
I saw U of MD mentioned up-thread. Towson University just north of Baltimore started its life as the state teacher training institution, and still has a strong reputation for that in this state. If MD is on your radar screen, it could be worth a look.
@zoosermom the Praxis Core math has been a bear for my son!
I scanned the posts and didn’t see these mentioned (although you may not be interested in southern schools)… Vanderbilt (Peabody School), UVa (Curry School) and William & Mary (School of Education). All have very highly regarded Education schools within their college overlays and all hare highly regarded schools in general. My D18 also knew she wanted to teach, however not elementary but 7-12 chemistry/science. So we honed in on schools that had really strong STEM programs with hopefully some research opportunity, in addition to education majors when searching past our in-state safety schools (most state flagships have strong education programs, I know of UAlabama, UMichigan-AnnArbor, and UGeorgia in particular). Not only did we look for direct pathways to license, but also some with the opportunity for a MEd in 5 and engagement/classes focused on education policy and/or curriculum formation. She also considered heavily URichmond because they did not specifically have an undergraduate education program but strong STEM and a MEd5 program (which is really even better in the long run). Also know that every year it gets easier to move your license from state to state (especially for the newest graduates vs those with ‘more experience’) and many states have reciprocal certifications, especially in regions. My D18 ended up at Vandy but isn’t certain where she will land once college is over (most likely not TN). There are several websites where you can see which states have reciprocity with others and if any other specific testing is required to move your certification (I would post a link but I always forget what is allowed on CC). Good luck! And thank you daughter in advance for taking on the much needed role of educating the next generation!!