<p>I see numerous students (ie: prospectives, first-years) come on these boards, and I have yet to see anyone interested in the field of education. </p>
<p>If you are, feel free to contact me. I'm currently enrolled in the 5 yr BA/MT programUVA & Curry School of Education. And yes, I'm a malea rare breed.</p>
<p>As I understand it, UVa does not offer an undergrad bachelors in education, which reduces the public interest.</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t. But I would think the dual degree would sound appealing. But I guess I’m wrong. It could just be that students aren’t really interested in education, right? I know that UVA attracts the best, the brightest and the ambitious. A career in education might seem like a waste of one’s potential.</p>
<p>I don’t understand this thread. First you want to encourage people to do the 5 year ed program, and then you say it’s a waste of potential… I think this thread should just be locked… People PM me about the 5 year program all the time, all different questions and perspectives… They exist, but there’s no need for a thread on it, unlike premed where the questions are actually redundant.</p>
<p>Hazelorb, not at all! You misread what I wrote. I don’t think it’s a waste of potential at all. I was simply giving a possibility as to why there may be a lack of students interested in education. Of course, I would love for more students, especially males, to enter the field. It’s a great decision!</p>
<p>And I started the thread because I thought someone might be plopping along these boards and spot this thread. I ultimately just wanted to get the word out there that field of education is good option and UVA has the Curry School. There’s also a new program where students can get their BA/MT in 4 years if they have enough credits when they enter.</p>
<p>Scores of students visit us every week with careers in education in mind. I don’t think there’s any lack of interest. :)</p>
<p>Ha! That’s great to hear Dean J! :)</p>
<p>I was simply responding to charlieschm’s comment about public interest. But I figured there had to be quite a few students out there interested in education. My class–Class of '15 (in Curry)–is pretty big. Lots of women, but still pretty big.</p>
<p>I’m always hoping to recruit more males, especially black males. ;)</p>
<p>You should direct them to the African American Teaching Fellows program, [African</a> American Teaching Fellows of Charlottesville-Albemarle](<a href=“http://www.aateachingfellows.org/]African”>http://www.aateachingfellows.org/)</p>
<p>Thanks hazelorb! I’m actually VERY familiar with AATF. It’s a great program. </p>
<p>Funny, the only issue concerning the program is convincing individuals to commit to teaching in C-Ville. I’m still debating whether or not I want to make the commitment.</p>
<p>Also you really should know, Teach for America has a huge presence on grounds… Which is good, because unless you are a teacher for life (and don’t need to be recruited), you won’t be able to put up with the pay cuts, disrespectful students/other people at schools, standardized testing pressure, poor administrative decisions (a good principal can make your job worth it every day and vice versa), etc for a full career. Curry is a great program, but it doesn’t prepare you for the financial ramifications of teaching. Half of all teachers leave the field within 5 years… Just prepare yourself, that’s all I have to say. And enjoy having a bachelor’s to fall back on in case you ever want to leave. With that said, I am definitely a teacher for life - whether or not I stay in public education remains to be seen… And know that UVA/Curry will NOT prepare you to teach in a private school, and will blatantly refuse to answer any questions you have about that… And Curry teacher ed is a huge cash cow for their other programs… But as long as you go in knowing these things, you won’t feel blindsighted later. Teaching is fantastic, but be realistic about the pitfalls. I would feel especially unwilling to recruit anyone into Curry knowing how they treat you as a cash cow, and how the financial ramifications affect your life. TFA does a great job of letting people teach for 2 years without the lifelong commitment. But for people who love teaching, Curry is a great program.</p>
<p>THANKS THANKS THANKS! You’re like one of only a few people I’ve talked to who has been honest. I’ve talked to my former teachers about the field (and they told me about the good and the bad), but I haven’t talked to anyone specifically about Curry.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’ve already taken off the “romantic lenses,” but I like to get as much information as I can.</p>
<p>Yeah… Curry keeps those glasses on for as long as possible! We still had 2 people leave the program 4th year. Let me know if you have more questions.</p>
<p>hazelorb…thank for the insight. My daughter is applying for fall admission to the following: UVA, BC, PSU, UDEL, UMD, Clemson for el ed. (She is adament at this point about the major, against some objections by some family members about the profession in general, esp lack of jobs and pay. Although her recently retired grandfather taught middle school for almost 40 yrs and loved it/recommends it as a profession.) Do you have any knowledge of the other schools’ el ed programs in comparison to Curry? (Via friends, etc.?) I think they are all cash cows but I would love any other insight in comparing. Also, is SPED cert. becoming a necessity in finding a job? Thanks~</p>
<p>UVA is one of the top 10 education schools in the country. You won’t find better preparation or job oppportunities from any other school except maybe Vanderbilt. My parents also objected to my elem ed major but remember that UVa is a 5 year ba/mt program so she will have something to fall back on.</p>
<p>As far as special ed, she should only do that if she is truly passionate about it - she won’t get hired to teach regular elementary if she has the special ed endorsement (she’ll be hired to teach special ed). She could add on something like gifted or esl if she is trying to be more marketable, but everyone in my year got a job and the market was super rough so I wouldn’t worry about that.</p>
<p>From a perspective of someone immersed in elem ed for over 25 years, I would highly recommend adding on a special ed endorsement to her el ed degree. IMHO, if she wants to be more marketable, having a background in this area is even more than desirable than having a gifted or ESL endorsement. </p>
<p>With the explosion of autism and inclusion in public elementary schools for many types of special needs students, everything from ADHD to ED, a principal would look very highly on an applicant who has an additional endorsement in Sp. Ed. </p>
<p>You can’t imagine how many older teachers I know wish they had been given the training in how to better teach those students. I have many friends who are going back to take classes (some at UVA actually) in order to become better teachers for that population of kids. Your daughter would be very grateful to have a background in it when she gets her job. And UVA has a great program in both the elem and special ed. areas of education.</p>
<p>I’m interested in education! But I am not going to major in education. I plan on majoring in either biological engineering or biology(I want to be a biology teacher), while doing a program called UTeach. This program will certify me to be a teacher. But I still plan to get my masters in either education or biology eventually.</p>
<p>I’m surprised, as the inclusion of SPED children in the “regular classroom” is increasing so quickly, that the universities aren’t responding by offering more dual degrees in ELED/SPED like UDEL does. It seems if inclusion is the way of the future in the regular classroom, all grads should have a SPED background in addition to their main cert, right? </p>
<p>Thanks Hazelorb for your response! Maybe you can answer this…UVA’s program, in comparison to the other schools my daughter is interested in listed above, requires the least amount of field experience hours and student teaching hours. Do you feel the hours have been adequate to support your on-the-job learning? </p>
<p>Also, that 100% job placement rate is phenomenal! Did those students use career services or did these jobs originate from student teachng placements? Wondering if the students remained local after graduation or where the jobs were? Thanks again in advance for any insights~</p>
<p>pineview, if I am reading this right, I think UVA has the 5 yr BA/MT with an option to add a SPED endorsement. Here is the link to check on it. Good Luck to your daughter! :)</p>
<p>[BAMT</a> in Elementary Education Curry School of Education](<a href=“http://curry.virginia.edu/academics/degrees/bachelor-master-in-teaching/b-mt-in-elementary-education]BAMT”>http://curry.virginia.edu/academics/degrees/bachelor-master-in-teaching/b-mt-in-elementary-education)</p>
<p>Thanks for the link and well wishes, KandKsmom. I see now where you can seek SPED endorsement concurrant with El Ed. Really my daughter would only get SPED certification for marketability. She is not interested in it for any other reason- which I’m thinking may not be the best logic (?!). It’s just that almost every educator I’ve spoken with recommends it to get a job, and also to be successful in the classroom. I wonder if the majority of Hazelorb’s classmates who got jobs were SPED certified…</p>
<p>It looks like a great thing about the UVA program is the BA/BS degree so the student can master a subject. If they need to fall back on it in the future, they have it…although my daughter wants to seek the BA in English or Psychology. Wish it was math/science.</p>
<p>I know several recent grads who went with a El Ed and Psych double. That is a good combination, too. I also know a couple that went back with educ/psych UG background and got their master’s in Guidance, which is also a good option for some educators. </p>
<p>If she doesn’t want to get the endorsement in SPED, just encourage her to take as many classes dealing with that population as she can. The thing with teachig at the elem level in the public schools she IS going to have kids who have been found eligible to receive SPED services, and she IS very likely to have kids in her classroom who are on the spectrum or have other SPED characteristics and have yet to be identified. The more experience she has, the better equipped she will be. It may seem like the endorsement is great for her marketability now, but in few years she will value the training for so many reasons.</p>