I am so shocked by a post that I just read that I think it deserves its own thread. I don’t even know where to begin with a response…
Who knows? Maybe someone of the caliber to get into a top university will decide that they should get some teaching experience and move on to become a state or national consultant or maybe, Secretary of Education?
I don’t think it’s a waste of an education personally… provided the person can afford it financially.
Or maybe they will just be a great teacher with research experiences to bring to the classroom! I think the only reason not to do it would be if you needed to take out a lot of loans in order to afford it. You have to keep in mind your starting salary when deciding how much loan to take on.
Wow-- the level of ignorance in that statement is appalling.
I joke that my kids are the worst nightmare of CC. One is attending a private LAC and majoring in education. The other is applying only to private LACs and plans to major in education.
That makes you and your spouse superheroes, providing well educated teachers for the future of America.
Just think of those Supreme Court Justices, wasting those Harvard and Yale law degrees being civil servants. They don’t make much (comparatively speaking), can’t socialize much, don’t even retire on time.
Several of the most dynamic educators I know graduated from Ivy and Ivy Peer institutions. Most of them realized this calling after enrolling with intent to pursue a different major. All of them completed their certification coursework while in college. Some even managed to squeeze in that all-important semester of student teaching before graduating from college. But it is also important to recognize that none of them took out more than the federal student loans, and their parents didn’t borrow any money either.
The US desparately needs better educated high school teachers. I wish there were more kids doing this than going into investment banking.
We all do. But I do think it’s appropriate to advise kids who want to teach to be very cautious about taking on student debt, since that can be a real barrier to staying in education longer term. Fortunately, many of the top-tier schools are good about minimizing loans, but the next set of schools on the list may require enough borrowing to chase smart kids away from a career in education.
The OP was expressing financial concerns, as I recall, and considering very large debt. Teaching is not a highly paid profession, and top schools cost big money. If you can afford it, go for it; but why set yourself up for huge loans when you are going into a noble but lesser paid profession?
THAT is why several of us suggested looking at less expensive schools. No one was devaluing the teaching profession.
That same advice is often given to high school students who post that they are planning to go to medical school. Why accumulate more debt than is necessary, when it is perfectly possible to get into med schools with a degree from a less prestigious and less expensive college?
As the parent of a teacher, I do not think that it is foolish to get the best education that you can. But I also know that, had she had to borrow more money than she needed for the public school that she did attend, she would have been way over her head in debt.
That’s hilarious…Obviously, prestigious research universities are wasted on people who are instructing the next generations of doctors, biologists, engineers , artists, scientists, and innovators! Save those important spots for …for…um…people who are going to make MONEY! that’s right! money in, money out!
[for serious? I will charitably think the OP meant that most high-visibility “prestige” universities concentrate on research and teaching is not primarily a research-based career, it’s a bad match.Even that is hard to agree with ]
I agree with the last few posters. If the concern is financial, it’s possible the most economical way to get a teaching degree is your state school. I think the choice of wording (is it a waste?) is not the best, but the intent is more financial. And given that some state schools produce excellent teachers, it can be the best choice all the way around. I know a lot of newly-minted, unemployed teachers.
And yes, this is the common advice given to pre-meds.
If we think well-educated people shouldn’t be “just” high school teachers, no wonder our public education system is so riddled with misunderstanding between educators and students’ families and/or the general public. Don’t we want well-educated people teaching our children? ** Provided the money is there ** for qualified students to attend prestigious schools, why shouldn’t they, regardless of future professional plans? In many cases, the best financial aid comes from the most prestigious schools.
One of my ds had the benefit of an outstanding US history teacher in her public high school, who had undergrad and doctoral degrees from Cornell. Another of my ds attended a top-ranked OOS public university (which would, perhaps, not be deemed prestigious enough by the poster quoted above) as a history/special education major - and we paid the full OOS price for her education. She was offered the first position she interviewed for and has been happily teaching special needs 4th graders for 2 years. She received a first class education at William & Mary, deserved no less, and is paying it forward every day in her profession.
The best teacher our sons had in HS is a Harvard grad. She was fabulous.
My D is in grad school to be a teacher. Her undergrad was at a top LAC where she was history major…but she had a good scholarship. You can get a teaching degree at almost all schools and if we had been in the position to pay full freight of 52k vs instate rates, I would have told her to go in-state. Definitely not a field you where you want to have student debt since pay is not stellar. But in theory I do think that the US needs teachers at top of academic game and if you have a chance to go to a top school without debt, go for it.
I agree with greenbutton. My D is one of the top students in her HS and is planning to be “just” a teacher. While she isn’t planning on attending an Ivy, she (and her parents) are often asked why “such a smart girl” would want to be “just” a teacher, and the corollary, why would she need to go to a "good school, if that’s “all” she wants to do. She’s already taken to answering something akin to greenbutton’s comment-wouldn’t you WANT a smart, well-educated person teaching YOUR kid and creating the next doctors, scientists, etc.?
It pains me to think that anyone with half a brain would think that getting a good education is a waste of time for anyone but a small set of “preferred” careers. Future teachers have access to some special grants and scholarships BECAUSE their job is important-with the right financial aid, perhaps someone at an Ivy or other “prestigious” school will end up with less debt than a future ibanker.
@kkarma you have the wrong thread in mind. This comment was made in response to a student trying to decide between 2 top schools. The student mentioned as an aside that he was perhaps interested in teaching but would be majoring in Earth Science, and planned to pursue a graduate degree. He also clearly stated that the costs at both schools were fully funded without debt. It was a school A vs. school B thread, and the poster’s comment was completely off topic, and in no way intended to be helpful.
I think it would be very useful for future high school teachers to do research in the subject they’re planning on teaching.
I’m at an Ivy right now for high school teacher education and I have had multiple people (not from my current school) tell me, “ha, those who can’t do, teach!” or “so how’s the glorified babysitting going?” It’s as if it’s more socially acceptable to denigrate teachers in a way that would be beyond rude for many other jobs. Obviously, still beyond rude for this one, but I hear it often. Maybe not as often as my art major friends.