<p>While this could change tomorrow, my son is now planning on pursuing a career as a History/Social Studies teacher. What Im trying to figure out is whether he would be better off getting a BA in History with a minor in Secondary Education, or skipping the undergrad minor and getting a Masters in Teaching once he has his History degree. </p>
<p>I think it might be better to focus on the content classes during undergrad and get the teaching credentials in a Masters program. </p>
<p>In our multi-state area, it seems that getting a BA with History major/Secondary Ed minor means almost needing a second minor because the colleges require courses in history-related fields like geography & poli sci, in addition to a full complement of history courses. A lot of work, in other words.</p>
<p>Also, since most school districts pay teachers more if they have graduate credits earned, he would probably get a pay boost if he starts teaching with a Masters. (Especially nice for him since Mom & Dad would pay for the Masters program!)</p>
<p>On a related note, he is an experienced camp counselor, so I dont see the finally tries student teaching and finds out he hates kids being an issue for him at either the undergrad or grad level. But anything could happen.</p>
<p>Any advice or experience with this issue that anyone could provide?</p>
<p>I’m facing a similar issue, actually. Though it’ll make my undergraduate experience less flexible, I’m going for the minor/certification because I’ve heard that schools actually are less willing to hire teachers who already have their Master’s because they know it’ll cost them more, plus many schools will pay for a Master’s once hired.</p>
<p>In our area, education majors are in trouble due to severe budget cuts. My husband is a history professor and has several advisees who want to teach. He recommends they do not go for the Master’s before getting a job since around here they would have to pay them more. School boards will be very limited in what they can spend now, so a bachelor’s applicant will be much more attractive budget-wise.</p>
<p>The MAT is what we advise for many prospective secondary teachers at our university. The student gets the full scope of the undergraduate experience plus an automatic teacher pay increase for have the masters.</p>
<p>It generally takes locally funded government operations much longer to recover than the economy itself. So, if thinks are truly starting to pick up then perhaps in 3 years the education situation will be better job wise. However, it is my understanding that the number of students is declining as well as revenues so that will make the job hunt harder.</p>
<p>A big push in the education reform movement is to stop paying teachers extras for “degrees” and start paying them extra for performance. I would advise that your child teach for a while and then earn a masters.</p>
<p>Just a warning: check on what determines whether a teacher is “highly qualified” in several states where your son might want to work. While NCLB will likely be changed this year, I expect that the state-determined “highly qualified” regulations may still apply. For secondary school teaching positions in a number of states, a major or a certain number of units in the subject is the requirement – possibly also/instead a certain score on the appropriate PLACE exam. But, it isn’t always obvious. We’ve had engineers with M.S. degrees who were not considered highly qualified to teach math because after they finished their calculus sequence all their remaining math courses (and plenty of them) were in engineering. In our state, engineering courses didn’t count for either physics, chemistry or math teachers. </p>
<p>The last time we posted a social studies position we received well over 100 applications.</p>
<p>To strengthen your chances in an area like this, your son might consider taking a number of special education and/or differentiated education courses – Response to Intervention (RTI) has become a very important factor in the classroom today, and most teachers have received relatively little training in special ed adaptations, so the folks that bring some of this background stand out. Being fluent in a second language can be a big bonus. (Spanish in much of the country, but certainly lots of other languages can be helpful in specific places) </p>
<p>And, never discount the power of sports. If your son happens to play a college sport that is also played in high school, and is interested in coaching, many schools may be interested in him.</p>
<p>A number of schools are intentionally trying to attract a larger applicant pool of male teachers, with the hope that eventually more male teachers end up in schools which often have majority female teachers. It is a sensitive topic, but I hear a fair amount about it, particularly in urban school areas where lots of kids come from households headed by single moms.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help, arabrab. I’ve found some useful information online about the 'highly qualified" status for our state. </p>
<p>I will definitely mention the special education idea to my son.</p>
<p>The sports angle doesn’t apply to my son, but I do have a friend whose son played on his high school and college teams who is currently a JV coach at his former high school. He isn’t otherwise gainfully employed. He would love to get a teaching job with the school district. He got his BA in December with pretty low GPA – about a 2.3 – in Poli Sci. He took a few teaching courses but is not certified. Do you have any advice for a path that could get him a teaching position? I don’t think his parents would be adverse to paying for a master’s or other additional course work.</p>