Hey all.
I am stuck. There are a couple different things I want to do/teach but I’m not sure I have found the right route to take, I need some advise!
I am in my second year of college.
I would LOVE to teach Geography, but I don’t think there are middle school classes for that, and as far as high school I don’t think there’s much of a demand, or a similar class, or I might be wrong. But that is my passion is world geography, and I’m not sure how I could be a teacher of that sort because of the classes and if Geography is even taught in school anymore specifically.
But what about Social Studies for Middle School? Would it be okay to Major in Geography and minor in Education and History if I can?
For middle school, I have read numerous different things, do you need to major in Elementary Education? Or major in a Course you want to teach and minor in education?
For middle school, I would probably lean towards Social Studies, but which route should I take? I have read that it could be good to Major in Geography and minor in both Education and History. Or is there a different route I should consider?
My dad is a middle school teacher and he teaches 6th grade Math and Science. Do a lot of schools have a teacher that teaches multiple courses? Trying to figure out if they usually teach one subject or multiple?
Any help/info is greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Jordan
Sixth and 7th grade in our district are (at least theoretically labeled) Geography. You get a year of Eastern Hemisphere and a year of Western Hemisphere. It’s a big school, so there are multiple teachers who teach just Geography.
I suspect in practice that what they call Geography is a lot more like what you’re calling Social Studies.
You should check what the state where you plan to teach requires. My D is looking at elementary education, and so far she’s found that in some places that means through grade 5 or 6, but in others EARLY elementary can go as high as 6th, or as low as K. So to teach MIDDLE or HS you probably need to major in a subject (like geography) and follow your chosen state’s rules about getting certified to teach.
My niece teaches two subjects-French and Math. She got her BA in French and Spanish, has (one of) her Master’s in Math. She teaches at a very large regional school and it work’s for her. It would depend on the need of the school and the number of students in a class whether a teacher teachers more than one subject. In her district and ours (on opposite sides of the country), middle school is grades 6-8. In others it’s 7/8. You need to figure that out too.
@jordanc701 , Check you state education department website to see how certification is done in your state. In NY, you’re certified for grades 7-12, so there would be no need to decide now… that decision would come at hiring time.
I would caution you: Social Studies is among the toughest hiring markets. So plan NOW to do what it takes to eventually make your resume stand out from the pile.
For example: you dad is apparently dual certified. That’s great! If you can find a way to do it, a minor in Math or Physics or Chemistry, and the resulting certification, would mean you would be a VERY strong candidate at hiring time in most parts of the country.
If that’s not a realistic possibility, then consider where you could gain experience in college as a moderator/ coach. Are there any schools near where you’ll be attending college where you could coach Speech and Debate? Model Congress? Model UN? Mock Trial??? All of those are pretty time-intensive, and it’s hard getting people to coach them. Coming in as a job applicant with experience would make you a much stronger candidate than someone without that experience.