Changing to secondary education and would like some advice.

College Majors Education Majors
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<p>I am currently a third semester student and community college. I have been planning on transferring after 2 years to get my degree in psychology, then continuing on to get my masters. I had thought I wanted to do law enforcement. Well I have been doing a work study with a police department, and while fun I realized it is not what I want to do. I guess this is a great time to figure this out because I have completed all my gen eds but not really hit one specific degree route yet. </p>

<p>So as of now I feel like I am restarting my entire plan. I still really like psychology and would like to teach. I have helped my mom sub a few days at a private school and worked several summers as a camp counselor. I had planned to go to benedictine because even though it was smaller it did not really matter which school I went to. I have a few questions I would like answers to and I will list them below for convenience. </p>

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<li><p>When it comes to teaching does the school matter much more? I had gone over this argument a few times when I wanted to go with law enforcement but it ended up not actually mattering. I guess the typical big vs private school argument but I just know nothing when it comes to education. </p></li>
<li><p>Is it realistic to get a secondary (high school) job with a degree in something like psychology? I guess I ask because it is not as main stream as say and English or math degree. </p></li>
<li><p>It is better to have secondary education as a minor? Benedictine only offers it as a minor which I found weird. </p></li>
<li><p>Before I was only looking at schools around me so that I could save money living at home to go to graduate school. If I can get into a top teaching school in Illinois like ISU, Southern and Illinois state, would you think that name is worth the extra expenses? </p></li>
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<p>Thank you all!</p>

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<p>You could possibly teach psychology at a high school, but you DO have to complete secondary education classes to be certified. It has to be a major to get a full-paid job. </p>

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<p>It depends on how the state certifies Psychology. In my state, it’s under the umbrella of social studies. You have to have majored in SS Ed to teach psychology. </p>

<p>There’s not a huge demand for psychology-only certificates, for it’s not in the core curriculum. It’s typically offered as electives.</p>

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I would be cautious about the Psych major if you want to teach.

While some schools do offer Psych courses, the number of Psych teachers per school is far, far fewer than, say, history or English. That means that getting a job is going to be VERY VERY competitive.

As far as the school goes, most districts aren’t terribly concerned. They’re far more concerned with how you did at student teaching, how likely you are to find success in the classroom, and what you can potentially bring to their school in terms of what you can teach and what extra curriculars you’re comfortable with. I wouldn’t spend the extra money on a “top” teaching school. (For what it’s worth, the worst teacher I ever worked with came from a top teacher’s college. He was just awful in the classroom. He didn’t have a clue what to do or how to do it, and was positive that his degree made him an expert. Let’s just say it didn’t end well for him. )

A minor is Secondary Ed is fine. It will ensure that you get the necessary field experience. You will want to get lots and lots of coursework in whatever you hope to teach… a teacher who doesn’t know his or her content will NOT be a good teacher.