<p>I'm a freshman math major, and one of the careers I'm considering is teaching math in a middle school or a high school.</p>
<p>At my university, the path for people who want a math teaching license involves taking ten education classes (including student teaching) and several education-oriented math classes I wouldn't otherwise take. Since it requires a significant commitment, I don't want to pursue it when I'm not 100% sure I want to be a teacher. </p>
<p>My school has an integrated B.S./M.S. program for math, so I'm hoping to graduate in four or five years with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in math (I came in with a lot of transfer credit from high school). If I wanted to teach in a public school after that, what options would I have? </p>
<p>The education program probably has a certification officer. You should discussion it with this person. Do it soon, too. GE requirements can be more specific for teachers than everyone else. You would hate having to take some GE credits over again.</p>
<p>It depends on the state you’re seeking certification for and if they offer Alt Cert programs. Strong content knowledge is not the only thing that makes a good teacher, so the education courses are essential. </p>
If it is at all possible, I would suggest double majoring. If that’s not an option, definitely still take as many education classes as possible. If I remember correctly, I had a biology teacher that just majored in Biology but took a lot of education classes so that he could get certified. He definitely had extensive content knowledge but rather…unconventional teaching methods which may or may not have been effective, haha! I agree with WasatchWriter that it would be a good idea to talk with the certification officer.
Be cautious about entering the workforce with a Master’s degree and no teaching experience.
As important as school is, it tends to be experience that really helps form you into the teacher you want to be. Schools HAVE to pay more for that Masters, even if you have no experience… which means they have no idea of whether or not you’ll be successful in the classroom. Many schools are hesitant to pay extra for an unknown quantity. Lots and lots of math teachers have lots and lots of content knowledge, but haven’t figured out how to balance things like classroom management, long range planning, and what to do when there’s a bee in their room.
Those education classes, with their corresponding classroom experience, may make the difference between success and failure those first years teaching.
As far as entering teaching without certification: you need to be certified to teach in a public school. And, realistically, given the current job market, no private school is going to touch you without certification either. Take a look at the state Board of Education website for your state, and look under “alternate certification” to see what would be required.
You really have to look into each state. NY requires a masters degree for permanent certification and I think, but please do check this, the SUNY schools have discontinued teacher prep undergrad programs in content areas. Instead, the masters programs that lead to certification have prerequisites (kinda like medical school does) is adolescent psych, etc, so you’d want to check the state 's requirements wherever you plan to teach. The masters programs in NY include student teaching.
Also, there is an online school that offers Masters in education that leads to certification in most states. Western Governors, I believe it is called. You could still pursue your BA/MA program and then do the self directed online certification program.
You can always get a math degree and then look into alternative certification and alt cert programs. I’m in the New York City Teaching Fellows program, where I am able to teach without an education degree while I complete a masters in education, but you can also do it independently without an organized program in most states. Just google the name of the state, teacher, and “alternative certification”, and you should be able to figure out if it’s a possibility in the state where you want to teach.
I’m not asking whether I could be a teacher without certification. If I decide I want to be a teacher, I’ll look for a master’s or other post-baccalaureate program where I can be licensed as a teacher after taking pedagogy classes and presumably student teaching. I was just wondering if this is a normal/accepted pathway, because I’ve seen a lot of people majoring in secondary education as well as their content area even though (from what I can tell) they could get a teaching license later and have similar opportunities.
You’ll be fine doing that. Math and science are in demand right now, so pretty much any path that leads to a teaching license will work. In my state, you don’t even need a master’s at all (ever!) now to teach. You just have to earn “professional development” points over time. In fact, having a master’s degree here was for a while (not so much now) a hindrance because budget cuts were keeping school systems from being able to pay the higher starting salaries. Just make sure you somehow end up with a license, and if you’re STEM and have some kind of teaching ability, you’ll get a job. Do make sure you get either a student teaching opportunity or spend a good deal of time volunteering at a school before you apply for teaching jobs. Schools wouldn’t want to hire a completely untried teacher.