I’m currently a junior college student finishing up my AA transfer, and am aspiring to become a high school history/social studies teacher. I know that this is the most overcrowded teaching position and I’m just worried that if I don’t go to a good school that I will have more trouble getting a job. So does going to a top notch university give you an edge over other applicants when going for a teaching job and would going to an admittedly lower level school make you not as enticing for these jobs? The difference in school quality I’m looking at is pretty large, I’ve done well enough in junior college to get into a higher level UC but am for various reasons considering options that have acceptance rates as low as about 80%.
I meant to say as high as 80%
Generally no. Also having your Special Ed degree will make you more marketable. They are looking for dual certifications these days for teachers.
Thank you for the advice
I always think it’s helpful to get your degree in the state you want to teach in. Student teaching is a huge in at districts so being near where you want to live can be helpful. Some districts by me have their favorites, but my husband teaches in a great district and degrees run the gamut from top schools to less selective colleges.
Not really. But I have to admit that when I am combing through a pile of 1000 applications for an elementary school teaching position, I do get excited when I see that someone has gone to a top college and/or majored in something other than education. It may help get them the interview. However, from there, it is all about how well they interview, how strong their writing and math samples are, and especially, how well their demonstration lesson goes. There certainly is not always a correlation between how prestigious candidates’ undergraduate colleges were and how well they teach. In the end, all that matters is how they teach.
Where you graduated from really matters. My mom graduated from a random college and it took her a while to get a job as a science teacher. But, for the most part, you can easily get a job if you know people. You know what they say, “It’s not about what you know but who you know.” I believe that it’s that big of a deal if you have a good reputation and it highly depends on where you want to teach. Some schools just hire any graduates but some private schools hire highly qualified teachers( teachers that graduated from a good college). I’m sorry cause I don’t know much. I had to ask my mom about it. Hope it helps.
I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter at all, but in public school systems - especially lower- to middle-income systems/schools - teachers who went to your average regional university get jobs all the time. At higher-income schools or elite/competitive private/independent schools, you see more teachers who went to top schools or who have master’s degrees or PhDs.
Do you teach at a private school? In every state I’ve lived in elementary school teachers need to have majored in elementary education to get certified (or have gotten a master’s degree in it).
No, I have only worked in public schools.
You need elementary certification, not a particular major.
Also, some candidates get a BA in the liberal arts and then a master’s in education.
Where do you want to teach? Where did the teachers who are working there get their education? Start with that.
Consider preparing for additional certification in Special Ed and/or ESOL. Coming in with the skills to adapt your lesson plans for students from those two populations will make a difference.
I probably want to teach in California.
One of the most, if not the most, important stepping stones to getting a job is your student teaching experience. This is where you prove yourself and need to be amazing. If you are good you will get hired at that school or many times this is where you make contacts to get a job at another school where there is an opening. Teacher and administrators know one another. The fish bowl is small. I agree with the poster who said having a special ed. certificate can help as well. Another dual that really helps is Literacy. At the high school level it is also important what else you can offer after school. Can you coach/teach Mock Trial? Can you coach a sport? Advise the yearbook? Be a class advisor? The only teacher I ever worked with who was not asked back and given a contract for the following year was the Harvard graduate. I always get a good chuckle out of that. Good luck!
California…English as a second language for sure. Consider taking some conversational Spanish classes too if you are not proficient in the language.
Thank you that is some good advice, i’m banking on the fact that I’m fairly qualified to coach two sports
If you really want to teach social studies and ease your path to employment, get experience/certified to coach a sport. At least half of all social studies positions, no matter the school public or private, are filled by dual coach/teachers. Some of this is just that male coaches are often interested in social studies—not anything nefarious—and female coaches often have more diversity in their other academic interests.
“Prestige” matters in teaching less than other professions, but still matters. If you want a job at an independent private school, from what I have seen, it is almost required to have a degree from a more selective university or LAC. Public school systems are more dominated by connections to local teacher ed programs, thus who you know and such matters more than “prestige” of degree.
I teach in NYC and the large majority of teachers went to local or state schools (SUNY and CUNY). I don’t think an Ivy name helped me at all, except for the fact that they had a very good student teaching program which gave me a lot to talk about in interviews (I had 8 months of full-time classroom experience).