<p>Here in the Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic area, my daughter would like to become a high school math teacher, and then perhaps pursue a graduate degree in education. </p>
<p>Some of the small LACs she's considering offer a BA in education and suggest the student also obtain a dual degree or minor in a substantive major, while other colleges require students to obtain a substantive major and offer a teaching certification. </p>
<p>Everyone we've spoken with advocates for the system that their own school uses! Any advice? </p>
<p>Perhaps there is no systemic advantage, and it all depends on the specific school? Any especially strong LACs in the mid-Atlantic area for teaching?</p>
<p>Each institution will advocate for its own program, that’s true!</p>
<p>If she wants to work in Pennsylvania, she should start by asking her own teachers and principal where they got their degrees, and which colleges/universities have the best job placement track records. Initial teacher hiring tends to be very local.</p>
<p>Provided your daughter meets the requirements for certification in the state where she wants to start her teaching career, it doesn’t matter much whether she pursues a BA in XXXX education, or a BA in XXXX followed by any missing state-mandated coursework. Things to consider as she works through this:</p>
<p>The BA in Ed route will be cheaper initially, and she might be able to get her school district to help pay for further education (policies vary)</p>
<p>A subject area BA followed by an MAT or MSEd will mean that she starts work already bumped up a couple of levels in the pay scale.</p>
<p>A Math BA will almost certainly mean that she can get some school district somewhere to PAY for most (if not all) of her certification program (sometimes just for a series of pre-certification classes, but often for the whole MAT or MS Ed) because there just aren’t enough Math teachers out there.</p>
<p>Thanks, good advice. I’ve heard that in some parts of the country, it’s easier to get a first teaching job with just a BA, because the districts would have to pay more for a teacher with a masters. So, it does sound very local.</p>
<p>In my school district, most of the elementary and sometimes middle school teachers have bachelor degrees in education but the high school teachers have degrees in their content area with added teacher certification. That gives much more career flexibility.</p>