<p>My high school junior is planning to major in Elementary Education. We will soon be starting college visits. Can anyone in the know advise what she should be looking for in a quality program? Two recent articles in the NY Times point out that many Ed. programs are of poor quality. Apparently Ed. programs are very cheap to run compared to, say, the science programs. Many schools, therefore, ignore their Education programs because they want to devote more resources to the sciences and other higher profile programs.</p>
<p>What should she be looking for and what questions should she be asking?</p>
<p>Could she go to a school where she could major in something else and simultaneously get a teaching credential? Many Elementary Education curricula are not intellectually rigorous.</p>
<p>I know many teachers who have come out of Loyola Marymount’s ed school, and my D is now a sophomore there. She is an ed major (called “liberal studies” for some bizarre state of California reason) and Spanish minor. She is already fully into her major-- started classroom observations last week for two classes, and I think every class is part of her major or minor. She will student teach her senior year and get both a BA and a state of California teaching credential upon graduation. They have a fifth-year masters’ program, which she is planning to do. (One of her professors is trying to talk her into considering teaching high school English, apparently because she’s doing so well in that class, but she is determined to be with the little ones.)</p>
<p>Thusfar she has had an excellent experience, loves her classes and professors, and is totally engaged. I’m a little sad that the high-speed nature of this program means she can’t wander around the catalog more, and dabble in philosophy or archaeology or whatever, but this is her dream, and she’s doing it. Her general liberal arts classes freshman year were very good, but I don’t think she’ll have many more of those.</p>
<p>As for the academic rigor, I know she’s grateful that she’s not buried as much as her econ/business roommates, but from what she says, and how I’ve seen her mature, and how she’s just more intellectually engaged in the world than she was two years ago, I’d say she’s getting a solid college education and is a more sophisticated thinker.</p>
<p>In short, check out LMU and its school of education. Two thumbs up so far.</p>
<p>Right off the bat, I would look for a program that puts your child in a classroom somehow as early as freshman year - let’s them know right off the bat if they are in a the right academic field.</p>
<p>I have heard recently of people teaching, but not necessarily getting a “teaching” degree - someone who has a D who is at Notre Dame and thought she would go into medicine has decided as a senior to instead enroll in some program where she goes down south and teaches for two years and then comes back with a Masters in Ed. - something like that - I might not have the particulars, but that was the jest. I’m curious to know more about that type of thing.</p>
<p>My daughter is an Elementary Ed (as pointed out called Diversified Liberal Studies or something like that in CA) at University of the Pacific. The school has a national accrediation which I am told means that she could finish and teach in California or in another state. Same as the above poster at LMU, she will be in the classroom in her sophomore year and will get both the BA and a teaching credential in four years. I would look for a program where she will be getting practical experience, where the degree and credential can be earned in four and not five years.<br>
Lots of students graduating with BA in English, or other liberal arts are having a tough time finding a job right now. Many are going into Teach for America or other programs which makes those programs more competitive. Somewhere on CC there is a link…</p>
<p>Adding now that UOP has mandatory Dean’s seminars for all students and pushes critical thinking/learning in every major. Also offers the fifth year Masters mentioned above however I’ve been advised that here in CA it is easier to get a starting position without the Masters since the schools have to pay teachers with a Masters more in starting salary.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it is possible to major in another subject while you are completing the requirements for an elementary education degree as suggested by Cardinal Fang. In my observation, the schedule fills up pretty quickly with all of the specific methods classes for that el. ed. degree! Many students do plan their programs so they can get an additional certification in Reading, Special Ed., English Language Arts, etc.</p>
<p>Usually the advice is to ask teachers and principals that you respect to recommend programs leading to certification in the state where you want to work. They know which colleges/universities are most likely to produce a graduate who will get a job.</p>
<p>Lots of places offer quick M.A.T. or M.S. Ed. programs for people who hold a subject area degree. These usually are focused on certification in Secondary Ed. areas. Often the student does a teaching internship of some kind during the day, and takes classes nights, weekends, and in the summer. Tough to do if you have a lot of family responsibilities, but perfect for a recent college grad.</p>
<p>If your kiddo comes to CT, they will have to take the praxis test here regardless of whether or not they have certification elsewhere. There is NO reciprocity in this state from anywhere.</p>
<p>In this state, all education majors MUST major in a subject area AND fulfill the elementary education requirements. And in this state, most programs also offer dual certification for regular education/special education…and for good reasons. Most special needs youngsters are IN classes with their peers.</p>
<p>I agree with others…your daughter should look for a program that places students IN schools as early in the program as possible. There should be ample opportunities for the students to go into schools and work with students and teachers…and see what being in a school is like.</p>
<p>If your daughter KNOWS what state she wishes to teach in…it is best to enroll in a teacher preparation program in THAT state. That way, when she graduates, she will have fulfilled all of the certification requirements for THAT state.</p>
<p>I would inquire about certification requirements, and how the school meets those. Find out how long students take to complete their programs. If it is in the state where you currently live…you might want to inquire about where student teachers are routinely placed (you know…some districts are better than others in every state…).</p>
<p>Notre Dame has a certain amount of graduates who spend several years after graduation doing either Teach for America or ACE. Alliance for Catholic Education is a 2-year teaching/service postgraduate program offering tuition-free Master of Education degree at University of Notre Dame. Alliance for Catholic Education is a two-year service program offering college graduates the opportunity to serve as full-time teachers in under-resourced Catholic schools across the southern United States. </p>
<p>Because we believe that good teachers need excellent formation, ACE prepares its teachers in an innovative Master of Education program at Notre Dame. ACE teachers represent a broad variety of undergraduate disciplines, with a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. While teaching, participants live in small communities of 4-7 members and together share the many challenges and rewards of beginning teaching. </p>
<p>The above is from their website. I’m not familiar with the program, only that it’s highly regarded in the Arts & Letters dept.</p>
<p>Also depends on what state she wants to teach in. A good family friend recently received her BA and teaching credential from Seattle Pacific Univ. She finished in 4 yrs. Her credential is good in Washington and Oregon but not sure if any other states. Her credential is not valid in the state of Ca, which is her home state. If she decides to return to Ca she will have to enter a credential program. At this point she plans to stay in the PNW so is not concerned about the Ca credential.</p>
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<li><p>Unfortunately, teacher credentialing in this country is still Balkanized by state. If your daughter knows that she wants to stay in her home state to teach (or if she knows some other state where she would like to teach), she should look at programs in that state, because those programs will be aligned with the state’s credentialing. There is some cross-border work, but lots of glitches; make certain your school understands the other state’s requirements and how to meet them.</p></li>
<li><p>Very few teaching programs do not include a second, substantive major as a requirement these days. No Child Left Behind effectively forces it. In some states, it may be possible to be elementary-education certified without a substantive major, but I think it is pretty clearly in every prospective teacher’s self-interest to go to a program that ensures a substantive major as well as the education major.</p></li>
<li><p>The current knock on Ed Schools, by Arne Duncan and others, is that they do a miserable job of equipping young teachers to handle the practical problems of challenging classrooms. They know how to make lesson plans, but not how to control the classroom, how to respond to kids’ issues. It is, or will soon be, fashionable for Ed Schools to get students into the classroom early and often, with a lot of guidance about what to do. There should also be rigorous training in child development.</p></li>
<li><p>All of that said, a lot of colleges do a very good job of turning out teachers and helping them find schools to hire them. Many of these are small Catholic colleges, or whatever part of your state’s public system that represents what once upon a time were called “Teachers Colleges”. They aren’t all created equal – if you know some teachers and principals, ask what they think, what the reputations are. Look at their programs – Lord knows, Ed School curricula at least ought to be pretty transparent.</p></li>
<li><p>There are also alternative credentialing programs, the most famous of which is Teach For America, and also Teaching Fellows programs in various cities, and a whole variety of similar programs, like Math For America. Some of the most admired charter school managers, like KIPP, have their own alternative credentialing programs, too. These programs tend to target academically successful elite college graduates, or older-adult career switchers. Some of them are very selective and hard to get into (TFA has a multi-stage interview process, and accepts less than 25% of applicants); others less so, depending on the location. Math and science majors are much more in demand than anyone else; also, people who are willing to commit to special education. If you already know you want to be a teacher, however, these programs are very much the long way 'round.</p></li>
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<p>JHS beat me to it. Best to go to school in state where you want to teach and better to get a degree in a specfic content area as well as getting teacher certification.</p>
<p>I didn’t think TFA was an “alternative program to teacher certification”. It IS an alternate way to teach for a couple of years. TFA, in its literature, states that it’s purpose is NOT to create teachers…it is to create LEADERS.</p>
<p>Anyway…JHS is correct. In most states (like mine) a major in a content area MUST be obtained while pursuing teacher certification.</p>
<p>Great minds think alike! As a parent of a newish teacher I would also like to emphasize programs that get the kids into the classroom early and offer more then one student teaching experience. My daughter was lucky enough to get three - one semi-rural, one inner city and one private. She would also tell you that it’s much easier if you go to a College in the state where you want to teach. She has provisional certifications from three states now - and two of the three required their own (VERY similar) certification tests that cost quite a bit, plus police clearances, tb tests and hoops to jump through.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the helpful replies so far. I’m a bit confused though.</p>
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<li><p>Regarding majoring in a subject: I knew it was necessary to major in a subject in order to teach at the secondary level but my daughter wants to teach young children - such as 2nd or 3rd grade. Does she really need a major, and what would be a good choice? She wanted to minor in Spanish. Could she major in Spanish and still teach in the elementary grade level?</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding attending college in the state in which you want to teach: We live in a very small state and she absolutely wants go to college OOS. We really have no family ties in any particular state so it would be impossible for her to know now what state she will end up teaching in. Are there any states that give certification that is accepted in mulitiple other states?</p></li>
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<p>The real question is which states accept other states’ certifications? I don’t know. Some obviously do – an earlier poster mentioned Washington and Oregon. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the states in the upper midwest did that. But here in the East I think it’s pretty uncommon, although I don’t know what, say, Maine or Vermont do.</p>
<p>I know that Pennsylvania state colleges have a lot of OOS students, and I am sure a bunch of them are teachers, but I don’t know the nitty-gritty of what they have to do to get certified.</p>
<p>As for substantive majors – you are right that it is especially important for middle and secondary school teachers. I am not certain what the story is for elementary school. I know the whole certification rules are being rewritten in this state, and there is talk about requiring things like child development studies for preK-4 teachers. Spanish, of course, is always a huge plus in and of itself.</p>
<p>Teach For America: It claims to be training educators as well as leaders, and in most states (I believe) its corps members get certified by the end of their second years. I know my kid had to take some tests, jump through some other regulatory hoops, and is paying tuition and going to classes for a MEd. I think TFA has more or less custom agreements with the Education Department in each state where it operates. In Pennslyvania, and I am pretty sure New York, the kids have to meet regular milestones toward certification.</p>
<p>Teach for America is a great program, but it is <em>not</em> trying to get great students to be teachers, but rather to get future leaders to have had classroom experience.</p>