<p>Yes but why do you think anyone can be a good teacher walking into a classroom without an ounce of training in pedagogy, how to organize and pace a
lessson, strategies for behavior management (extremely important in h.s. teaching). To me, that's setting yourself up to DISLIKE teaching.</p>
<p>Why do you think there is nothing of value in the teachers colleges? Sure some of the courses are tedious and dunderhead, but they teach you how to organize yourself, wade through the curriculum, set up classes to accomplish the curriculum, and go over the zaniest things (the effect of heating and ventilation on student attention, for example). </p>
<p>I really thought I came in to my first classroom from a position of strength because I had taken courses in theory, been through 4 sessions of supervised teaching with evaluations from the master teacher and a chance to work it through with my university professor back on campus.</p>
<p>I learned many ideas at teachers college that nobody had heard of in the district when I began to teach. One example: My university advisor was a cool IRish lady who said to us (training for K-6 classrooms), "If you ever get a chance, go to visit your students in their homes before the school year starts." It was something she used to do in Irish rural villages.</p>
<p>My first fulltime teaching job was in a rural American community with searing poverty and racial tensions. I decided to try it. Instead of mailing out the usual letter of school supplies in August, I got the addresses and visited each home of the incoming First Grader. </p>
<p>It was...revolutionary. I had parent support like nobody's business for the rest of the year. The students weren't afraid on the first day. The parents knew I cared. I had broken the "third wall" of the school building by bringing them each a pencil and hand-carrying the supply list to their home. I could picture each child so much better for the rest of the year. </p>
<p>Nobody could have told me to do that at that elementary school, because it wasn't "their way of doing things." I had the confidence to try it because I was a Masters in Education. Jaws dropped when I told them what I'd done. I did it every year, and despite its obvious success, nobody copied me, ah well. I also learned tons of great tips from teachers after I began working. But at least I brought something to the table.</p>
<p>In answer to your other question, the incentive to get the masters once you begin teaching with a bachelors degree is that you generally are only granted
a kind of "provisional certification" status and given a deadline, usually within 5 years to complete the Masters if you want to stay employed. State certification requirements ensure that you don't work forever as a BS or BA, if you enter that way.</p>
<p>I've heard all the cheapskate talk, too, but in my experience, when they want to hire you they'll find a way to even if you cost two years step more than a less experienced teacher...if it's a thoughtful, quality district. It is a shame that this cheapskate talk would circulate and discourage someone from coming in with some qualification. Instead, I believe the districts are breaking the backs of young teachers by asking them to do too much: take on a new classroom untrained WHILE getting a masters degree to figure out how to run that classroom. The difference involved is approximately $2K/year where I taught. Is it worth that? I saw teachers give up because their classrooms ATE them and they thought they couldn't teach. Nobody had taught them how to teach, so no wonder.</p>
<p>A lot depends, too, on whether you are working in a state with fast-growing population, or in a declining population.</p>
<p>I still maintain: get the Masters first if you can afford to and find the quality district that can afford the extra $2K to bring you in at that more trained level.</p>