<p>My daughter wants to become an elementary school teacher (grade 2 or 3 perhaps) and I am finding that different colleges offer different paths to certification. Some schools have a straight forward Elementary Ed. major. Some offer a minor in Ed. that must be combined with a major in another subject. Some offer teacher certification without a major or minor in Ed. - the student chooses a major from any offered at the college. I'm wondering which is the best path? My sense is it would be a good idea to attend a college that actually offers an Education Major with so that my daughter would actually learn the art of teaching. But, on the other hand, it seems there could be a career advantage to having a major in another subject. For example, she could minor or major in Spanish which I would think would be a valuable qualification for a new grad seeking a first teaching job. It's something that may make her stand out from the competition. </p>
<p>Also, is it a great advantage these days to get dual certification with Special Ed? She does not want to be a Special Ed teacher but would this make her more valuable to future employers in a regular classroom?</p>
<p>Can anyone in the the know please give advice on which is the best path for a future early elementary teacher?</p>
<p>Much of teacher certification/licensure is dependent on the state in which ones plans to teach. Some states have reciprocal agreements, others do not. There are various paths to becoming a teacher. I believe it is common for elementary teachers to get a degree in elementary education whereas most secondary teachers major in a given discipline and minor in education. Another idea is to get Bachelor’s degree in chosen field and pursue a Master’s and certification in teaching. The MAT, Master in the Art of Teaching is becoming a popular route to the classroom, I believe. Special education IS a very marketable degree because of recent legislation such as NCLB.</p>
<p>I suggest a call to your state’s certification office within the department of education to confirm your student is on the best path.</p>
<p>those going into secondary ed would major in the subject they intend to teach. but there are elem ed programs where you do major in a liberal arts field and take the elem ed program as a minor. the OP is correct that there is a wide variety in terms of how these programs are structured - often influenced by the requirements of the state where the program is located.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies so far. I should have been more clear in my original post; all three of the options to licensure I mentioned are for ELEMENTARY Education, not secondary Ed… I still don’t know if one path is preferable over the others. Right now my daughter’s list includes colleges is several states, none of which are the one in which we live, and I would not begin to guess what state she may seek her first job in. And to confuse matters, I find colleges within the same state do NOT offer the same path to licensure. Very confusing.</p>
<p>Course of study- to repeat what has already been mentioned will depend on your states path to certification.</p>
<p>My D went to a LAC without professional programs ( although they may still have a engineering degree with CalTech)- and will be enrolled in a MAT program in the fall.</p>
<p>She didn’t originally plan on becoming a teacher- but I think this route will be flexible & she should serve her well, because while she plans on teaching elementary, her subject( Biology) knowledge will make it easier if she wants to teach older kids -there is always a desperate need for math and science teachers. ( And teachers who have a math/science major, do a much better job IMO, of teaching those subjects in elementary school which of course lays the foundation for the higher grades- high schools really don’t have the funds to keep playing catch up with so many students)</p>
<p>Just to throw this out there–don’t be so sure that “education” degrees actually teach the art of teaching. Some schools emphasize psychology and sociology but offer little or no practical instruction in “how to teach.” So many kids I have heard say they wish they knew what teachers know after 10 years on the job.</p>
<p>Another way to judge a program–what are the gen ed requirements? At some colleges the ed students take “remedial” math and that fulfills the requirement…which means they have a very poor grasp of mathematics. Not that they can’t DO 2nd or 3rd grade math, but when they get a kid who is gifted and understands the concepts they don’t, it’s very hard on the kid. He/she may want to do the problem a different way, or take it a step farther, and all the teacher can do is the answer that’s in the back of the book.</p>
<p>So I don’t know the answer to your question, but my sense is a major in a subject and a minor in education is better (more rigorous). </p>
<p>Are there schools noted for their ed programs? It would be interesting to see what their curriculum & grad requirements are.</p>
<p>Your D should consider where she expects to teach, ie which state(s) before deciding on a school. Often a state’s public colleges excel at teacher education and offer all of the necessary courses and student teaching for licensure in their state. Some elite private colleges do not- Emory, for example (a friend’s son changed his major to education, there are NO student teaching opportunities available). Going to school in a state she has no intention of job seeking in will yield required courses that are useless in another state and not provide some needed elsewhere. The course may be a simple one in the state’s geography/history or dealing with standards in that state only available instate. </p>
<p>Part of choosing a college for elementary education training includes being sure the program includes the courses, including student teaching, required for licensure. Summer school is not the time for student teaching! She should also look at how easy it is to get into the program- some schools require an additional application to the school of education after some semesters at the college, it can be competitive (for example, UW-Madison limits the numbers to be sure every student can get the needed classes- there is no sense in being in the major if you can’t sign up for classes you need because they are full).</p>
<p>If she has a flair for computers, continue taking some electives in Computer Science. It will go down well at a job interview for a teacher these days to be Right Up To Date in computer use. It’s somewhat of a weak point among the older teachers and it slows them down whenever new methods are introduced schoolwide that they “must” incorporate into their classrooms.</p>
<p>For example, when power point presentations came in around 15 years ago to business, the older elementary teachers needed help and intensive workshops just to catch on. “Integrating Technology Into the Elementary Classroom” – whatever that will look like at the moment she begins teaching – is something where she will enjoy being nimble and swift, relative to the current faculty she joins. </p>
<p>Knowing Spanish is also helpful to communicate with parents; after that, some Mandarin Chinese if in a big city with many new immigrant parents from Asia. She’d need more to actually teach English-Second-Language learners, but in a regular classroom there are parents from other countries so it helps break down barriers if the teacher of young children has a bit of the language, not necessarily even fluent. Although, if she can say she’s studied Advanced (Language-of-some-school-families) in college, that’s a plum at many elementary schools in the opinion of the rest of the staff.</p>
<p>Stay strong in Math, no matter which grade you end up teaching. When they do teacher workshops on how to teach early algebraic concepts, geometry and probability woven cleverly into a Grade 1 curriculum, she’ll be comfortable and able to see the connections. Even if all she’s doing is learning about why it’s harder (for a child) to add using a “missing addend” it’ll stay with her. For example, developmentally a child needs mastery over the question 6+2 = X BEFORE they can cope with 6+X = 8, solving for the missing addend. I know that’s not rocket science math, but these kinds of teacher comfort levels and literacy with upper Math can help an early grade school teacher on-the-spot untangle why a child is stumbling. Just keep up with taking some college math in college; anything less makes one feel foolish on the job these days. If it’s her real weakness, though, it can be worked around; but if she’s okay with it, stay with it. She’ll certainly need a year of college math to be certified most everywhere; I’m just saying: do more than that, if it doesn’t kill the GPA. </p>
<p>If she has a chance, try to work in one musical accompaniment instrument, playable to a basic level of fun: guitar, piano, banjo or percussion, that leaves her mouth free. I usually got the job over others because I could sing with my students throughout the schoolday (including phonics lessons done that way). They didn’t have to wait for “the music specialist” (45 min/week). It really was an impressive skill at a job interview for a regular elementary teacher to say “I can play the X and sing with my students.We use music across the curriculum.”</p>
<p>Elementary jobs are difficult to come by these days. If she loves working with young children, a more viable choice might be speech therapy or getting doing elementary ed but adding endorsements in teaching English language learners (in high demand right now and her Spanish would help), special education and/or technology. It is important to look at state licensing requirements. They are currently in flux in many states. There seems to be a trend away from majoring in education towards majoring in another subject area. It is possible to do elementary education as a M.A.T. program - I did it 20 years ago after graduating with a liberal arts degree but having a Masters degree would just make her a more expensive first year teacher - not ideal in this economic climate.</p>
<p>I would suggest that she go for an informational interview with a school principal (or two or three). She can ask the principals which candidate they would be more likely to hire, what skills she should focus on learning, etc.</p>
<p>The Special Ed certification would essentially be the only way to have gotten hired in a number of big, budget-crisised school districts, like NYC or Los Angeles, over the past few years.</p>
<p>I agree that she should look into the requirements for certification in locations where she might like to teach. </p>
<p>The key in the current economy is definitely flexibility. No new teacher should go into the field set on a certain grade level because it might exclude some great possibilities. Also, I would never recommend getting a certification via a master’s program. With the current state of district finances, this often prices first-year teachers out of the ballpark. Several of the subs our district uses were certified via a masters - and they have been sitting without jobs for quite a period of time.</p>
<p>Majoring in elementary ed is kind of a risky venture because the actual in-class field work that is done as part of the degree requirements is usually scheduled for senior year, and if you get into the classroom then and find out you really don’t like it so much after all, it’s too late to change your major. I’d also ask around to those who have done it and see how valuable they thought the information was.</p>
<p>There are many paths to teaching, and I second the vote for flexibility. Also, your D might not have a choice of grade level – teachers can be reassigned to a different grade (even against their will) by principals. And 2nd and 3rd grade are two entirely different animals! 2nd grade is kind of a calm period where the students digest the math and reading they learned in 1st grade. 3rd grade introduces cursive writing and multiplication and long division and nightly math homework worksheets with dozens of problems at a time. Developmentally, 3rd graders often have more in common with 5th graders than they do with 2nd graders.</p>
<p>My D is visiting this weekend and was excited to talk about her assignment, for her MAT 2yr program.It will be alongside a 2yr classroom practicum where she will work in a blended classroom of 2 & 3rd graders. ( she was choosing between K-1 & 2-3)</p>
<p>She was originally encouraged to apply by a friend who had gone through it and couldnt say enough about it. Her own elem classroom was a K-3 blend for her 1-2 yrs,( she had gone elsewhere for K) and 3-5, for the rest of elementary school. </p>
<p>The school where she will do her classroom experience is actually K-8 & she will get opportunities in the other grades too I hope.</p>
<p>It is a private school, but she has been working in a K-12 public for the last few years, inc summers.
Kinda jealous of her, her sister attended a K-12 public school that has been around for 30
years and our newish superintendent closed it last year</p>
<p>I will stress what others have said above: that teaching degree requirements depend on the state in which your daughter will seek licensure. What state do you live in? Where does your daughter want to live? In our state (NJ), elementary school teachers are required by the state to double major in elementary ed and a classroom subject.They have to maintain a minimum cumulative 2.75 g.p.a. to remain in an accredited education program. They are also encouraged to pursue “endorsements” in teaching ESL or children with learning disabilities in order to make themselves more marketable. </p>
<p>Undergraduate education majors have very few electives and a rigid curriculum, as they must accommodate student teaching and field work along with a double major. The students must know going in that they are going to be education majors, or they cannot fulfill the requirements for certification in four years.</p>
<p>cltdad’s wife posting here: I came to teaching after a career in business and entered through a different pathway. I have an undergraduate degree with double majors in english and history. I went back to school in a special program where the classes focused on both the practice and theories of teaching. After several years in the classroom, I have become National Board Certified. Coming from a professional angle, I think that the best pathway needs to include a strong overall general education so that your daughter has the understanding of what she will teach in order to teach it. If she’s set on teaching younger children (grades 3 and below), I’d recommend a concentration in reading instruction as it’s a vital part of her future students’ success.</p>