<p>After a period of soul-searching, my D has realized that what she really would love to do is teach upper elementary school. We think its a great decision, but here comes more school. She has a B.A. in Art History/Judaic Studies no teaching certification or formal educational training at all. Her plan is to get a Masters in Education, which will give her certification along with the degree. Can any educators or parents with kids who are teaching or in Masters programs tell me about what she should be looking for in a Masters program? I know that some schools offer an MAT and others offer a MSEd, but I dont know the differences. Does prestige matter for purposes of getting a job? What should she be looking for? My knowledge base does not extend beyond undergraduate school. Any help will be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Her best bet (if she knows this) is to get her masters in education IN the state in which she plans to teach. An accredited teaching program in State A will know what it takes to become certified in State A. In this day and age, there is not a lot of reciprocity in teaching (some, but not much) so if she gets her degree in State A and wants to teach in State B....she could be faced with additional courses and additional Praxis tests to do so.</p>
<p>In most states, you will have at least one public university where teaching is a well known program. I'd look there first.</p>
<p>Re: programs...make sure your daughter has a LOT of opportunities to get into classrooms as soon as possible in the program. It is truly heartbreaking for me (a teacher) when I see a student in their student teaching...their last term...and they discover that being in a classroom is NOT for them.</p>
<p>Make sure she understands the rules in the state she wants to teach in. I thought that all states required teachers to eventually get an MA but Texas does not. Many districts offer programs where a person can teach and be certified at the same time. The college that I attend offers a one year certificate with student teaching, for those who can afford to not work full time. </p>
<p>As thumper wisely mentioned, many people decided teaching is not for them very late in the process or shortly after they begin teaching. It's better to find that out before doing the work/paying for a masters degree.</p>
<p>Depending on the State, there are often different routes one can take to obtain their certification. Go to the state education web site and follow the links to teacher cert. Your daughter may be able to begin working as a teacher w/o her masters degree. She may need to take her education credits in order to get her initial certification, then pursue her masters in order to gain permanent certification.</p>
<p>She doesn't need a master's to teach elementary, I don't believe, though some training would always be preferrable. Agree with those who says it's best to get certified in the state in which you plan to teach.</p>
<p>There are many alternative certification programs that help get you in the classroom. Also, I know some private school teachers who aren't certified at all. Private schools aren't held to the same NCLB standards that public schools are held to. Lots of routes to this very laudable goal.</p>
<p>Some states require a master's eventually, but some districts prefer that you do not have a master's when they first hire you because then they can pay less.</p>
<p>Not to hijack the thread, but I am curious as to why this system has evolved (that your certification needs to be in the state in which you plan to teach). If you go to engineering school, you're an engineer -- you're not just an engineer in a certain state, and your skills are considered to travel with you. Why is the education field like this?</p>
<p>Because most educational standards are under local control, I suppose. Each state has its own way of doing things. </p>
<p>There are ways of getting around it, like earning National Board certification. NB certification is accepted by many states (maybe 30?), and those NB teachers aren't required to get recertified in a state that accepts it. However, you have to have been a teacher for five years to even be considered for the program, which is quite rigorous.</p>
<p>Interesting question though about why some professions require state certification and some don't.</p>
<p>In our state, you must be certified by the state--no matter where you attend school. Local Board of Education will not hire w/o a certificate. As far as prestige of school, consider the requirements for the state in which she plans to teach. Have her contact the State Board of Education to find out about requirements/coursework completed in order to be licensed to teach for that particular state. I don't think prestige of the school matters so much as appropriate coursework for the certificate. State certification--you are dealing with children? Need more than just a routine background check?</p>
<p>Are you sure she wants to start and pay for a master's degree now?</p>
<p>It is possible she could teach at a private school without a teaching certificate. Depending on the state, she could possibly be a substitute teacher without a teaching certificate. If she is not 100% sure she wants to be a teacher, it would be great if she could test the waters.</p>
<p>If she is 100% sure she wants to be a teacher, some colleges offer expedited routes to teacher certification for people who have bachelor's degrees. This might be a better route than going immediately to a master's degree. Five members of my family are or were schoolteachers; all let the schools they were teaching for pay for their credits toward their masters degrees. She could save time and money, I think.</p>
<p>I have looked into teacher certification in my state, and while there's not much I can add to what has already been said, I would think long and hard about the MA vs certification. I talked to a lot of teachers in the field I'm interested in, and almost all of them said get the certification first and the Master's later. Like northeastmom said, many districts in my state prefer certification only because they can pay you less (and in these economic times, that's probably a big factor.) Plus, those districts that encourage the MA may help you pay for it, once you're hired.</p>
<p>Also - has she spent some time just observing a classroom? That was helpful for me, too.</p>
<p>I have friends who are teachers and one who is a school administrator. My daughter is going to get her undergrad in elementary education. I have been told, at least in CA, as a starting teacher an MA is a hindrance because teachers with an MA are on a higher pay scale than those with a Bachelors Degree.<br>
Schools prefer to hire first year teachers with the bachelors so they can save some money.
Once she is in a secure position with a school then she can get the MA and as mentioned above it can be a savings of time and money.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>She doesn't need a master's to teach elementary, I don't believe, though some training would always be preferrable. >></p> </blockquote>
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<p>No...but to teach in public schools she DOES need certification. This OP does not have that.</p>
<p>What about Teach for America? It's worth looking at...and would give this OP the sense of whether they want to teach or not.</p>
<p>Re: elementary teachers and alternate certification...you need to check YOUR state. In CT, you cannot go the alternate route for anything below Fourth grade. Also, not everyone who applies is accepted into the summer "fast track" alternate route. This is typically for shortage areas (and elementary ed, and many secondary areas are NOT areas of shortage), and for folks with significant work expertise in an area and now want to teach (think an engineer who might want to teach math or science, or a musician who wants to teach music). In both cases, they must have a bachelors degree in related to the area in which they are trying to gain alternate certification.</p>
<p>she might also contact the district office for her local school district to see what they can tell her. it's my understanding that in our state, if you are employed in a classroom, you are possibly eligible for an alternative certification program through one of the universities. if not, it's almost like starting all over again........taking lots of classes (education) and the student teaching. not at all an easy route for someone who did not get their undergrad intitally in education. if you want to teach a particular subject in h.s. too...then there are degree requirements for that too. it's really ridiculous ! no wonder some fields have teacher shortages. hope things are better for the op's daughter in her state. it's discouraging to say the least ! what a mess ! it also seems that you can't even enter a masters in education program without first having certification and classroom teaching experience and the undergrad in education. the exception is some masters programs in education technology, i think.....but they appear to be limiting as to where you can work later.</p>
<p>as my d was interested in the Teach for America program (didn't get in), I got a bit familiar with the concept of Alternative Teaching Certification Programs. In NYC, there is a program called "NYC Teaching Fellows". I think the idea is to be a classroom teacher-gain experience and go for Master's (or maybe alternative certification) while teaching.
And Teach for America is also a great program to consider. I learned info about Alternative certification programs from their website.
If you want to share the geographic area your d is interested in, maybe someone knows about a specific program.</p>
<p>different cities and states have similar programs, so I suggest you "google" alternative teaching programs in the location that your kid wants to teach. And yes- every state has different requirements, so it probably does make sense for her to pick the geographic area where she wants to teach to help decide the best program.
I also just came upon this website- (never used it, so I don't know how helpful it is)</p>
<p>Welcome</a> to Teach-Now.org<br>
Hopefully it will point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>I appreciate all the replies. Let's see. My D is aware that she should get her certification/Masters in the state in which she plans to teach. That's Illinois. I took a quick look at the Illinois State Board of Ed website. It doesn't look like she's eligible for the alternative certification program which, I believe, is the type of program some of you mention where the student is able to teach and be certified simultaneously. To apply for the alternative program in Illinois, a student needs 5 years' prior work experience unless s/he's willing to do the internship component of the program in the Chicago Public Schools, something my D doesn't want to commit to do. </p>
<p>Some of you have mentioned the importance of figuring out if teaching is the right path. I think she's solid. Since high school and all the way through undergrad school, she has participated in tutoring programs, worked at SCORE, tutored kids privately, taught religious school, been a camp counselor at both residential and day camps, and babysat her brains out. Her resume and experience both scream "teacher," but it took her some time to figure it out for herself. </p>
<p>I haven't done the legwork on this, but my D has spoken to a few people who have apparently told her that it takes only a year and a half to get the Masters in conjunction with certification, and that that is the preferred route because it is relatively quick and you're eligible for higher pay from the gitgo. But some of you are saying (and it makes sense) that it's preferable, particularly in the current economy, to start with certification alone, and get the Masters later, possibly on the elementary school's dime. </p>
<p>Can anyone in Illinois enlighten me further? And are there particular programs in metropolitan Chicago that any of you can recommend? And thanks again, everyone.</p>
<p>Check the Illinois state university programs. Your daughter will be able to get her degree AND certification at a good price in programs that KNOW what students must do to be certified in Illinois. If she is going to take the certification courses, she might as well get the degree as well.</p>
<p>I got my Masters at Western Illinois University. It's not a prestigious place but it has good education programs. Check out the other Illinois state u's (Northern, Eastern). The price is right if she is instate for Illinois. I wasn't...but I got a terrific assistantship that paid my tuition plus a stipend.</p>
<p>Check out National-Louis University. They have 5 campuses throughout the Chicagoland area and I think they certify more teachers than any other Illinois school. </p>
<p>National-Louis</a> University | Elementary Education - M.A.T.</p>
<p>Thanks, thumper. So am I hearing correctly that you're recommending that she go forward with the combined Masters/certification program rather than certification alone? And that prestige is not of particular importance for purposes of getting a masters in education? The cost differential between the masters programs at Northwestern and programs at places like UIC and Northeastern Ill. is staggering. She does want to stay in metropolitan Chicago, so U of I and Northern are out. What should she be looking for in these programs? Anything, or will any public institution fill the bill. What about a school like National-Louis, which specializes in education?</p>
<p>In education I personally don't think "Prestige" means anything to 90% of the school districts out there.</p>
<p>Most states require a masters degree anymore anyway to remain a certified teacher so getting the masters is a great idea. if you have a certain district in mind see if the university places student teachers in the district. This can give you a big leg up in job placement if she has to do a student teaching assignment.</p>
<p>In the west there are a lot of cross state certification agreements in place. It was years ago but when I graduated it would have been very easy to be certified in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, and Montana all with just one additional class or a open book state test. These states all had cross licensing agreements. It is sad more states don't do this.</p>