<p>Hi I'm going to be a Junior in high school this coming school year and I am trying to figure out what colleges I should be looking at to be a U.S History/S.S Teacher. I have a 3.45 GPA. Feedback is much appreciated!</p>
<p>Firstly, find out how to qualify in your state or the state you want to work in. You might have 2 options. 1- take a joint history/ss and education major 2- take a regular history/social studies major and do your teacher credentials post grad. </p>
<p>Use a college search engine to see what colleges offer your preferred route (presumably) in state. Think also about the type of school you’d like to teach in, or at least experience before graduating. You might be interested in ESL, special needs, gifted, rural, urban, ‘challenging’ schools, private schools, religious schools. See which colleges offer what kind of internships. If you’d like to experience an inner city school, you might want to avoid a rural college and vice versa. </p>
<p>Otherwise, the right college is the one with the electives you’d enjoy, clubs you want to join, as near or far away from family as you want. You’ll be there for 4 tough years so pick somewhere you’ll enjoy when you’re not studying or on placement.</p>
<p>You gotta watch out for how states qualify their future educators. Some states will require you to major in US History and earn an Education certificate (ie. they do not have an Education major, but this does not mean your certificate cannot be obtained in your undergraduate career) and some will have you double major in Education and History. Keep in mind that you will be certified as a teacher in whatever state you go to college in, which can become a bit of an obstacle later if you decide you want to work in another state. Your student teaching will most likely be completed in the state your college is in as well, unless your college is flexible on where you want to student teach. Additionally, some colleges make you take a class while you are student teaching, which is why it is convenient to student teach close to the college.</p>
<p>With that in mind, I hear Montclair State in NJ and Sienna in NY have good teaching programs.</p>