<p>I'm in my senior year and currently looking to be accepted by the University of Michigan with the undergraduate study for mathematics. I understand I need a bachelor's degree and of course, a degree in education. </p>
<p>Does anybody have any tips or pointers I should be looking out for as I enter college?</p>
<p>Pointers pertaining to what? College selection? Program selection? Course selection? It seems like you have things planned out already…</p>
<p>But if you didn’t, I would suggest that you choose a program that offers you an bachelors degree in education and one that gets you into the classroom early. It is really thes best way to see if teaching will really appeal to you before your fifth year.</p>
<p>Would I simply need a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (I’ve had that I need an educational component)? And a course selection would be great. I will take any advice :)</p>
<p>From what I understand, there are three routes to teaching:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to a school where you can declare an secondary math education major. Then you will graduate in four years with a BS in Education. Your curriculum will include both education and mathematics classes.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to a school and declare a mathematics major. After four years, you will have a BS in Mathematics but will have had no education classes yet. Then you will have to go to grad school to get your Master of Arts in Education and get your ed classes there. This will take an additional one or two years.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to a school and get your BS in Mathematics along with a teaching certification. You can do this at the same school. I think this will take an additional year, but I’m not sure about that.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It looks like U of M has a school of education, so you can explore this info:
[Education</a> | University of Michigan](<a href=“http://www.umich.edu/units_edu.php]Education”>http://www.umich.edu/units_edu.php)</p>
<p>One thing to consider is where you plan to live and work after you graduate. You will become licensed in the state where you graduate (I think), so if you want to teach somewhere other than Michigan, you should find out what procedure allows you to become certified in a different state.</p>
<p>If you are planning to teach in another state, check into the certification requirements for that state. Has the job situation for teachers gotten better in Michigan?</p>
<p>Absolutely find out the certification process in the state(s) where you want to teach. Many districts/states will allow you to get your cert while you teach if you are in a “need” area, which math certainly is. They may even help you pay for your cert. Get the math B.A. rather than and Ed B.A. It will serve you better if you decide not to teach and want to go on to grad school in Math.</p>
<p>Definitely check out the education department there and ask the faculty about the opportunities there for teachers.</p>
<p>DD wants to teach History in High School. At her college, she majors in History and takes Educational classes for a Secondary Education Certificate. </p>
<p>In her Sophomore Year, the college has 3 mandatory classes for this - Educational Psychology, Special Education, Sophomore Experience. In “Sophomore Experience” she was placed in 3 different types of High Schools every Tuesday/Thursday morning for weeks. She was in a rural high school, inner city (lower level) high school, and inner city science and technology high school. It was great to help her see early on if this was the career that she really wanted. I am using “history” because it pertains to my daughter, but I would assume “math” would be similar.</p>
<p>Next year there will be more classes such as Teaching History/Social Studies, Instructional Design and Assessment, Inclusion Practices, and Junior Field Experience. She will be placed in Middle Schools next year. (Secondary Education Degrees are grades 7-12.)</p>