Thinking of Going into Teaching :) (career, masters degree, educators, assessment)

[mchelle]

Hello!

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a child and am now in college and getting down to the point where I need to decide for sure what I'm going to major in. I'm taking a class in which I am required to complete an academic major research report and speak with people who have been through the program themselves. I need some insight from people who have been through an Education program - I would be particularly interested in hearing from those who have focused on Elementary and/or Special Education.

Here are some sample questions that I would love to hear answers to:

1. What did you like or dislike about the program or classes that you took to get your degree?
2. Is graduate school recommended for educators?
3. How long did it take you to complete your program?
4. Which courses were the most difficult for you during your education to get your degree?
5. What skills did you develop through this major?
6. Are there majors, minors or certificates that would be complementary to this major that would be beneficial to pursue?
7. Is studying abroad a good pursuit for a person with this major?
8. Did you find that you had many career options when you graduated?
9. Are you happy with your decision overall to major in Education?

As well as anything else that you would like for a person to know regarding this major and the career paths that follow graduation.

Thank you so much for your help It is really appreciated!

(PS I originally posted this in the Colleges and Universities subforum but thought that I might get more responses in this one...is there any way to get rid of the other thread? )

[Eresh]

I am in science education (not elementary or special ed), but here are my answers.

Originally Posted by mchelle

1. What did you like or dislike about the program or classes that you took to get your degree? At first the classes drove me nuts because I was used to "traditional" lectures. Cooperative learning drove me nuts because I hate relying on others to help with a project. On the up side, the classes were all easy A's.

2. Is graduate school recommended for educators? It depends on your aspirations. A masters degree can be helpful because 1. some districts bump up the salary for teachers with a masters degree, and 2. most districts require at least a masters to 'move up the ladder' into administration.

3. How long did it take you to complete your program? My undergrad wasn't in education (but it took 4.5 years). My masters took 2.5 years. I was straight biology at first then later switched to include education courses. My doctorate took 6 years, but that's because I was working full time and got pregnant and had a child during that time.

4. Which courses were the most difficult for you during your education to get your degree? None of the classes were difficult. The tuffest thing to get used to was that there were few tests. Grades came from other things, such as participation, projects, and papers.

5. What skills did you develop through this major? Measurement - developing assessments. I also learned how to understand people better (ed psych classes). With advanced graduate coursework I also learned a bit about program evaluation and data analysis.

6. Are there majors, minors or certificates that would be complementary to this major that would be beneficial to pursue? I would tell anyone planning to be a classroom teacher to take whatever is offered for ESOL and special ed. A reading endorsement is helpful too.

7. Is studying abroad a good pursuit for a person with this major? Not so much unless one plans to work in another country. Our teacher preparation programs in the US are designed around how schools are here. Things work differently in other countries.

8. Did you find that you had many career options when you graduated? Having a graduate degree helped me get beyond the classroom. I got in to educational research and did data analysis for a while before finishing my doctorate and getting a university faculty job.

9. Are you happy with your decision overall to major in Education? Yes.

[mchelle]

Thank you so much for your input I'm glad that I got to hear from someone who majored in Biology - I've been enjoying my Bio class and was thinking of seeing where I could go with a degree in that or Genetics, or even Chemistry.

Very admirable that you went all the way up to getting your doctorate. Juggling a baby and work and school must have been quite the experience

Originally Posted by Eresh

I am in science education (not elementary or special ed), but here are my answers.

[domina5]

Hello! I am also not elementary or special ed, rather, I teach high school art and also hold an endorsement in social studies, but figured I would give you some feedback.

1. What did you like or dislike about the program or classes that you took to get your degree?
I agree with the previous post, I did not like the group work. Plus, the education classes were not very oriented to elective teachers. I have a k-12 endorsement for art but never planned to teach elementary school, so the classes that made me complete lessons for both were frustrating, but mostly busy work. Easy to pass with an "A" if you can follow directions.
2. Is graduate school recommended for educators?
Yes. Nearly every teacher I know has a master's degree though it is not required by our district. It does generally earn you a higher salary, though not always. I highly recommend you go when you decide which program you want. Don't just take the "easy" degree from some online school for a pay increase. It is fast and easy, but it will not do much to help you if you decide to leave public education. I know one person who already has two master's degrees and wanted to teach community college in the summers but since her degrees were in education from online schools, she was told she was not qualified. Now she is working on a degree in her field (science). It is an online program but not from a strictly online school.
3. How long did it take you to complete your program?
It took me 5 years to complete a BFA program and a teaching endorsement. Then a year to complete my social studies endorsement. Graduate school took me three years as a part time student while I was teaching.
4. Which courses were the most difficult for you during your education to get your degree?
None were difficult, the hardest part is time management. Many of them required observation hours outside of the regular class time. That is tough to schedule around a full college course load and a job if you have to work. If you have to have observations, keep some time open during the school day for that. I had to drop a class my first semester of observation because all of my college classes were during regular school hours so I had to find a block of time to squeeze in observations when schools were open.
5. What skills did you develop through this major?
The big thing is learning how to write rubrics, assessments, and teach to standards. You will also learn the education vocab that your future administrators will expect from you on observations and at job interviews.
6. Are there majors, minors or certificates that would be complementary to this major that would be beneficial to pursue?
ESL, reading, technology, special ed, foreign language, math...basically any area that is currently "high need". Where I live, that means any subject that is covered by the state standardized test or has a big graduation requirement tied to it. Our students currently have to have 2 years of foreign language to graduate, so there are many of them having to repeat the level until they pass it. But, there are always needs for special ed teachers and people who can be in bilingual or ESL environments.
7. Is studying abroad a good pursuit for a person with this major?
I don't know that you would need a study abroad for your concentration. As an art and history major, I studied abroad, but it fit with my areas of expertise. I don't think it will hurt you in any way, though, but it may take away from graduation requirements and keep you in school longer. I think it is an awesome experience if you can do it. Plus, if you go somewhere to learn a language, it may benefit you for being in an ESL or bilingual program if you can really own that language.
8. Did you find that you had many career options when you graduated?
Well, I got very lucky when I was done with school, there were a lot more jobs then there are now. But, there are tons of babies being born right now...somebody told me that historically, there are more kids born during a recession...so by the time you graduate, hopefully there will be lots of jobs. You can make yourself more marketable with the added endorsements, however.
9. Are you happy with your decision overall to major in Education?
Yes, because I majored in the subjects I loved (art and history) and also took education classes. I would not be happy as a special ed teacher, but if that is what you truly love, you should be happy. Do what makes you happy rather than what you think will find you a job. I thought about majoring in science, which I like, but I don't love it. If you love elem. ed and special ed, do it!

As well as anything else that you would like for a person to know regarding this major and the career paths that follow graduation.

Good luck. I am a young teacher and it has been a strange trip over the last few years. There are a lot of changes coming down the pike for education, but I think it will start to settle down again soon. Don't get discouraged if you find a school that you are not happy with. Every school is different, go to lots of schools for observations to find the type of environment that is a good fit for you.

Thank you so much for your help It is really appreciated!

(PS I originally posted this in the Colleges and Universities subforum but thought that I might get more responses in this one...is there any way to get rid of the other thread? )[/quote]

[captain_hug99]

I'm currently teaching Music to elementary aged children, but my certificate is K-12.

Here are some sample questions that I would love to hear answers to:

1. What did you like or dislike about the program or classes that you took to get your degree? I enjoyed them. There were some that were very dry and boring, but I had lots of experience before I stepped into the classroom.

2. Is graduate school recommended for educators? It depends on the state in which you are teaching. In Connecticut, it is mandatory by your 10th year of teaching, but not in other states. Teachers should always keep learning.

3. How long did it take you to complete your program? 5 years, I have two bachelors degrees, one in music and one in education. It was another 18 months for my master's degree.

4. Which courses were the most difficult for you during your education to get your degree? Music Theory and music history, they were weed out classes. We started with 90ish music education students and graduated 13.

5. What skills did you develop through this major? I'm not only an educator, but also a professional musician.

6. Are there majors, minors or certificates that would be complementary to this major that would be beneficial to pursue? Science and math, do it if you can!

7. Is studying abroad a good pursuit for a person with this major? It depends on your college, mine wouldn't allow it.

8. Did you find that you had many career options when you graduated?I graduated in 1999, so yes. Now, not so much. In a few years, there should be.

9. Are you happy with your decision overall to major in Education?Absolutely, I LOVE teaching!!!