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Okay here goes I need help. My niece is considering being a teacher however she only has a bachelor's in business as of right now she does not want to go back to school 2 get certified. I hear Mississippi, Texas and Alabama maybe two states that may hire you if you are not certified can anyone direct me to where I can find out information. She's willing to go back for certification when she gets her foot in the door
Some states have what is an "out of area" certification. She would have to contact the state's DOE, typically this certification requires a lot of testing since she would need to prove she can handle the material as well as have a working knowledge of "best practice" inside a classroom.
She is good in math and science....and currently works as an underwriter
Being "good" in math and science is not the same as being able to teach it.
In most states, all it takes is 18 credit hours to get a regular teaching certificate. That can easily be done in 2 semesters full time. Student teaching is invaluable and is generally part of that 18 credit hours.
As someone who came out of industry and went into teaching I would say TFA is probably the way to go if she wants to be in teaching. My MAT was a waste of my time. You learn how to be a teacher on the job not by sitting in a classroom. I wish I'd gone TFA instead of getting my MAT. Education college is all theory. Then there's reality. If she goes TFA and likes teaching she'll reach proficiency sooner than if she sat in classes for 2-3 years before stepping into a classroom. If she goes TFA and doesn't like teaching, she hasn't wasted thousands of dollars on a useless degree.
Sadly there was only one course I thought was worth it in college and that was a class on sexism and racism. The others were tickets to be punched so I could get my cert. I already had my majors and minor in place before starting my MAT. I'd say my methods courses were worth it if they'd been longer courses. One semester of writing lesson plans does not prepare one to teach a year of material. I wish I'd had courses in things like unpacking standards and writing curricula. Classroom discipline is another one I wish I'd had in college (we had classroom management but trust me things don't go the way they say they do in the books so those were a waste too.). I learned more practical material attending workshops during my first three years teaching than I did in my entire MAT program.
If I were going to write a teacher preparation program I'd do about six weeks of workshops before the year started and then put the new teacher in a room with a supervising teacher for a year. After that I'd let them pick up their own classes but they'd be heavily supervised. Teaching is learned on the job but unfortunately there is very little support for new teachers. My mentor program consisted of me talking with a mentor for an hour a week. Fortunately, I had enough intelligence to register for workshops that addressed my needs but those first years were rough. IMO the requirement for a certificate to teach shouldn't be a teaching degree. It should be 1-2 years of supervised teaching.
IMO she'll become a teacher faster through TFA. She can get her ticket punching classes done later or better yet take workshops specific to her needs.
As someone who came out of industry and went into teaching I would say TFA is probably the way to go if she wants to be in teaching. My MAT was a waste of my time. You learn how to be a teacher on the job not by sitting in a classroom. I wish I'd gone TFA instead of getting my MAT. Education college is all theory. Then there's reality. If she goes TFA and likes teaching she'll reach proficiency sooner than if she sat in classes for 2-3 years before stepping into a classroom. If she goes TFA and doesn't like teaching, she hasn't wasted thousands of dollars on a useless degree.
Sadly there was only one course I thought was worth it in college and that was a class on sexism and racism. The others were tickets to be punched so I could get my cert. I already had my majors and minor in place before starting my MAT. I'd say my methods courses were worth it if they'd been longer courses. One semester of writing lesson plans does not prepare one to teach a year of material. I wish I'd had courses in things like unpacking standards and writing curricula. Classroom discipline is another one I wish I'd had in college (we had classroom management but trust me things don't go the way they say they do in the books so those were a waste too.). I learned more practical material attending workshops during my first three years teaching than I did in my entire MAT program.
If I were going to write a teacher preparation program I'd do about six weeks of workshops before the year started and then put the new teacher in a room with a supervising teacher for a year. After that I'd let them pick up their own classes but they'd be heavily supervised. Teaching is learned on the job but unfortunately there is very little support for new teachers. My mentor program consisted of me talking with a mentor for an hour a week. Fortunately, I had enough intelligence to register for workshops that addressed my needs but those first years were rough. IMO the requirement for a certificate to teach shouldn't be a teaching degree. It should be 1-2 years of supervised teaching.
IMO she'll become a teacher faster through TFA. She can get her ticket punching classes done later or better yet take workshops specific to her needs.
What you described sounds like a good program. Unfortunately, TFA does not work that way. The only hands on experience you get before teaching is a few weeks in a summer school program. At least that's how it is done in my area. In September, they assign you to a tough inner-city school. You do have a mentor, but like yours, they come to visit maybe once a week, if you are lucky. They hold the TFA teacher to the same standards about raising test scores and accountability. Most leave within the first year and if anything, they are completely turned off to doing this permanently if they stick it out in order to get their student loans reimbursed.
What you described sounds like a good program. Unfortunately, TFA does not work that way. The only hands on experience you get before teaching is a few weeks in a summer school program. At least that's how it is done in my area. In September, they assign you to a tough inner-city school. You do have a mentor, but like yours, they come to visit maybe once a week, if you are lucky. They hold the TFA teacher to the same standards about raising test scores and accountability. Most leave within the first year and if anything, they are completely turned off to doing this permanently if they stick it out in order to get their student loans reimbursed.
The only person that I know who was in TFA, said that not only were you assigned to a "tough inner-city school" but she and most of her TFA colleagues were assigned to the toughest classes with the most difficult students in the already tough schools.
The only person that I know who was in TFA, said that not only were you assigned to a "tough inner-city school" but she and most of her TFA colleagues were assigned to the toughest classes with the most difficult students in the already tough schools.
When I was working in a district with a large TFA population, virtually all TFA people were put into special education and most expressed that they felt extremely unprepared. It made life difficult for the rest of the teachers who spent more time mentoring them than they did with other new teachers.
I wouldn't say our school district was "tough," and we weren't inner city (we were more rural), but we were all Title 1 and the population was extremely culturally and linguistically diverse.
[quote=Ivorytickler;46180996]As someone who came out of industry and went into teaching I would say TFA is probably the way to go if she wants to be in teaching. My MAT was a waste of my time. You learn how to be a teacher on the job not by sitting in a classroom. I wish I'd gone TFA instead of getting my MAT. Education college is all theory. Then there's reality. If she goes TFA and likes teaching she'll reach proficiency sooner than if she sat in classes for 2-3 years before stepping into a classroom. If she goes TFA and doesn't like teaching, she hasn't wasted thousands of dollars on a useless degree.
....WOW thanks for the input this was very positive and I will forward this on
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