Education Program at UNT or SFASU? (Arlington, Highland Park: health insurance, day care, how much)

[rb2012]

I've been reading more and more about UNT and have discovered either you love it or you hate it, but I haven't read much about SFASU.

I plan on majoring in Education to become a math teacher, I've looked in to UTD but it's too stiff for me. So I was wondering if anyone had opinions on the Education program at UNT and/or SFASU. Or any other Texas school that has a nice Edu. program excluding: TCU, SMU, TTU, Baylor, UT, & A&M. Too expensive for my taste.

Thanks.

[loves2read]

first -- as a retired English teacher, I want to encourage you to read the posts/threads about trying to get a teaching job...
AND the article in yesterday's FTW paper about the hit taken by the Texas Teachers' retirment fund--which will have a direct impact on what teachers entering the profession will face in their retirement plants 20 yrs from now...

PLEASE--understand I am not trying to discourage you from teaching...BUT you should have a realistic view of what your job prospects and professional career may be like from the time you graduate during the course of a teaching career...
My son and daughter both became teachers--

he with English secondary degree and teaching in charter schools and Highland Park ISD--he exited teaching after 6 yrs to gain his MA in creative writing from UNT (that took 3 yrs and he worked as teaching asstant then) into business world (he was not tempramentally suited to be a teacher and while we encouraged it we did not put enough insight into why it was/was not a good fit for him initially...there are fields he could have entered 10-12 yrs ago after hs that would have suited his temprament and creative abilities better than teaching but WE viewed it as a safety-net field...WRONG...even through I got some strong advice from good friend who was high school English teacher that he should really consider other options because of the demands of the field--not so much his temprament...

my daughter tried speech pathology (Southwest TX) and architecture (UTA) before she decided to go into elementary ed at UT-Arlington--she is wonderful with children...IF she had had a better introduction to speech pathology than the ass who was head of program at SWT who taught the entry level course and made no bones about being harder on female students vs males because the field needed more males, she might have stuck it out...
she really did not like going to school away from home eventhough she had a great roommate...she came home and tried architecture because she loves design/art/and likes building things but the math was difficult and the school told her to sign up for the two most difficult architectural courses in same semester...TERRIBLE ADVICE...very stressful and demanding...
so she decided to go into elementary ed because she could work with kids eventhough she would not make a lot of money...
She did well--did her student teaching at West Elementary in Arlington ISD and managed to get a job there teaching 2nd grade...she really like the school--principal and other teachers were really a good team and parents were helpful vs obstructive for most part even though it is basically a Title 1 school...
Her roommate--also an elementary ed major--graduated from SWT but was not able to get a job in local DFW where she and her fiance were living...she started teaching K at Primrose school--does not work in summer and follows the state curriculum...tried couple of times to get hired by regular ISD because benefits and pay are better but no luck...she is an excellent teacher...but frankly has no local contacts and once you start teaching in "day care situation" (or charter/private schools) most principals won't touch you...

My daughter moved to FL when she married and was lucky enough to hit the timing before the bottom dropped out of the housing/economy--she is at Pine View Magnet School for the Gifted--ranked in top 10 in nation--but frankly she does not like it in some ways as well as she liked teaching at her Title 1 school--many of the students are not really gifted but their parents have paid for private testing which is allowed by the state and some private psychologists/diagnosticians are not above being lenient with the grading process...so kids who really are not "gifted" wind up in school pushed above their abilities--mentally and emotionally--not a good situation for teachers/students/parents...the school won't force them out because they won't fight parents and they want their enrollment to stay high...

ANYWAY--long story--just be sure WHY you are going into teaching...if you don't know any teachers in elementary/secondary schools--go back to your elementary school or talk to some of your high school teachers and ask them specific questions--
like how much was your raise the past 4 yrs
how much do you pay for health insurance and how good do you rate your coverage
how many hours a week do you work on school requirements outside of the classroom
are you staying in teaching because you have gone too far to try something outside education and do you see yourself doing this 5/10 yrs from now--especially if the pay scale is changed to incentive pay?

Know that if you do attend school away from this location (and can't afford a more prestigeous school) it will be more difficult to get a permanent job after graduation...most the the time new grads are lucky to be offered jobs where they did student teaching...

DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THE EDUCATION DEPT OF ANY COLLEGE TELLS YOU ABOUT % RATE OF EMPLOYMENT AFTER GRADUATION...

IF YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK--SEARCH FOR GRADS FROM SCHOOLS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THAT HAVE GONE INTO TEACHING AND SEND THEM AN EMAIL ASKING FOR THEIR TAKE ON THE SCHOOLS AND TEACHING...

[Grainraiser]

I would suggest you look into Texas A&M at Commerce (formerly East Texas State University). When I was teaching it seemed to me that they produced more school teachers than any of the other local universities.