Should a master's degree be required for teachers?

[Anonymous]

Public school teachers in Connecticut, Maryland and New York are required to have masters' degrees. Has requiring the masters' improved teaching? Should other states follow suit?

[Anonymous]

Other states are going in the opposite direction. I kept seeing ads from Charlotte for ESOL and special ed. I couldn’t believe my eyes. You only needed to be 21 and have no criminal background. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

I started teaching before getting my masters degree.

Honestly, no, the masters didn’t make me a better teacher. Experience helps more.

There are some awful teachers out there with Masters degrees. The burn out, mean teachers need something else entirely. The young teachers w/o masters need mentors.

[Anonymous]

No. I have a Masters. It isn’t the reason I’m a strong teacher.

Good teaching comes from experience. It is also a bit of an art. You need to be able to communicate, entertain, set purpose, and motivate. You need to be able to triage many people’s needs and expectations, ultimately getting them all met without burning out yourself.

I’ve worked with a PhD who couldn’t teach, and people with BAs who are amazing in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I have a Masters. It isn’t the reason I’m a strong teacher.

Good teaching comes from experience. It is also a bit of an art. You need to be able to communicate, entertain, set purpose, and motivate. You need to be able to triage many people’s needs and expectations, ultimately getting them all met without burning out yourself.

I’ve worked with a PhD who couldn’t teach, and people with BAs who are amazing in a classroom.

I agree. It isn't one of the multiple reasons I'm a good teacher. My MS Ed program was a joke, and many teachers will tell you the same.

Experience is hugely important, but given that teaching is a lot of presence and performance, it's a lot like being a performer. Some people have 'it'. Some people don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

I’m the PP. I don’t see the correlation between degree and performance, even in math and science. The PhD I referred to above was a Chemistry teacher. She couldn’t communicate effectively with teenagers, so her immense knowledge was never delivered to students in a meaningful way. The BS in the classroom next to her was the stronger chemistry teacher by far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

Why? The content and skills do not need to be learned in a Masters program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public school teachers in Connecticut, Maryland and New York are required to have masters' degrees. Has requiring the masters' improved teaching? Should other states follow suit?

MCPS is having to bring in teachers from the Philippines under the pretense of a cultural exchange and you want to raise the bar for hiring? There is already a disconnect between pay and education and you want to raise the education bar higher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

For self contained, they are lucky to get a warm body. If anything, they should lower the requirement so that they can fill the role

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

For self contained, they are lucky to get a warm body. If anything, they should lower the requirement so that they can fill the role

They are not babysitters.

[Anonymous]

Considering there is a teacher shortage, no. Adding this requirement would causes problems for school districts. Teachers with masters should get paid more.

[Anonymous]

I love it if a math teacher has a Masters in math, English teacher has a Masters in English, history teacher has a Masters in history, biology teacher has a masters in Biology, and so on. Deeper knowledge of one's field often correlates with both enthusiasm for that field and an ability to teach the subtle or tricky bits more clearly.

I do not think an MA Education always makes for a better teacher. Experience and enthusiasm matter much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love it if a math teacher has a Masters in math, English teacher has a Masters in English, history teacher has a Masters in history, biology teacher has a masters in Biology, and so on. Deeper knowledge of one's field often correlates with both enthusiasm for that field and an ability to teach the subtle or tricky bits more clearly.

I do not think an MA Education always makes for a better teacher. Experience and enthusiasm matter much more.

I have an MA in English and I teach English. My masters level work isn’t why I’m a good teacher.

It doesn’t relate at all to my ability to teach subtle/tricky bits. I can do that because I’m an effective communicator with experience teaching high schoolers, not because I have an additional 60 credits of English coursework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For certain subjects like high school math and sciences, yes.

For self contained special education, also yes.

For self contained, they are lucky to get a warm body. If anything, they should lower the requirement so that they can fill the role

They are not babysitters.

They kind of are. Once they age out of school, they literally are