Should a master's degree be required for teachers?

[Anonymous]

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

They do.

[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

Putting warm bodies in these classrooms is unfair to the students, the other staff members who have to pick up the slack, and the warm bodies themselves. A Master's in Special Ed should be required and the pay should be above and beyond that of most other teachers on the MA pay scale.

They've been steadily lowering the requirements for years rather than trying to attract and retain highly qualified people to teach in these classrooms. It's not working.

[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

Putting warm bodies in these classrooms is unfair to the students, the other staff members who have to pick up the slack, and the warm bodies themselves. A Master's in Special Ed should be required and the pay should be above and beyond that of most other teachers on the MA pay scale.

They've been steadily lowering the requirements for years rather than trying to attract and retain highly qualified people to teach in these classrooms. It's not working.

But not enough people want to pay higher taxes so...

[Anonymous]

First of all- not one teacher should major in Education as an undergraduate. It is a giant waste of time and money. Teachers should major in a liberal arts major of some sort (broad span of humanities, literature, history, econ) and then, after graduation do the 15 credits or a masters in education to receive accreditation. Make sure that includes plenty of in classroom practicum.

[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

Putting warm bodies in these classrooms is unfair to the students, the other staff members who have to pick up the slack, and the warm bodies themselves. A Master's in Special Ed should be required and the pay should be above and beyond that of most other teachers on the MA pay scale.

They've been steadily lowering the requirements for years rather than trying to attract and retain highly qualified people to teach in these classrooms. It's not working.

There are a whole lot of reasons they can't attract and retain. Salary is just a small piece of it. It sucks that requirements are being lowered but the reality is that teaching isn't valued by society or compensated the way it should be so yes, school districts are desperate for even semi-qualified adults in many classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Most better public school systems at least incentivize teachers to get advanced degrees.

By and large, public school teachers have better credentials than private school teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yep. In my VA district, if you are a school employee like an assistant with a BA, you can enroll in a residency program and get your licensure for free while you do your first year of teaching and get paid a teacher’s salary. And they still can’t fill the jobs and are getting overseas teachers from the Philippines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all- not one teacher should major in Education as an undergraduate. It is a giant waste of time and money. Teachers should major in a liberal arts major of some sort (broad span of humanities, literature, history, econ) and then, after graduation do the 15 credits or a masters in education to receive accreditation. Make sure that includes plenty of in classroom practicum.

In my native Canada, there is no standalone education major. Prospective teachers stay in school longer (5-6 years instead of 4) and come out with two degrees, a bachelor's in their major and a Bachelor of Education (or do a 2 year ed. degree following their bachelor's). There's no 4-year fluff degrees in "the art and science of elementary school teaching."

[Anonymous]

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

For self contained special education, also yes.

Curious why you think this. In the past I’ve considered switching to teaching high school physics or math. I do not have a master’s degree though, and I am not going to pay to get one to teach when I have been an engineer for decades.

[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

Putting warm bodies in these classrooms is unfair to the students, the other staff members who have to pick up the slack, and the warm bodies themselves. A Master's in Special Ed should be required and the pay should be above and beyond that of most other teachers on the MA pay scale.

They've been steadily lowering the requirements for years rather than trying to attract and retain highly qualified people to teach in these classrooms. It's not working.

The way to attract and retain qualified special education personnel is to lighten the workload demands so they are realistic. Part of that means adjusting staffing standards at the state level to accurately reflect student needs. Nobody talks about this at the state level, they just keep throwing meager amounts of money at the problem when the real issue is staff training (a master’s is helpful but any educator will tell you the actually useful learning happened on the job) and adequate workloads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

For self contained special education, also yes.

Curious why you think this. In the past I’ve considered switching to teaching high school physics or math. I do not have a master’s degree though, and I am not going to pay to get one to teach when I have been an engineer for decades.

Don't take a job with a district that wouldn't pay for the degree.

[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?

They should try to recruit professionals on sabbatical or in retirement to teach high school. May be tying two years of public school teaching to college loan forgiveness for bright students would attract quality teachers.

[Anonymous]

Tiger moms would make ideal teachers.

[Anonymous]

I think, No. After a certain amount of education, it does not make a difference.

[Anonymous]

I've been teaching for over 20 years, in a variety of subjects grades 3-8. I have certification in multiple areas but no masters degree. To get those certs I had to take the right combination of classes and pass the Praxis tests for those subjects. I didn't get my masters because I couldn't afford it but I would have gotten it if my district or state paid for it. I don't think it would have made me a better teacher, though, it just would've gotten me a higher pay rate. I know an elementary teacher with her doctorate and she is not an effective educator. Experience and the support of other teachers is what makes a good teacher, along with a quick mind, communication skills, intelligence, and an understanding of child development. Patience and tact help. Higher pay and status/respect would help to draw the right type of people into my career.