If your child wants to be a teacher, is it better to go to a school with a bachelor’s in education

[Anonymous]

Teacher here.
No. If she's sure, and I would rethink this career, frankly, please advise her to get an undergrad degree in a liberal arts subject area, then do what she needs after that to gain certification.

Getting an undergrad degree in Education is a giant waste of time, money, a cognitive opportunity. It would be waste-of -time year after year of worthless pedagogy and methods classes. She needs to learn humanities, history, art, economics, math, technology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My alma mater (University of Richmond) axed the master's in teaching program when I was a freshman. I was very annoyed, but in the end I realized that the salary increase of $1-$2k/year would have taken forever to make up for the master degree tuition and loss of one year's salary. And it's not like teaching jobs are hard to come by at the moment. You can always get the master's at night or take a year off if you want it later.

OP here. My child is interested in teaching at private schools.

You should post at private school section.
You will get better answers.

Please tell her this is a dead end, extremely difficult, soul crushing, starving salary waste of time for her life. Why on earth would she consider this field? Let's explore other options.

[Anonymous]

For private school teaching, definitely major in a subject that is not education. They are more concerned w just bright knowledgeable people and worry less about teacher certifications and such. So I’d go to the best affordable school possible and pick a topic of interest.

Great she wants to teach.

[Anonymous]

I'll bite, though I'm a little horrified by all the negative comments about teachers and education majors.

I'm a teacher in a "good" public suburban high school. Yes, I was an education major. Double majored in English. I would do it all over again. I had great opportunities to observe/shadow as a freshman in college. Easy student teaching placement. My district paid for a large share of my master's.

I have several friends who teach in private schools. A couple had similar paths to mine. A couple of others tried different careers first, then pivoted into education. There are multiple paths, but please don't demean actual education majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My alma mater (University of Richmond) axed the master's in teaching program when I was a freshman. I was very annoyed, but in the end I realized that the salary increase of $1-$2k/year would have taken forever to make up for the master degree tuition and loss of one year's salary. And it's not like teaching jobs are hard to come by at the moment. You can always get the master's at night or take a year off if you want it later.

OP here. My child is interested in teaching at private schools.

You should post at private school section.
You will get better answers.

Private schools often do not require a teaching credential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If you are planning to become a teacher, you should not have "massive costs" associated with college. Go instate somewhere you can afford. Teachers get paid the same, no matter where they got their undergrad.

When I was a sophomore at a SLAC, I casually mentioned that I was toying with the idea of majoring in education, and my mother — who had always given me a lot of space to make my own higher ed choices — immediately and firmly shot back something like, “if you are going to do that, you can go to [state school] next year.”

I stayed at my SLAC, did not major in education, and now I’m a lawyer. Probably the right call, mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd major in a subject, especially if you want to teach high school, plus the MA can mean a salary boost.

OP here. The concern is the massive cost of the 5th year (master’s).

If you are planning to become a teacher, you should not have "massive costs" associated with college. Go instate somewhere you can afford. Teachers get paid the same, no matter where they got their undergrad.

OP here. What qualifications do schools like Sidwell, Potomac, NCS and boarding schools look for?

Many private high school teachers have a degree in the subject they teach. It’s not difficult to pass the Praxis general and subject specific (Praxis II), and take the coursework needed for certification after the department of education assesses your transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My alma mater (University of Richmond) axed the master's in teaching program when I was a freshman. I was very annoyed, but in the end I realized that the salary increase of $1-$2k/year would have taken forever to make up for the master degree tuition and loss of one year's salary. And it's not like teaching jobs are hard to come by at the moment. You can always get the master's at night or take a year off if you want it later.

OP here. My child is interested in teaching at private schools.

I taught at a private school. I had a ba in psychology and a masters in education. They accepted double majors as well, if she wants to keep costs down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My alma mater (University of Richmond) axed the master's in teaching program when I was a freshman. I was very annoyed, but in the end I realized that the salary increase of $1-$2k/year would have taken forever to make up for the master degree tuition and loss of one year's salary. And it's not like teaching jobs are hard to come by at the moment. You can always get the master's at night or take a year off if you want it later.

OP here. My child is interested in teaching at private schools.

I taught at a private school. I had a ba in psychology and a masters in education. They accepted double majors as well, if she wants to keep costs down.

Now that I think of it, I didn’t ask most of my coworkers what their degrees were, but I do know that with the current teaching shortage, the ball is really in her court. If she’s totally against a masters, I would double major. An education degree is only worthwhile if you know something worth teaching.

[Anonymous]

Get a degree in a content area and later your son can get a masters in teaching. This way he will have a different degree to fall back on if he decides he does not want to teach. Prestige does not matter. There is a teacher shortage everywhere. He may want to work in a private school now but in 10 years he may realize how much higher the salaries are in public school. - teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread surprises me. Don’t they require a masters to teach in most school districts?

The state flagship I went or had a 4 year bachelors/masters program for teachers. It was hard but everyone I knew did that. You had to start as a freshmen though.

Yes. I believe in MD, you need a Master’s or equivalent within a certain number of years.

I’d never pay for my kid to get an education degree (not that he wants to). It’s a dead end job and even with many years of experience, it doesn’t pay enough.

[Anonymous]

For privates in Baltimore, teachers typically have a degree in a “real” subject and then get masters at Hopkins or Loyola or Towson at night paid for by school where they teach.

[Anonymous]

My DD recently became a teacher at FCPS. She had a degree in physics at Caltech and an MBA at Harvard. She worked for eight years at an IB firm and used it to invest in the stock market. Last year, she decided that she had enough money to not work again so she left her job and enrolled into a fast track program to become a HS teacher. She is now teaching HS physics at the age of 32. She told my wife the other day that her FCPS salary is less than one month of her salary at the IB firm but she loves being a teacher. She is so glad that she is able to help in changing young people's lives.

Her advice for young people to go into a teaching career is to go into a career where you can earn a lot of money for a short period of time. After that, you can become a teacher because you're not going to make much as a teacher.

[Anonymous]

The School of Education & Social Policy at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (outside of Chicago) is a small college within the university. SESP is regarded as the best in the nation undergraduate program. Small classes. Very intimate environment. Freedom to change schools at Northwestern. Not uncommon to triple major at Northwestern. Foreign language study as one of the triple majors opens up options.

Many students at elite, expensive Northwestern University receive full needs met/no loans financial aid grants.

The website includes a link to courses offered.

https://sesp.northwestern.edu/ugrad/index.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD recently became a teacher at FCPS. She had a degree in physics at Caltech and an MBA at Harvard. She worked for eight years at an IB firm and used it to invest in the stock market. Last year, she decided that she had enough money to not work again so she left her job and enrolled into a fast track program to become a HS teacher. She is now teaching HS physics at the age of 32. She told my wife the other day that her FCPS salary is less than one month of her salary at the IB firm but she loves being a teacher. She is so glad that she is able to help in changing young people's lives.

Her advice for young people to go into a teaching career is to go into a career where you can earn a lot of money for a short period of time. After that, you can become a teacher because you're not going to make much as a teacher.

Are you willing to share the first year teaching salary ? It would be helpful to those considering teaching. Thank you in advance.