Reply to Science Teachers shortage in MCPS MS 2022 Fall

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a MCPS middle school STEM teacher.  I am not sure where you are getting these requirements from.   I have never been required to take 2 semesters of anatomy or whatever.
  You get a basic science degree.  You take required Ed courses, pass praxis 1 and 2(for you major).  Work in the schools for a year under observation.

In my experience most middle school science teachers are bio majors.  High school is more of a mix but still leans towards bio.

Once you are in the system you can take other praxis tests to add those endorsements without taking other classes.  I have 5 total now.

The challenge at Parkland and Clemente is that they don't follow the county curriculum.  Teachers have to build and tweak their own and there are a lot more student projects to manage.  The older teachers are always having to train up the newer teachers.  Then you have testing on top and all the other requirements.  For teachers that are independent and motivated, it's great.  If you expect a lot of pre-made lessons and assessments it is not ideal.

Parkland is down county so travel and the student SES mix can be management issues.[/quote]

Right that's the point.   You didn't have to take those classes yet you can be a STEM teacher but my daughter has to take a lot of hard science classes for public health but can't be a teacher without taking an additional 80 education credits as a public health major. [/quote]

But most of the classes you mentioned would be required for a Bio or Chem degree, too.[/quote]

The difference is with a Bio degree you don’t have to take many teaching classes. They don’t waive it for Public Health. Bio requires an extra year of Chem, plus Physics and BioChem, plus upper level Biology classes hat don’t count for public health too.[/quote]

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