elem age teachers...

[luvmyfam444]

what kind of degrees did you get? what do you teach?

It's been recommended to me to definitely pick up a 2nd avenue (oh good grief forgot the word! - it's late!) one of my prof said to pick up something like media specialist so that if I choose not to work in a classroom one day I'd already be able to move on...

I'll will begin my masters next fall - trying to figure out what route I want to take exactly....art interests me - though I'm NOT an artist, but so does reading...ACK

Of course I have plenty of time to think about it - just gathering ideas...

 

[golfgal]

First, don't get your masters until you have a job and tenure. Most districts will not hire someone without experience and a masters degree.

Yes, get a second area of concentration so you are more marketable to a district. If you can do something not common, media specialist is a good one, some kind of foreign language-Japanese or Chinese are becoming more popular.

If you can coach, direct a play or lead some other extracurricular activity that is a bonus as well.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

what kind of degrees did you get? what do you teach?

It's been recommended to me to definitely pick up a 2nd avenue (oh good grief forgot the word! - it's late!) one of my prof said to pick up something like media specialist so that if I choose not to work in a classroom one day I'd already be able to move on...

I'll will begin my masters next fall - trying to figure out what route I want to take exactly....art interests me - though I'm NOT an artist, but so does reading...ACK

Of course I have plenty of time to think about it - just gathering ideas...

While art is enjoyable, it is not practical if you want to teach. I have a degree in art and psychology because I was going to go the art therapy
route, I ended up getting an ME in moderate special education. If you are going to want a job when you get out, there are 3 areas of need, sped, science and math. Also, there is a federal loan forgiveness program up to 17,000 if you get a certification in one of those areas and teach in a public school system for 5 years. NCLB has sucked the life out of the humanities in schools and art is on the very bottom of the list as far as hiring goes. In addition, there are so few art postions and they are the FIRST to be cut.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I have my masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL....aka ESL). This is also a high need area in many places.

 

[vettechick99]

I have a BS in Psych and got my certificate after the fact. I teach 1st grade SPED. Now I am getting my masters in School Counseling so I can move out of the classroom at some point. I think it's a great idea to get an alternate specialization/degree!

 

[daisyduck123]

Hi!
I have a B.S. in Elem. Ed. (grades 1-8) & my Master's in Reading Education (certified as a Reading Specialist Grades 1-12).

I've been teaching 1st/2nd grade for 18 years.

Years ago, I followed the advice of a friend of a mine. She said to get my Master's as soon as I completed my B.S......that it would be much easier to just continue on with schooling, and to DEFINITELY do it before I had kids. Well let me tell you....that was the best advice ever! I'm so glad I did it that way. I look at some of my colleagues who have kids & they're trying to take classes in the evening. It's running them ragged.

Oh, & by the way...having my Reading Education degree has certainly helped me in more ways than just being more knowledgeable in my field (higher pay scale, more attractive resume) but I decided long ago that I'll never want to be a reading teacher. Reading specialists around are way too stressed out due to all the testing pressure.

 

[MM27]

I have a B.S. in early childhood education with certification to teach prek-8. I taught for a few years before I went back for my masters. I have a MEd. in elementary education. I just finished my 9th year of teaching and I am considering starting another masters, but I'm not sure what I want to go back for yet. I know I have no interest whatsoever in administration though.

Many districts offer tuition reimbursement for your masters, so it would make sense to wait. Mine used to offer it to first year teachers, but they just changed it with our new contract. Now you have to wait until you get tenure.

I know a lot of districts are looking for teachers that have dual certification with special ed. There is a push to get special ed students back into the general ed classrooms, so having teachers with that certification seems to be a plus.

 

[horseshowmom]

I also agree that it's a great idea to add an alternate certification.

I also agree with two that have already been mentioned - library media specialist and counseling.

I've been in education for 24 years (from the classroom to central office) and recently got my library certification. It's getting harder and harder to find school librarians (last month, our statewide listing showed quite a few districts looking for a LMS). I just finished my first year working in the library and almost feel guilty taking a paycheck for it. I am in a K-5 school, and it's been wonderful!

Counseling was another option that I considered. There are quite a few online master's programs available for that.

In our area, having your master's would not hurt you at all. I can't guarantee that it would help necessarily (depending on the candidates), but it would definitely not hamper your options. It's definitely easier to go ahead and get it after you finish your bachelor's. I started to do that, didn't do it, and then took 19 years to go back (finished my M.S. in 2002).

Good luck!

 

[luvmyfam444]

ACK! I replied to this thread the other day - but its not here - must've gotten lost in cyberspace when my computer went offline! UGH!

Thanks for the replies!

I am one of those folks that dropped out of college when I got married 15 yrs ago - I was senoir then - of course killed my GPA 'cause I didn't withdaw from classes SOOOO here I am back in school making all A's but my GPA is just creeping up...and since it's taking so many classes to get it up I can't get into the college of ed (GPA was 1.9 must be a 2.75) so I will be getting a general studies degree in May (GPA can be lower to grad with that degree) and then I will start my alternative certification & master's next fall.

So in my case the only wayI can teach is to get that masters - and here they give you master's pay from 1st year.

Though at this rate I don't look at being able to find a teaching job around here - they pinkslipped a slew of teachers here this year, of course they were the new ones - and many of them were the specialty (science, math) that they desperately needed last year.

I think I'm gonna defintely check into the reading & Library certifications...THANKS

But ya know I'm not sure I could be a media specialists 'cause I haven't read most of the books in the library - couldn't give a reccomendation - LOL My dd has 2 ms @ her 4th&5th grade school & according to the principal they had read almost every single book in there