Korean Job Discussion Forums

[anjinsan]

Just out of curiousity (pondering my options actually),
does anyone know what qualifications one needs to be a public
school teacher in the US?
Must one have graduated in his or her field with a specific degree in Education? (Ex. Bob studied History, has a BA and MA, but no
specific Education degree with an emphasis on History, but has taught history in a private school for many years).

Can an experienced (lets say ten years teaching experience in . . . Japan) individual be a teacher without the "Education" degree?

What about the state test--can anyone take it and be eligible for public school employment if they pass like here in Korea?

(Such a wonderful system in Korea whereby anyone can be a public school teacher regardless of what they actually studied in university. [Example: my father-in-law studied physical education--he teaches business; my mother-in-law studied business--she is a sociology teacher.] The uni major is simply seen as help to pass the much-more important government test--ha!. And recently there has been a stink about foreign teacher qualifications in Korea, what a bunch of shiiit!)


Thanks!

[greekvvedge]

[bede777]

I can actually field this one very well for you as I a was a public school teacher until I moved to Korea 3 months ago.

The first thing you will need is an education degree. It must be in education in order to get licenced. If you already have a BA in something else, your best bet is to get an MAT. You can get one of these at most universities in the US. It is a one year intensive masters degree. You will not be able to work while you go to school as it includes classes as well as part and full time student teaching. Here is the website of where I went to school and about the degree http://education.up.edu/default.aspx?cid=4345&pid=278

It helps to have a degree in what your teaching. This will make you "highly qualified" under No Child left behind". You will have to also take several standardized tests inorder to get your teaching licence.

It is very doable if your willing to lose a ful year, June to June for the degree. The biggest problem is the job market. School funding in most states is based on property taxes. As such the schools are losing funding big time and are actually RIFTing (reduction in force) teachers. This means the job market sucks.

Also keep in mind that it is a LOT harder then teaching here. The average first year teacher will put in 14 hour days. 2 or 3 preps daily while teaching 6 out of seven classes. It is a lot of work, but of course, very rewarding too. About half of teachers quite within 3 years. Good luck if you go that route it is quite rewarding. Als0o with your ESL experience an extra 6 months to get a ESL cert would make you very marketable if you are willing to teahch Eng lang learners and the social problems that comes with in the US.

[plynx]

[blade]

[greekvvedge]

[bede777]

[Wisconsinite]

Iknow that bigger cities such as Milwaukee, WI have programs where BA holders can go into teaching in the public schools while at the same time completing a teacher education program. It gives you so much time to complete before you have to have your certification.

Most states have very clear cut licensing requirements which all require a teacher education program with student teaching. This is federal...NCLB and all. But some do allow concurrent employment.

DAVES often has advertisements under the "international" category, check it out.

[Lukychrm42]

I was offered a job teaching high school foreign language this summer... I would have had to pass a proficiency test (hey, imagine that standard for your coteachers here!), take one course in language acquisition, and pass the certification. But the bottom line is that if a school district is willing to do it, you can take the course while teaching to earn your certification.

You don't have to have a specific degree in education, and a degree in the subject is a good thing. They also will love you having classroom experience.

[cazzy3]

as mentioned it depends on the state and how desperate the district is for teachers.

most states in the Northeast (CT, NJ, MA) pay very well compared to others and most teachers have masters in education. however, when i moved to FL 5 years ago w/ 2 years teaching experience overseas, they were able to hire me w/o post-grad degree or any education classes because they were in need.

once you are hired, you must pass your subject area exam, a professional practices exam, and in some cases a general knowledge exam.

also, you have two years to take 4 graduate classes if you don't have any education background or do an alternative certification class which is what i did. most states offer similar opportunities.

the first year can be A LOT of work especially if you have to take those extra classes. After teaching middle school history for 4 years, i found life in Korea teaching to be a lot less stressful and almost equally enjoyable in the classroom. the best part: I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL W/ ADMINISTRATION AND PARENTS!! Those of you that have taught in the States know exactly what i mean!! lol

[bede777]

[Straphanger]

When I got my degree (from one of the top education schools in the US, ten years ago), they didn't offer an "Education Degree" because there was no such thing in Secondary Education. My degree says "Bachelor of Arts, English (Secondary Education) from the College of Arts and Sciences". Before you are allowed into the Education curriculum (sophomore year), you take the Basic Skills test. PRAXIS is acceptable in most states, others (Texas and Michigan come to mind) have their own. Your degree course will include one semester of practicum, which is an internship in a classroom under the direct supervision of a qualified teacher, overall supervised by the Eollege of Education at your university. Following your degree course, you take a teacher examination in your subject areas. I have English and Political Science. Then you get a Provisional Certificate. Once you have that, you can teach on it for a few years until you get your Professional Certificate (requires some number of hours of continuing education, nearly equal to a Master's Degree). With your professional certificate, you need to teach four years before you are eligible for tenure. To keep your tenure, you need a certain number of approved continuing education hours per year.

For overachievers who get their Master's, you can opt for the highest level of certification (this came on after I got my degree), which requires maintenance of a portfolio which represents your body of work as a professional educator. All of this requires periodic payments to ETS for your testing.

It's not cheap.

[bede777]

I just went through the ETS nightmare a few years ago. About 100 bucks a pop and probobly higher now. Not to mention if you teach in one of these states you can also add the cbest (California) or the ORELA (Oregon) in addition to the praxis. ETS should be disbanded and all who contributed to its existance shot.

[Louie]

It is different from state to state-
In Connecticut- you would need to pass both the Praxis I and II as well as attend seminars related to the subject the person wants to teach.
Though, if a person attends the B.ED program at universities like Southern Connecicut State University, they usually forego having to go through the separate certification process as it is part of the cirriculum.
These days, because of the severe teacher shortage in the state, the State Board of Ed. has implemented many alternate pathway programs toward getting certified.

I know in some states like Louisiana and New York, they have programs that put people with only a BA into classrooms in some of the needy schools in their States (IE- New York Teaching Follow: http://www.nycteachingfellows.org/). They subsidize the candidates M.ED while they are teaching in some of the most neediest schools.

Many states certifications are transferable to other states, yet some require the transfer teachers to attend further training or even retaking the Praxis tests.

In some states, you keep your certification permanently while other states require teachers to be recertified every year.

The cool thing about getting certified in Connecticut is that its state certification is transferable in virtually every state and territory in the US, mostly because the way they conduct the Praxis test is considered the most difficult compared to other states.

[BRcouple]

There are now 37 states that have alternative certification programs that do not require a degree in education or the equivalent. Look at Teach for America if you are interested in getting your certification and serving "at risk" kids.