Elementary Education Major - What to Look for in a Program?

[mom60]

The young woman I wrote of who graduated from Seattle Pacific does not have a teaching job. Her Mom said that Seattle has a hiring freeze. The new husband has 1 more year of college so she is stuck in Seattle. She did get two nanny jobs and is making as much as a starting teacher. Her Mom is sad that she spent 4 yrs and worked hard and is working as a nanny.
My kids went to elementary school in a small district. For a number of years the new teacher hires were mainly from a credential program through a Christian College. There was talk that the principal and a few people at the district had a connection through their church with students from this school. Earlier many new hires came out of another credential program. At least in our elementary district the credential program did make a difference. I have not heard of this being an issue at the larger elementary district in our area.

[Youdon'tsay]

In our district, some types of teachers are in high demand. Others, not so much.

[toledo]

If your kiddo comes to CT, they will have to take the praxis test here regardless of whether or not they have certification elsewhere.

Ohio and Pennsylvania have a series of PRAXIS tests, too, so I think some states are working on some type of uniformity. Isn't this the purpose of these tests? Michigan doesn't have them.

[abasket]

Wow, that was a sweet article from the NY times - how inspiring and what great ideas! My son who is 2nd in his class currently considers secondary education (math) to be his first academic choice. It can be really discouraging to think that kids "settle" for teaching and to think that those wanting to excel in education are not the best of the bunch. My son is bright, very personable, has strong values, loves public speaking and has a helpful nature, but can also be very disciplined and tough. I think he would be a great educator and a possible administrator in the future. I have never understood why teaching doesn't get the respect from the public as a whole as other professions do. Crazy.

Thanks for the link to that article. It made me !!!

[kathiep]

That's another crazy thing. PA's praxis tests are probably different ones then the ones required by CT or VA. If it was just a matter of taking one set of Praxis tests then we wouldn't be talking about the problem of reciprocity.

[limabeans]

I have heard about hiring freezes in nearly every state. Schools are faced w/ dropping enrollment and fewer taxes...result: larger classes, not new teachers.

To put this in perspective, you might want to look at the hiring of new teachers over the last 3-5 years in one district. Then, compare that w/ the hiring practices in the past year. While, it sounds grand that a district hires ??? teachers per year, that number in all likelihood not only declined, but also required teachers to have multiple certifications (such as Spanish speaking, special ed, etc.). For example, let's say the same school district hired 50? new teachers for the past 3 years. But, last year, of those 50 new teachers, 9 were sped teachers, and 12 taught Spanish (or another foreign language), and 8 were in the school's ESL/ELL program, 6 MS math/science, 7 HS math/science, 3 HS English/SS and 5 elementary. That's a whole lot different from years prior.

In previous years, retirees simply stopped teaching at age 65 or whenever their retirement package came due. That's not happening anymore. For one thing, everyone is panicked about retiring too early. So, if they have tenure and not forced to leave, many teachers are staying well past their 65th birthday.

There's also another factor to be aware of: in years past, teachers who once left to start a family aren't leaving.

So, is it true it's hard to find a teaching job? Just ask the hundreds who show up at the teacher fairs each year (and left facing signs that said, "NOT HIRING"). Or ask the schools in your area. But be factual: don't ask if there's a "possibility" of a teacher shortage. Ask specifically if the schools hired and if they hired elementary teachers, or did they hire Middle school or HS math/science teachers, or sped or ELL?

[thumper1]

I think most states have the Praxis test. Trouble is...you have to take it in EACH state to become certified. I personally know someone who has taken the Praxis in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and CT to become certified in each of those places. It didn't matter that she had taken the tests in another state!

[sryrstress]

In my state, I don't see many teachers teaching past 65. I don't see them teaching until 65! Many in my family are teachers and I also have many clients in the teaching profession. Most of them have retired shortly after they are eligible. I know, that's anecdotal.

However, that parallels what the Indiana State Teachers Retirement Fund states: the average age of teacher retirement in Indiana is 60. Teachers are eligible to retire at age 55, with 30 years of service--and many do.

Indiana Legislature is also currently looking at more relaxed teacher certification rules for the near future. They are worried they are keeping good potential teachers out of the classroom due to restrictive licensing and also worried about impending retirements.

From the Indiana Dept. of Education, 10/27/09: Within 5 years, 25% of mathematics teachers, 25% of science teachers, and 36% of Career and Tech teachers will be eligible to retire. Within 10 years retirement projections are 36%, 36%, and 52% respectively.

[researching4emb]

My husband had a brief moment when our oldest daughter said she wanted to go to LMU and become a 1st grade teacher.... something like, "Great, we'll spend 45 grand a year so you can make 35 grand a year!"

But we both feel that supporting in this journey is so right. The world needs good teachers. She has a passion and a gift. How many lives have been changed by one good teacher? How many lives will our one girl change? We cannot think of a better investment in both her future and the future of our society.

As for work prospects, it's really bad out there now, but in a few years there could be a sea change. Talent and hard work will help, as will strong community connections. And nannying for a couple of years could be great-- sometimes better money than teaching (now doesn't that say something sad about our society) and a chance to keep working with kids, get adult life going, and wait for the right teaching gig.

[Treetopleaf]

I have to wonder how long the teaching profession will remain as it is now, with such heavy restrictions on entry to the field, moving from state to state and district to district, a pay scale that rewards tenure within a district, and that is really uneven - too low at entry and (if you ask me) too high for 30+ years experience. If economic pressures come to bear, the profession may be nothing like what it is today, Mobility may vastly increase. Would that free up teaching jobs?

[mom2collegekids]

>>>
My husband had a brief moment when our oldest daughter said she wanted to go to LMU and become a 1st grade teacher.... something like, "Great, we'll spend 45 grand a year so you can make 35 grand a year!"
<<<<

While I understand your H's concerns, at least the cost wasn't being covered with loans. If you and your H could comfortably afford to spend $200k for your D's education (no matter what her profession) then that's great. But, if your D had had to take out loans for that goal, she might have done just as well education-wise at a quality state school and emerged debt-free.

[researching4emb]

You're right, I would not take out loans. We can swing it because of help from the grandparents, plus we saved for years. Although we'd never swing it without help from the grandparents! So they, too, are investing in a future teacher!

[mom2collegekids]

Yeah for grandparents!! <3 grandparents!

[emeraldkity4]

What is happening in Seattle is that a couple years ago, teachers got a boost in earnings, however, unless they worked two years under that contract, they would not get the boost for pensions. That is why while Bellevue and other districts were able to retain some young teachers, because those slated for retirement went ahead and did that despite the economy, Seattle's teachers did not, so Seattle had to lay off many of their newer hires when budget cuts came around.
However this current year is the 2nd year of the contract- so bet you money, lots of teachers will be retiring in June 2010.

I don't know if I would want to work under Goodloe-Johnson anyway, ( superintendent), she claims class size doesn't matter and she doesn't lose sleep over closing schools.

[unbelievablem]

re op's original question as to what questions to ask --

one thing your d may want to look into -- what does it take to get into the school's teacher certification program. when i was looking with one of my kids we found that there were schools where (1) you applied to be in the teacher certification program as part of the initial application process -- at such schools, she may want to ask about how easy it is to switch if she finds she changes her mind; (2) entering the teacher certification program was just like declaring any other major or minor -- you just filled out some paperwork, generally your sophomore year; (3) you had to apply for the teacher certification program -- usually in your sophomore year -- at most such schools we found that this application process generally meant that you had to have maintained a certain gpa and possibly fulfill some other prequisites -- BUT one school told us that their application process was a competitive process and that they only accepted a certain percentage of those who applied and that it wasn't simply a matter of having a certain gpa. that school basically told us that those who weren't accepted had to transfer if they still wanted to try get certification undergrad. we only came across one school in our search that told us that -- but we made sure after that to ASK every other school about it.

also -- we found that there were some schools (often well known lac's) that didn't themselves offer teacher certification, but had agreements with other nearby (often less well known) schools that allowed their students to take the courses necessary for certification at that other school. your d may want to think about whether that type of situation would be an acceptable option or whether she wants to be at a school that has its own certification program.