I need a Bachelors to TEACH middle school and high school math

Suggestions on what type of Bachelors and where I might score one?

 

Hmmm, let's see...wants to teach Math...what to study, what to study...HEY! How about...MATH!
Queens University
Mary Baldwin College
Charter Oak State College
University of Pittsburgh
Acadia University
Christopher Newport University
Jack
(sorry for being a wiseass. I couldn't resist.)

 

Oh, and by the way. Having a Bachelors in Math, by itself, will not qualify you to teach Math. You'll need to have a teaching certificate as well. The requirements for these vary from state to state. Check your state government website under the Department of Education. It will all be laid out for you.
Good luck.
Jack

 

In many states, middle grades and secondary math are different teaching certificates. Math is very rarely a K-12 certificate but is a 6-12 or 7-12 certificate in some places.

It's most likely that the degree needed is not a BA/BS in math but instead a BA/BS/BEd in grade level specific math education -- very different animals.

An alternative would be a BA/BS in math followed by an MAT in grade level math education and additional study for the second grade level cert.

You'll need to plan in an extra semester or two if you're state has seperate certification requirements for middle grades and secondary math.

There are some online/distance programs leading to teacher certification but often the easier/quicker route is local state university. Even at most state u's, you can use CLEP/DANTES/credit by exam to expedite the process. There's just no good way to expedite the student teaching process.

An advantage to going with a subject matter BA/BS followed by an MAT is that you have more utility in that BS in math while the MAT provides for greater statrting pay once you start teaching.

A BA in middle grades math education doesn't have near as much market appeal outside of education.

 

Here's one on-line

Western Governors University has great teacher cert programs, both undergrad and grad.

http://www.wgu.edu/education/landing.asp

 

Get a BA in math. Except for special ed, math teachers are in the greatest demand and many school districts will hire someone with a math degree who is or will enroll immediately in a teacher credential program. Some large school districts, such as LAUSD, have their own teacher intern program. In the case of LAUSD, the district pays the bill.

 

Wow. Another great thread. Not a bad piece of advice in it.

And, Xarick, what mysty_flannigan said is true about many school districts. If a certain type of teacher is in high demand, the district will often go ahead and hire with just the bachelors degree, on the condition that the teaching certificate is acquired within a certain period of time. Many districts also require that a masters degree be acquired, too, within a certain number of years after one begins teaching.

As already rightly advised herein, you need to check with your state to find out what you've got to do to get a teaching certificate, so I won't suggest any Google searches for that; however...

• this Google search might help with the bachelors degree in math (or might not... who knows); and,
  
• assuming you agree that, having acquired the math expertise in the bachelors, a master of education degree of some sort might be the logical next step, then this Google search might (or might not) help with that.

mbaonline's recommendation of Western Governor's University (WGU) is a particularly good one. WGU has made the business of offering high-quality teaching degrees one of its specialty areas; but it takes a bit of a different approach... so make sure you understand it -- and what it will cost -- before you sign-up. Some other regionally-accredited bachelors degrees in mathematics or mathematics education may be a bit more traditional -- and quite possibly less expensive -- than WGU.

Others, here, will likely give you even better and more specific ideas and information, but that's my contribution... for what it's worth.

 

I hire teachers for a large school system and Misty and Coach both give good advice.

BUT...big caveat here...with the requirements of No Child Left Behind always hanging over our heads, you will want to do whatevery you can to get yourself highly qualified ASAP. Not all school systems will be willing to hire non highly qualified teachers (per the NCLB guidelines) for much longer. I am in Maryland and we cannot allow anyone who is not HQ to teach in a Title I middle school or we'll risk our federal funding. It's not as easy to just get a degree in math and to expect to be able to teach anymore.

There ARE alternative routes to teacher certification in most states -- the LA Unified program that Misty has described is similar to what we have in Maryland. I'm just warning you not to bank on it, though, as a lot of school systems are scrambling for funding to pay for these programs and are looking at cuts to the number of teacher candidates who we can allow into these programs. I'm in a very large, very fiscally sound school system. We hire approximately 1000 teachers per year and we only allow about 10 math teachers per year into these types of programs. Another lovely feature of the whole NCLB mess -- lots of additional requirements, but no additional funding. (Yep...there's my soapbox.)

The quickest route to certification without an existing bachelors degree in math would be to go straight to a math education program. Some states are starting to require a master's degree to be certified, so you'll need to check with the department of education in your state.

Good luck!

Mary

 

I have a question and this thread presents an appropriate opportunity to ask it. First, the preface:
It's commonly recognized that many of the people interested in Distance Learning came to be interested because they are working professionals with families, etc. and they can not afford to quit their jobs in order to return to school. With that in mind we come to the issue of Teacher Certification. The coursework problem has long been solved. There are programs galore that afford the opportunity to satisfy the coursework requirements of any teacher certification. But what about the "student teaching" component? How does a working professional complete their student teaching requirement? Schools operate when they operate (M-F, 8am-3pm). How does someone satisfy this requirement while holding down their regular job? This is a real problem, even in the "alternate route" programs I have seen. Is there a solution aside from quitting your job and crossing your fingers?
Jack

 

You're right, Jack. That is a huge problem for career changers who want to move into teaching. In Maryland, those who are part of the resident teacher programs (our version of the alternate route) are actually hired as classroom teachers and take the coursework (1 course per semester) on a part time basis in the late afternoon/evenings. It's a learn on the job type program -- the state views them as being highly qualified while they learn and teach at the same time. In my opinion, it's not the ideal situation. These poor unprepared teachers are thrown into the classroom with little or no prior training -- and often are placed in the most challenging schools. They are heavily mentored, but it's still not an ideal situation.

The other group that I see are typically men who have had successful careers in other areas and who decide that they want to 'make a difference' in the community. Most of them have wives who have good jobs with benefits and enough money saved to be able to work as long-term substitutes (low pay, no benefits) for a semester -- this can be considered their student teaching experience.

Other than that, though...you're right...it's not a career change that a lot of people can successfully make.

As an aside, if you opt for the distance learning route, I would also be very careful to get your teaching degree from a B&M school with a distance learning component vs. UoP or one of the other for-profits. It has been my experience that secondary principals are not terribly open minded when it comes to teachers getting their initial teaching degrees through nontraditional methods. Interestingly, though, they have no problem flocking to Nova for their own doctorates.

Mary

 

Florida is pretty flexible on this. I was able to get hired with a provisional license and Florida waived the student teaching requirement after I completed two years in the classroom.

Ted

 

To which we might add:

University of Calicut http://collegeskerala.com/calicut (BG15, 177)
Central Queensland University www.dtls.cqu.edu.au (BG15, 103)
Inter-American University of Puerto Rico http://bc.inter.edu
University of London www.lon.ac.uk/external (BG15, 138)
Madurai Kamaraj University www.mkuniversity.org (BG15, 120)
Mount Alison University www.mta.ca
Murdoch University http://wwwonline.murdoch.edu.au (BG15, 123)
University of New England www.une.edu.au (BG15, 141)
Open University (England) www.open.ac.uk (BG15, 126)
Open University (Israel) www.openu.ac.il (BG15, 127)
Saint Mary of the Woods College www.smwc.edu (BG15, 170)
University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za (BG15, 144)
Southwestern Adventist University www.swau.edu (BG15, 173)
Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu (BG15, 133)

 

Bachelor's Programs for Teacher Licensure DL

Judson College www.judson.edu
Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu
Oral Roberts University www.oru.edu
Prescott College www.prescott.edu
Saint Mary of the Woods College www.smwc.edu

 

I am a teacher in PA and agree with those who have stressed the importance of checking your state's requirements.

Also, consider the state's requirements for the Praxis tests that need to be taken to become certified. http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.22f30af61d34e9c39a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=d378197a484f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

I know of very few programs that offer initial teacher education online, probably due to student teaching requirements, but another option may be to complete whatever individual courses you could online and transfer them to the nearest B&M college to complete the degree.

Good luck!

 

Rio Salado in Arizon offer what seems pretty decent courses online and have an agreement with COSC.

The practicum element may still be a problem

 

Well I was one of those "career changing men trying to make a difference". Here in North Carolina, they have a program, similar to one mentioned above that is called lateral entry. As long as you had a bachelor degree, you registered with a university and they gave you your required coursework, which you had 5 years to complete and you could start teaching immediately. Student teaching was done on the job. This has changed and gotten much stricter with NCLB. I went to a rural school board in special ed, so I was offered the job within moments of them meeting me and checking my pulse....(I'm still there 4 years later). Not all candidates have been successful. I have seen my share of turnover from this program. People walk in with an idealistic view of what they can accomplish and what its like to teach. I've seen some walk out in the middle of the day, never to be seen again.

Taking my education degree at a traditional university was very beneficial. I think it would have been more difficult to do this via distance learning, although I did complete some coursework online. An out of state online university may also not address local education law and curriculum which is very important.


Ken Hamilton
B.Comm - University of Ottawa 1992
M.Ed. - North Carolina State 2004
Ed.D student Northcentral 2005 - current

 

Thank you!

Thanks for your post, Ken... I love to hire career changers like you. Your advice is very, very good and I think any potential career changing teacher should seriously consider getting that certification or degree in a face-to-face program, too. The few straight distance trained teacher candidates I have had the opportunity to interview so far have not been nearly as well-prepared as those trained in traditional classrooms. Being a distance learner, myself, I am always rooting for other distance learners, but in this case, I believe those who studied in traditional classrooms have a very big edge.

You're right, too, in that it is not for everyone and that the turnover rate and frustration level can be very high.

Thanks, again, for a very realistic and insightful post!