The traditional way of becoming a teacher is to go to college and get a Bachelor's or Master's in Education. Usually these programs take care of all the requirements needed to get your certification, including doing a program of student teaching. I am no expert on education programs, but I did look into getting a Master's of Art in Teaching (MAT) as one way I could enter the profession, so I will share what little I know.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pathways to Teaching: Getting Certified
In order to teach at a public school, and sometimes private schools, you need to get your teaching certification from the state department of education. Since I live in Maryland, the information presented here will apply to this state. You will need to check with your state's board of ed to find out the specific details.
So for Maryland, it makes sense to start with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The MSDE website has a lot of information on it, however it is not easy to find what you are looking for, especially if you are not exactly sure what you are looking for.
Let's start with what it takes to become certified. There are different types of certification available in MD, and different ways to become certified. For general information about certification in MD, see the MSDE FAQ's.
So for Maryland, it makes sense to start with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The MSDE website has a lot of information on it, however it is not easy to find what you are looking for, especially if you are not exactly sure what you are looking for.
Let's start with what it takes to become certified. There are different types of certification available in MD, and different ways to become certified. For general information about certification in MD, see the MSDE FAQ's.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Pathways to teaching: Private Schools
Once I became interested in teaching, the next step was trying to figure out how to become a teacher. I have already talked about The New Teacher Project here, but I will spend the next couple of posts outlining some of the other options I researched, starting with private schools.
In many cases, you do not need to have state certification in order to teach at a private school. These jobs may pay less, and have fewer benefits compared to teaching in public school, but they can also allow you more freedom with regards to curriculum and teaching methods.
You can start by finding out which private schools are in your area and contacting them to see if they are accepting teaching applications, and what their requirements might be. The Private School Review allows you to find schools by zip code, grade, gender, and religious affiliation.
I also recommend checking with the National Association of Private Schools to find schools and job openings.
For listings of Catholic schools in your area as well as job postings, try the National Catholic Educational Association.
Keep in mind that many religion-based schools will ask you questions about your own personal religious beliefs and lifestyle choices. I saw several applications for private Christian academies that ask about religious affiliation, your views on the creation of the universe, and whether or not you consume alcohol. I knew right away, that my application would not be a good fit for these institutions.
My next posts will focus on Pathways to becoming a certified teacher.
In many cases, you do not need to have state certification in order to teach at a private school. These jobs may pay less, and have fewer benefits compared to teaching in public school, but they can also allow you more freedom with regards to curriculum and teaching methods.
You can start by finding out which private schools are in your area and contacting them to see if they are accepting teaching applications, and what their requirements might be. The Private School Review allows you to find schools by zip code, grade, gender, and religious affiliation.
I also recommend checking with the National Association of Private Schools to find schools and job openings.
For listings of Catholic schools in your area as well as job postings, try the National Catholic Educational Association.
Keep in mind that many religion-based schools will ask you questions about your own personal religious beliefs and lifestyle choices. I saw several applications for private Christian academies that ask about religious affiliation, your views on the creation of the universe, and whether or not you consume alcohol. I knew right away, that my application would not be a good fit for these institutions.
My next posts will focus on Pathways to becoming a certified teacher.
Friday, February 19, 2010
The New Teacher Project
I will be teaching as a Teaching Fellow in a program that is part of a larger, nationwide effort at improving schools called The New Teacher Project (TNTP).
From the website: “Founded by teachers, The New Teacher Project was formed in 1997 to address the growing issues of teacher shortages and teacher quality throughout the country. In its first year, TNTP embarked on three projects to create and implement high-quality alternative route to certification programs to bring new streams of accomplished individuals into hard-to-staff urban schools. Since then, TNTP has worked with more than 200 school districts and become a nationally-recognized authority on new teacher recruitment and hiring. “
The programs under TNTP are similar to Teach for America, and in fact many of the founders of TNTP came from Teach for America. These programs are aimed at recruiting professionals from diverse backgrounds, as well as recent college graduates who do not have teaching experience or education degrees but who would like to become teachers. (That's me!)
The exact details may vary by location, but they are all fairly similar. Once an applicant is accepted into the program, he or she spends one summer training (think teacher boot camp), and is then allowed to teach full-time in a real classroom once the school year begins. Participants get full a salary and benefits from the school district. While doing this, the new teachers are granted “resident teaching certification”, which is a temporary status. Participants also attend evening and weekend classes and seminars that allow them to complete the educational requirements need for a full teaching certification. For me, this takes 2 years. New teachers are also given support from mentors and more veteran teachers, and they get regular feedback on their performance.
If this is something that is of interest to you, I highly recommend this article in the Feb. 2010 issue of the Atlantic.
From the website: “Founded by teachers, The New Teacher Project was formed in 1997 to address the growing issues of teacher shortages and teacher quality throughout the country. In its first year, TNTP embarked on three projects to create and implement high-quality alternative route to certification programs to bring new streams of accomplished individuals into hard-to-staff urban schools. Since then, TNTP has worked with more than 200 school districts and become a nationally-recognized authority on new teacher recruitment and hiring. “
The programs under TNTP are similar to Teach for America, and in fact many of the founders of TNTP came from Teach for America. These programs are aimed at recruiting professionals from diverse backgrounds, as well as recent college graduates who do not have teaching experience or education degrees but who would like to become teachers. (That's me!)
The exact details may vary by location, but they are all fairly similar. Once an applicant is accepted into the program, he or she spends one summer training (think teacher boot camp), and is then allowed to teach full-time in a real classroom once the school year begins. Participants get full a salary and benefits from the school district. While doing this, the new teachers are granted “resident teaching certification”, which is a temporary status. Participants also attend evening and weekend classes and seminars that allow them to complete the educational requirements need for a full teaching certification. For me, this takes 2 years. New teachers are also given support from mentors and more veteran teachers, and they get regular feedback on their performance.
If this is something that is of interest to you, I highly recommend this article in the Feb. 2010 issue of the Atlantic.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Purpose of this blog
I am starting this blog to chronicle my life as a new math teacher. I am a career changer who has recently accepted a position to teach secondary-level math in a public school through a program offered through The New Teacher Project (TNTP). My goals in this blog are to share my experiences as I go through this transformation. I think that doing so will benefit me by allowing me to organize my thoughts and put all of this into perspective, and I hope it will also be a resource for other people who are considering making a career in teaching.
I will not actually begin the TNTP program until this summer, sometime in June 2010. So until then, I am going to use the blog to talk about everything I have learned about pathways to becoming a teacher, as well as books and resources I am using to try to prepare myself for this new career. Once I am actually teaching, I think the blog will focus on my own personal experiences in the classroom, but until then, I will discuss a wider variety of topics that relate to education and teaching math in particular. I hope to post twice a week, although once I am working full-time, I will probably be happy if I can continue with posting just once a week.
I am not much on social networking and I like my privacy. At this time I am choosing to not put my real name and face on this blog. I am going to write anonymously, however I am not a super-stealth ninja who is going to scrutinize each thing I say to see if there is any information that I think people could use to find out who I am. I think anyone who is so determined could easily figure it out, but that most people don't care. I may in the future get braver and be willing to go public, but for now, I think of myself as just “new math teacher”. It is not my intention to use this blog to say mean and nasty things about people or about the school district or program I am in; however I also want to feel free to voice my opinions if I feel it appropriate.
Here's to my first blog post! Hurray!
I will not actually begin the TNTP program until this summer, sometime in June 2010. So until then, I am going to use the blog to talk about everything I have learned about pathways to becoming a teacher, as well as books and resources I am using to try to prepare myself for this new career. Once I am actually teaching, I think the blog will focus on my own personal experiences in the classroom, but until then, I will discuss a wider variety of topics that relate to education and teaching math in particular. I hope to post twice a week, although once I am working full-time, I will probably be happy if I can continue with posting just once a week.
I am not much on social networking and I like my privacy. At this time I am choosing to not put my real name and face on this blog. I am going to write anonymously, however I am not a super-stealth ninja who is going to scrutinize each thing I say to see if there is any information that I think people could use to find out who I am. I think anyone who is so determined could easily figure it out, but that most people don't care. I may in the future get braver and be willing to go public, but for now, I think of myself as just “new math teacher”. It is not my intention to use this blog to say mean and nasty things about people or about the school district or program I am in; however I also want to feel free to voice my opinions if I feel it appropriate.
Here's to my first blog post! Hurray!
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