Pathways to Teaching: Back to School

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.


There are a lot of different programs out there, and in particular I was looking into the MAT programs offered through Johns Hopkins University. They offer 3 different MAT programs. FlexMAT is geared toward people who are working full time and want to take evening classes to get their degree. There is a 1 year SiMAT program, which is full time. And there is a program called ProMAT, which partners with a local school district and is a 2 year program, at the end of which you are both a certified teacher as well as you get your MAT. The FlexMAT and SiMAT programs require you to pay your own tuition and fees. The ProMAT program pays the bulk of your expenses and even gives you a small stipend, and you must agree to teach in the partner school district for 3 years after you complete your program. For full details on these programs, see their website.

The benefits of going back to school are that you get 1-2 years of exposure to the field of education in the classroom, and you participate in supervised student teaching, helping you ease into the job. Getting a MAT can also help you earn a higher salary as a teacher, since the pay scales are partly determine by the number of graduate hours you have. There are typically 3 pay steps for people with just a Bachelors, then for Masters and Doctorate.

The cons of going back to school include the expense. The price tags I saw for getting a MAT seems to hover consistently around $20k for schools in Maryland. It also takes time, and for someone who is interested in getting into the classroom right away to begin teaching, it can seem like too long. There is also the question of the true value of the education you receive getting your MAT. While I am sure there is value in it, I am of the opinion that a teacher is better off getting an advanced degree that is directly related to the subject they teach. History teachers should learn more history; math teachers - more math. From everyone I have ever met who is a teacher, the true art of teaching is best learned by doing it.

It is not my intention to discourage anyone from getting a MAT. For me, I decided it was not the path I wanted to take.