by J.C.
With the current economy and job loss, many are looking for options to supplement their income. Some are looking for a new career completely because of job loss. Teaching has become the light at the end of the tunnel for many individuals who have spent most of their working lives in the corporate world. The old cliche saying is “there is no money in teaching” or teachers don’t get paid very well. I beg to differ. There are many other occupations which take several more years to earn what teachers in some geo-graphic areas and of certain specialties earn their first year. I will agree that these are the main distinctions on pay grade: expertise and location. The more specific your expertise and less of a generalist you are, the more your teaching skills are valued. For example a high school Physics teacher may get more starting out than an elementary school teacher. However, an elementary teacher in a public school in an disadvantaged area may receive more in order to attract good teachers to the area. Unlike some occupations such as a sales professional, for example, you can easily determine and plan for what you will be paid.
Please see the list of websites below, which give average teacher salaries on state, city, even a district by district level.
Teacher Salary - Average Teacher Salaries - PayScale
Teacher Salaries by District
by admin
Business skills are highly important in this economy and getting certified to teach business in Texas can differentiate you as a teacher.
The requirements for obtaining a business education teaching specialist for grades six through twelve involves a specific set of academic courses for teaching business related topics. An alternative certification in business for middle school through high school students will require the education professional to be capable of teaching business related course work revolving around the topics of personal finance, basic financial market topics, economics concepts and some corporate finance topics.
Read the rest of the description and learn how to become a business teacher in Texas.
by J.C.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, Texas encompasses a 59.4% share of all Mexican immigrants to the United States.
Spanish is a highly prevalent language spoken throughout Texas and has become the official second language. People often use search engines to learn how to become a Spanish teacher.
Obtaining an alternative certification for languages other than English as a specialist in Spanish for early childhood education through twelfth grade students will require general education courses and foundational skills in Spanish language including reading, writing and conversational skills. Spanish is one of the most used languages throughout the world and is widely taught and spoken in various parts of the world.
Learn more about the requirements of becoming a Spanish Teacher.
by admin
Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators put out a press release discussing their alternative teacher certification program for the well-above national average Georgia salaried would-be teacher.
This teacher certification program consists of an exam called the GACE
As potential GACE exam test takers prepare, Teaching Solutions Test Mentoring is gearing up for GACE coaching and mentoring to help expedite getting qualified, enthusiastic people in to these jobs. The company offers both specific GACE preparation materials and individual one-on-one coaching to help test-takers pass their exam the first time.
Teaching Solutions Test Mentoring founder Mark R. Buckingham tells about his personal experience with GACE: “It was like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. I had to cut-out my social life and fun. You wonder if you’re studying real GACE test content or if you’re wasting weeks in vain. I was chained to my inferior GACE study guide and a slave to this exam. This misery went on for 3 months of late nights and weekends of studying.”
After finally passing the exam, he resolved to help other GACE applicants prepare for the specific challenges of the Georgia state teachers certification examination; and eventually developed mentoring programs for other state professional teaching exams from around the U.S.
With a full staff of experienced coaches and teachers, Buckingham limits the number of applicants to his program each year in order to provide the highest level of mentoring he can. The program is about quality and effective preparation, focusing on the importance of getting qualified teachers into public schools without delay.
Read the rest of the press release.
by admin
Standard.net reported today, Sen. Chris Buttars of Utah is proposing bills that will make getting a specialized teaching certification less complicated with less time based on real world experience. This is an awareness win for alternative teacher certification advocates. According to the story, Public school groups want those teaching in classrooms to have their kind of professional training.
Buttars won Monday morning when Senate Bill 48 passed out of the Senate Education Committee on a 4-2 vote.
The West Jordan Republican repeatedly and emotionally railed against the “red herring” that teachers should have training in “short stories and poetry” before being able to teach in a classroom, especially when hundreds of substitute teachers have less education.
Currently, to get a competency-based license, an applicant has to pass a series of classes proposed by the school district involved. It can often take a year and a half to complete those classes, which discourages some from attempting to earn the certificate.
That someone can’t be a teacher “unless they have these ancillary classes is ridiculous,” Buttars said.
SB 48 would allow prospective teachers to apply directly to the state Board of Education. Buttars, who has a college degree in marketing, said he once taught a marketing class in high school that ended up with excited students pursuing patents and developing marketing plans. The next semester, the high school didn’t ask him to teach again. When he finally called the school, officials told him that he wasn’t certified to teach. Read the rest of the article here.
by admin
According to Cleve Bryan at News2, th North Charleston Cultural and Civic Center The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence held an informational session throughout the state this week to tell people about how their program can get them into the classroom as quick as this fall.
The program is partially sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and helps make you eligible for alternative route certification. The average age of those who enrollment is 40 from that area.
The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence is a non-profit organization, founded via a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and dedicated to recruiting, preparing, certifying and supporting dedicated professionals to improve student achievement through quality teaching. ABCTE is an innovative teacher preparation and certification program for highly knowledgeable individuals who want to change careers and become teachers.
Much like candidates for ACT, ABCTE certification must hold a bachelor’s degree in any subject area and pass a background check, an examination in teaching knowledge and an examination in the subject area they want to teach. Candidates are not required to take additional college courses in order to earn a teaching certificate. ABCTE offers certification in South Carolina for grades 9-12 in English, math, general science, biology, physics
and chemistry.
by admin
According to the Newsstar.com, Other states are catching on to the benefits of alternative teacher certification for the public at large and to the would-be teachers. University of Louisiana just started their own curriculum through the TEACH Delta Region program, a collaboration with Jackson State University, is specially tailored to individuals with bachelor’s degrees in subjects other than education. Students take nighttime or online classes during their teaching year. The program can be completed in as few as 14 months or take as long as three years.
TEACH Delta replaced TeachNortheast, which was funded by a state four-year grant before it ran out.
The new program is a critical piece of an alternative certification program at ULM that is gathering national attention. In December, a state study singled out ULM for producing high-performance teachers as part of The New Teacher Project. The Governor’s Office and the Board of Regents publicly praised ULM’s education program as a model for schools across the state. Read the whole article
by J.C.
Unlike elementary teachers, a high school teacher must “face” a new set of students in every period. In my case, that means approximately 150 teens over the six periods. Another difficulty that must be surmounted is the various levels, freshmen or sophomores, and the different types of classes, for example U.S. History and World History. We realize however that department heads cannot always accommodate the wishes and/or specialties for every teacher. We are, after all, certified by the state to carry out the instruction in our respective fields, whether it is Social Studies, Math, Science or Language Arts, the four core areas of the curriculum (of course, electives are just as important, but, as we know, most public schools must show progress annually in the state testing). Continue reading A Day In The Life of A High School Teacher