Homeschooling does not mean you have experience teaching ...

[SabrinainPA]

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my future, after the kids are done with their schooling. And, even though I am trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I have some concerns about the future of mental health in this country. So, I have been looking into education programs. I thought almost ten years of educating my children might count for something. (They have great standardized test scores, portfolios are provided by me every year, ... someone taught them to read.) But, despite having a Masters and 50 Doctoral credits with a 4.0 GPA, I was just turned down for entry because ... I lack practical classroom experience. Hmm... I am not sure if I want to laugh or cry.

[Jean in Newcastle]

As a former classroom teacher, there is something to having had that practical classroom experience. Unfortunately you can't get down to the nitty-gritty of teaching without having a classroom that will listen to you, obey you (but in a setting where you can only reinforce but can't really discipline). You also need to be able to handle the whole thing of teaching in an institutionalized setting where you are ruled by a schoolbell, rules for hallway behavior etc.

 

Having said that, I'm really surprised that they would not consider you. Here there is such a teacher shortage that they will sign up anyone (who passes the FBI check) who has a degree in any subject.

[LaxMom]

I would think you'd be able to be a staff teacher at your local community college. My husband was just hired by a university to teach fire department classes and, aside from his department certifications and experience, he only just got his master's.

[Karenciavo]

What about a private school? Quaker?

[SabrinainPA]

Thank you for all the alternatives. I guess I just was taken aback by how dismissive the enrollment/advisor person was. Remember the good old days when internships and apprenticeships counted for something? I am just feeling a bit defensive about all we do to educate our kids. Sometimes when I read this forum, I feel stupid - the knowledge base here is so high. To have our experience as teachers discounted just because it is not an acknowledged or ... what's the word ... accredited avenue is frustrating. I know classroom teachers have it tougher, due to the nature of the classroom and the limitations placed upon them. But, when it comes to planning, and implementation of lessons - the actual teaching - what we do is quite similiar. Sorry, I do not mean to belabor the point. I still can apply to one of the fast-track programs. It will just take longer. Thanks for the ear.

[Laura K (NC)]

We homeschoolers do have more experience than the world gives us credit for. We generally know curricula, know how to work teacher's manuals, know how to plan a year, know how to see the big picture and set academic goals, etc.

 

But I've taught co-op classes and that involves different skills. There's something about making a lesson plan and making it fit the hour (or 45 or 50 minutes). Writing tests, lecturing so that students are able to take notes, dealing with the myriad issues that a large class entails -- these are all things that they can't teach you in school, and you wouldn't necessarily learn in a homeschool setting either. I've taught in co-ops off and on for many years, and my classes have been as large as 30 students and as small as 4, and I'm not even sure that experience counts for much.

 

I write this in empathy. I took some education courses in college but decided against the education degree because I just didn't feel like playing the game. The degree involved rubbing elbows with other experienced teachers, brown-nosing the professors in the department, and entering into the public school experience with much more enthusiasm than was natural for me. I don't act well -- I just wanted to teach -- so I gave up.

 

A friend of mine was a salesman for a few years and decided he wanted to go into teaching. He's a great guy. He spent his first year of transition doing substitute teaching, and would up subbing a whole semester in a business class, which was perfect for him. He got the experience he needed and he made money, too. Maybe some kind of similar serendipity will happen to you. :)

[G5052]

I've been considering the same thing, but for different reasons. They latched onto my ten years of part-time college teaching right away, and told me that my homeschooling years didn't "count." Which do you think is more time-consuming?

[Gretchen in NO. CA]

While I agree that you should get some credit for your years of homeschooling, classroom experience is different. Managing the classroom is so much harder than teaching! But you can probably get hired with an "emergency credential" and teach somewhere and that will give you the classroom experience that you need.

 

Gretchen in No. CA

[Mom2boys]

Sabrina, were you applying for an MEd program? When I got my MEd, I entered the program with a bachelors in International Studies and zero classroom experience. Another university may have different requirements. Is there some place else you could apply?

 

For what it is worth, classroom teaching is very different from home educating your kids. Have you recently spent time in a public school classroom? If not, would it be possible for you to volunteer at your local school for several weeks? You may find that the classroom is very different from what you expect/remember. That was the case for me at least. :)

[In The Great White North]

I was just turned down for entry because ... I lack practical classroom experience.

 

The truly amazing thing here is the word "entry." No teachers have classroom experience before "entry."

[Mom2boys]

The truly amazing thing here is the word "entry." No teachers have classroom experience before "entry."

 

Actually, classroom teachers have hundreds of hours of classroom experience before they are licensed or certified, at least at the elementary level. I had field placements in actual classrooms every quarter of graduate school. The hours were a combination of observation, and teaching, under the supervision of a certified teacher. It was a requirement for graduation and certification in my state.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The truly amazing thing here is the word "entry." No teachers have classroom experience before "entry."

 

That depends on if it is at the BA level (no one would have experience) or graduate (most would have been teaching for a few years usually and would have experience).

[In The Great White North]

Actually, classroom teachers have hundreds of hours of classroom experience before they are licensed or certified, at least at the elementary level. I had field placements in actual classrooms every quarter of graduate school. The hours were a combination of observation, and teaching, under the supervision of a certified teacher. It was a requirement for graduation and certification in my state.

 

When I got my certification, the student teaching was part of the program, not a prerequisite. And the utility of that time was highly dependent on the teacher assigned.

[Mom2boys]

Sorry, I misread your post. I took "entry" to mean "entering the classroom as a paid teacher" not "entry into a degree program for education". Oops!

[frogpond1]

before being certified. I wasn't completely in charge for that year and a half, but I was in the trenches.

The truly amazing thing here is the word "entry." No teachers have classroom experience before "entry."

 

I do think both homeschooling and teaching are hard, but it is easier to multi task homeschooling and laundry and cooking etc. than to do the daily behavior management of a full classroom. Dealing with unmotivated students, or students with behavior or learning issues and at the same time motivating the high achievers- it is an amazing balancing act. Now, homeschooling should count towards doing a multi-age classroom which isn't easy to run either. I don't regret my education program experience, it has given me some teaching tools for groups that are so helpful and it has given me eyes in the back of my head etc. that I didn't have beforehand.

 

Could you consider a certification program?

[camibami]

Personally, I wish more people thought like this! I can't tell you how many well-meaning relatives come up with the "great idea" that I could be a teacher and thus put the kids in school. When I gently say that I don't think managing a classroom and teaching my own children are remotely the same, they don't "get" it. I have zero, ZERO desire to ever teach a traditional school. Gives me hives just thinking about it!

 

But I know that in many states, just a BA/BS, in anything, will allow you to sub and even get hired on full time with the requirement to complete so many hours of ed classes in a specific time period. So, keep looking. Teachers are desperately needed!

[Mom0012]

My sister plans to go into teaching in a couple of years and it has been recommended to her that she should substitute teach in the meantime so the schools will hire her.

 

We live in Virginia and she has a degree in Business Management. She already meets all the requirements to be a teacher (other than having to take a couple of tests) just with her Bachelor's degree. Are you sure you need to go through a program? We had initially assumed that she would but then found out otherwise. She is hoping to teach kindergarten or first grade, though. If you plan to teach higher grades, maybe you would need more teaching credentials?

 

Lisa

[snickelfritz]

If you plan to teach higher grades, maybe you would need more teaching credentials?

 

I have an alternative certification (Well, did. I let it lapse when I started staying home.)

 

I have an engineering degree. I took the same tests teachers take, jumped through ridiculous hoops (videotaped myself teaching to a pretend class), etc... I got my certification to teach math and physics/physical science. It's primarily middle school/high school, but I *think* I could teach at the elementary level....if they did separate classes for each subject.

 

Lower grades (pre-k, K, 1st) require a special early childhood emphasis. I don't know how you would get around that, unless you had a non-education early childhood type degree. Even getting certified to teach a self-contained 2nd, 3rd, etc... would have been harder to get than the one I did get. Maybe part of that is that they don't NEED teachers in that area as much as they do upper level math/science????:confused:

 

 

ETA: Obviously, this info will vary from state to state...

 

I do know I went to three interviews and had three job offers. Even after I thought they were all concerned about lack of classroom experience.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I got my master's degree through a program designed for former military and other non-traditional students. The requirements were a BA in any subject and about 30 hours of grad level coursework. There were additional requirements from the state depending on the certification that one was seeking (ie, certain undergrad coursework in subject areas like math or science and specific methods courses). In about 18 months of full time coursework, I completed the requirements for the MS and teacher certification (with the exception of student teaching).

 

You might try searching for Troops to Teachers and then looking at the non-traditional program offerings from colleges that pop up. (Troops to Teachers is/was a scholarship program for former military members. The degree programs go by various names. My program at ODU went by Military Career Transition Program.) One of the things I liked about my program was that most of the psychology courses were considered completed through the various leadership courses I'd done in the military. I like to joke that I saw most of the abnormal psychology in people I worked with and for.

 

You might also find that you are confusing the admissions people with what/how you are asking your questions. Perhaps you should start with asking about teacher certification and what coursework you would need. It is possible that any MA/MS would get you credit for the grad degree on a salary chart. You don't necessarily need to have an MS Ed.

 

I probably wouldn't emphasize your time homeschooling, either in applying or in classes. Let folks just think that you are an incredibly well read and insightful person for a while before you let them categorize you as "The Homeschooler."

 

You certainly have enough academic experience to be a substitute teacher in the states I've lived in. I know several people who have worked as full time substitutes while taking education classes. One classmate of mine had a daily sub job in one school and was so well liked by the staff and principal that he'd pretty much gotten an assurance of a job before he'd even finished his certification. Or you could go the route of subbing in several schools in order to see which ones you would like to apply for or which subjects and levels really click for you.