Going back to college for a teaching degree

==I say the following just to say that I do have some experience with these matters.

Currently I work in the school of education at a state university. Normally I work in educational technology, which is a fancy title for someone who holds the hands of students and teachers who don't know how to run a computer/projector system (etc). However part of my job requires me to work with the Department of University - School programs. The job of that office is to place students in schools to fulfill their internship requirments. Most of the things I do with that department are in connection with their student handbooks (formatting, proofreading, etc). I also have designed surveys for students and have helped with workshops for prospective students (etc). At the current time our university, and the school of education, is preparing to go through the nightmare of getting our accreditation renewed. Because of that I spend part of my days preparing reports on student performance (etc). My father was a professor in this school of education for many years, and served as the dean for several years before he retired. I started working in the university after he left, but my being related to him certainly helped land me the job :laugh:. I have spent plenty of time talking to him, and others who are currently professors in the school of education, to know a few things:

-Make sure the school your wife is getting her degree from is accredited (regionally and by NCATE). Stay far away from any unaccredited school. No short cuts here. While she is in a private Christian school now, there may come a day when she will need to go into the public school system. Also many private schools, at least in this area, are requiring the same licensure (etc) as the public schools. Unaccredited degrees will normally not help her.

-Since it is an education degree she is seeking, I would strongly advise her to attend a local branch of your state university. I know, I know, but by doing that she can be sure that when she completes the program she will be able to be gain licensure to teach in your state.

-If she does choose to earn her degree from a school like Liberty University, make sure that Liberty University's education program is accepted by your state and will qualify her for licensure in your state. Liberty University's School of Education is accredited by SACS and NCATE. I don't believe Liberty University offers undergraduate degrees in education online. Neither does Regent University. East Carolina University offers some undergraduate education degrees online. I don't know if her AA would qualify her for those programs since it was not earned at a community college, but it might be worth looking into.

-I am not sure about the University of Phoenix online. You would need to check to see if your state will acknowledge that degree. If it does not your wife may not be able to gain licensure to teach in your state. Be careful on this one.

 

Education degree?

I have a built-in bias against schools of education including Christian colleges. Education is not properly an academic discipline in itself. Most schools of education are notoriously afflicted by "Mickey Mouse" courses. Many highly touted schools of education turn out very poor products.

If your wife plans to teach in Christian schools, I recommend a good content degree (e.g. English, mathematics, science, etc.). Christian schools are crying out for good math and science teachers who are strong in the disciplines that they teach. State certification is probably not that important. I do recognize the value of student teaching but this can be done effectively in a good Christian school with a strong principal and mentoring by experienced teachers.

However, if state certification is important for your wife, then she will have to jump through the hoops but I doubt that it will make her a better teacher.

 

For all of the shortcomings of state teacher certification programs, I believe that it is the best course for your wife to take. As someone in his 16th year in the public school classroom, I would like to encourage your wife to get her education degree from an institution with accreditation and a strong teacher certification program in the state that she desires to teach.

Student teaching is very important in the preparation process. I have witnessed many well-educated teachers coming into the classroom from alternative certification programs that do not require any student teaching. These teachers may have been very knowledgeable in their discipline, but since they had never seen "live action" they often felt unprepared and lacked confidence.

For whatever it is worth, I believe that your wife would be best served by an education degree, student teaching experience, and state teacher certification. Then, when she wishes to teach in either the public or Christian school setting, she will be much more marketable as a teacher.

 

Alternative route

My first piece to advice is to determine how important certification is for your wife. If she plans to teach exclusively in Christian schools, you may consider a liberal arts degree from the following: https://www.excelsior.edu/

Regarding my earlier post, I have found teacher education programs to be generally of lower caliber than other departments.