Teaching

Oldernotwiser

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

new govt initiative in england that by 2020, a certain percentage (if not all) teachers will be qualified up to masters level or equivilent. a lot of PGCE courses now seem to be offering two types of qualification depending on how well you do - PROFESSIONAL certificate of education or POSTGRADUATE, the latter comes with a number of credits towards a masters qualification.

And to think that less than 40 years ago you didn't even need A levels to become a teacher. Shows how educational standards have changed! (You can interpret this any way you like!)

The_One_Who

I'd quite like to know who is going to be funding these Masters degrees needed. The government? Where they getting the money from? Or if it is the student themselves then most will be forced into other work before raising money for it and may just decide they don't want to do teaching. It'll probably stop quite a few people. There is very little in the way of funding for Masters or arts-based postgraduate study, which human geography could come under. Also, is there any real need to have a Masters to be able to teach at secondary level? Masters are specialised and the curriculum is broad. The teacher wouldn't be able to pass on any real benefit of extra, more in-depth knowledge.

System

Taurusgb, contact Connexions and book an appointment for your daughter to speak to an careers advisor - with a professional opinion. Its 100% free and they will mail you a write up at the end of the interview with a list of options & info. They also help with college/university/job interviews. You can also speak to an advisor free online (by email or live chat). They will mail you all the information you need:

http://www.connexions-direct.com/

I used them when I applied for further education and they were extremely helpful!

Although I'm all for forum members' opinions, in a situation like this, I think it's best to speak to a trained advisor.

jrrowleyws

windswept wrote: »

My daughter is in her 2nd year of A levels and has just had an offer for key stage 2/3 maths with QTS ( qualified teacher status)

I'd advise against this as if you change your mind about being a teacher, your degree is pretty much useless!

Spend another year and take a degree first. There is a good reason why not many universities offer QTS.

pennypitstop_2

jrrowleyws wrote: »

I'd advise against this as if you change your mind about being a teacher, your degree is pretty much useless!

Spend another year and take a degree first. There is a good reason why not many universities offer QTS.

I'll second that. In my experience, the majority of students who go down this route are mature students, with a wealth of experience in other areas who have decided later in life that they want to get into teaching.

For your average 18 year old, it's maybe not the best route. People around her could be much older with families of their own and from professional backgrounds - not the student life most 18 year olds expect. It's a vocational training route. And even though she may be fully committed to the idea right now, that could change. I did a PGCE for secondary after my degree, lasted 1 year before changing my plans altogether. Luckily for me, my degree was in a seperate subject and even though I felt I'd wasted the PGCE training, at least it was only a year out of my time, not 3 or 4 years.

We all know that life throws up unexpected events and things very rarely turn out how we plan it. Doing a geography or geology degree without the teacher training could mean she gets to travel and may be better if she does really like the subject! Students years are for discovering more about yourself, after all - and she may find the 21 yr old to be a very different person to the 17 yr old!

Good luck to you all though, in whatever you decide.

Penny

chmmy

The_One_Who wrote: »

I'd quite like to know who is going to be funding these Masters degrees needed. The government? Where they getting the money from? Or if it is the student themselves then most will be forced into other work before raising money for it and may just decide they don't want to do teaching. It'll probably stop quite a few people. There is very little in the way of funding for Masters or arts-based postgraduate study, which human geography could come under. Also, is there any real need to have a Masters to be able to teach at secondary level? Masters are specialised and the curriculum is broad. The teacher wouldn't be able to pass on any real benefit of extra, more in-depth knowledge.

Totally agree.......if anything, there should be more time spent on special needs inclusion teaching, and classroom behaviour management training, rather than more subject knowledge.

taurusgb

Thank you all very much for your input and sharing your experiences with me. I shall sit my daughter down over the weekend and let her read through the thread herself, but personally I have found your comments and ideas very helpful and enlightening - very much appreciated, so thanks again.