scarabeoguy

Congratulations Machka!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now let the riding begin......

cupsal

Congratulations.

This December i finished a nursing program. Since then i now work only three days a week, no more studying...and lots of time to ride!

Good luck finding a job and settling in.

The Octopus 

That's awesome. Congratulations!

avmanansala

CONGRATULATIONS!

Saltybeagle

Well done, congratulations!

Encouragement, thank you.

Yellowbeard

Congratulations....lucky.

[head slams back onto desk beside endless math exam review sheets]

Barrettscv 

Congrats!

I'm sure you will find your education to be a life changing experience. I completed my Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University at age 49. Everything changed for the better.

Michael

Meek

Congrats, at least you have a degree where you can work if you want.

I finished my MBA 2 years ago and still haven't been able to find a job. I haven't had an interview in 18months. Back before the internet I got jobs easily when I could meet face to face. Now I just get sucked into cyberspace... I take my frustration out in the gym and on the bike. I am pretty strong now

Machka 

I specifically chose the Bachelor of Education because I wanted to travel.

I looked at those "Learn to Teach English and Get a Job in China in One Week" courses ... went to several free information sessions ......... but just didn't feel comfortable with them. A lot of money for very little education, resulting in very low qualifications. So I decided to go with the full Bachelor of Education so that I could teach in other countries ... or my own.

It turned out to be an especially good choice because there is a decent chance of getting a teaching job in Australia. I'm collecting the information to register as a teacher there ... I've got all the qualifications, I just need to go through the process.

Road Fan

Machka, is it recognized in the United States?

Road Fan

Go you Northwestern, hold that banner high!!!

Class of 1981, age 28, McCormick Technical Institute, BS, major EE

That it was!

Road Fan

Meek

I used to live in Rogers and Highland Park!!!

Machka 

I could have taught in the US with one of those "Learn to Teach English and Get a Job in China in One Week" courses ... so yes, a full 4-year Bachelor of Education is definitely recognized in the US.

Meek

Really? I can't teach grades 1-12 with my masters degree in the USA, but a "Learn to Teach English and Get a Job in China in One Week" would let me?!?
On the other hand I can teach undergrad classes, if any were available within 1000 km(or 620miles) of me...

Little bitter, guess I'll get stronger...

Machka 

Apparently it depends on the area of the US ... but from what I've been told, in some areas you can teach with any old degree, plus a very brief teaching certificate. So in my case, since I already had one Bachelor's degree (but not a B-Ed), a 1-week teaching certificate would have validated me to teach .......... had I any desire to teach in the US.

In places like Canada and Australia, however, a specific four+ year teaching degree is required, including at least 45 days of a practicum.

sch

I ride with a converted teacher, she was a chem E who decided to go into teaching and now is in
her 3d year as a HS chem teacher. Last year grad school was very busy and things did not get a
lot better when she started teaching her first year. Yack!! lesson plans, homework, both hers and
the class, worse than getting the BEd in the first place. Things a bit better the 2d yr and much
better the third as lesson plans tend to carry over. Teachers have more homework than the students
for awhile. Biggest problem in US is the disruptive student, which is why large city school systems
are such a disaster area. Idiotic bureacracy doesn't help either, a major problem in the US where many
school systems have less than 50% of personell actually teaching, rest are drones in the office.
Australia and Canada may be better, don't know.

rodrigaj

Certification requirements for teachers vary from state to state in the US. Within those states emergency certifications are offered to teachers who have degrees in their chosen fields. It is generally expected that those teachers work with a master teacher for six months and complete course work that leads to full certification.

Those emergency teaching jobs tend to be in inner city areas where regular teachers will not apply. Even for the most idealistic teachers, teachers leave those jobs within 5 years. Generally speaking, teachers in the inner cities are working against impossible odds. Unfortunately, the kids classrooms become revolving doors for people who lack the skills to teach.

None of that occurs in most school districts in the US where certification requirements are very high.

Pedal Wench

I just rode a 300K with a guy who used to teach bicycling at U of Florida -- how fun!

Road Fan

PM me, let's chat!

Road Fan

My question was too general. My experience is with the teachers in my family, my dad and Mrs Road Fan, are with states and districts that do require either Bachelors' of Ed or equivalent professional conversions: Illinois, Colorado, Texas, and Michigan. Except for Texas, a public school teacher can earn quite a good living in these states. Most favor education students from their own states, and require a special transcript review for teachers educated in other states. All of these, if I recall, require applicant qualification examinations on general knowledge, education knowledge, and any special skills to be offerred, such as math in my dad's case, and music in my wife's case.

Machka, I'd assume it's possible and of course totally regrettable, that your degree might not be recognized in some states, as the basic element of teacher qualification.

Michigan was actually pretty tough. My wife, as a music teacher with a not-common K-12 general, vocal, and instrumental cert, had to take a math test that was a stiff workout on all math through third year high school. She thought she'd fail it, but she was nearly perfect on that one. She was perfect in all her practice problems.

Machka 

I can't imagine why my degree wouldn't be recognized ... but no worries ... I have no plans to teach in the US. I'm headed for Australia!

The Octopus 

It's funny: Mrs. Octopus is a tenured law professor. She can teach law students -- which in the U.S. is a 3-year graduate degree -- but it's very unlikely that she would ever be hired to teach at a community college (which here offer 2-year, post-secondary "associates" degrees) and at any 4-year college or university, forget about it. If she wanted to teach at a public K-12 school in most places in the U.S., she'd have to return to school and take undergraduate classes, get certifications, and pass various tests.

Education in the U.S. is a funny business -- one of the rare areas where American exceptionalism (both good and bad) really rings true. Hopefully the Australians are more pragmatic and flexible than us Yanks.

Machka 

The Australian system is very much like the Canadian system.

In Canada and Australia you have to get a 4-year degree including a minimum of a 1-year teaching component (the curriculum classes, assessment classes, psychology classes & ethics/law with regard to teaching children), and including a practicum. The required length of the practicum varies slightly from province/state to province/state. My practicum was 70 days, I need those 70 days if I wanted to teach here in Alberta or BC, but I only need a minimum of 45 days to teach in Victoria, Australia. Here in Canada a degree like that is called a Bachelor of Education, and I believe it is called something similar in Australia.

Without that specific degree, you cannot teach K-12 in Canada. There are rare exceptions in very remote communities where there just isn't anyone with that specific degree. In those cases they'll take someone with an official 4-year degree, and certify that person on a temporary basis ... they'll usually link that person up either in person or virtually with someone who is a qualified teacher for support, etc.

And without that degree, or a comparable one, you cannot teach K-12 in Australia either. With similar rare exceptions in remote communities.

Now, between provinces in Canada (because each province has their own specific qualifications), or when heading to another country, there is always the chance that I may have to take an additional course or two, or may have to write a qualification test, or something like that. But as it happens between here and Victoria, no extra courses are required.

Road Fan

Very exciting to be able to start your new Australian life!!

Congratulations, again!

Machka 

48 days to go!!

And because I won't be able to work in Australia right away anyway ...... I'm hoping to do a lot of walking and a lot of cycling!!!