Teacher qualifications (1 Viewer)

[Ultimate]

Do most teachers at school just have a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) and an education degree or was it just my ex-school?

I was looking over all the teacher qualifications for my ex school and about 97% have a Bachelor of arts, even maths teachers (who u would think would have a science, commerce or economics degree) which is kind of strange.

I remember when I was at school i used to think that teachers had really good degrees and were really smart. Now that I finished school in 2002, I suddenly realise that there is nothing special about their qualification and they are just ordinary people. I guess my perspective has changed.

 

[tooheyz]

Bachelor or Arts degree? that seems odd to me too, i thought they just needed to get a degree in education and anoher degree in their chosen subject to teach

well teachers have always been normal ppl to me... its good money for the amount of work they do... and the amount of holidays they get...

r u thinking of becomin a teacher?

 

[Ultimate]

Originally posted by ToOhEyZ
Bachelor or Arts degree? that seems odd to me too, i thought they just needed to get a degree in education and anoher degree in their chosen subject to teach

well teachers have always been normal ppl to me... its good money for the amount of work they do... and the amount of holidays they get...

r u thinking of becomin a teacher?

Nah definitely not, I'm hoping to go into a finance related job

 

[flyin']

teaching isnt so bad ... considering the holidays ... its probably pay which is the greatest disincentive ...

 

[Ultimate]

yeah I was reading in a paper somewhere that all the mathematics graduates were all going into business/finance, hence creating a shortage of mathematics teachers.

But the pay in a finance related job is much better than a teacher if you are good.

 

[flyin']

Originally posted by Ultimate
yeah I was reading in a paper somewhere that all the mathematics graduates were all going into business/finance, hence creating a shortage of mathematics teachers.

But the pay in a finance related job is much better than a teacher if you are good.

apparently there is a lack of maths graduates in research especially in australia ... but who would want to research ...

almost almost any job in the finance is better paid than a job in teaching ... (well, slight exaggeration) ...

 

[Mambomeg]

I think they shanged the rules relating to what degree a teacher has to have a few years ago. It used to only be a three year course, like B of arts etc to get into teaching, but now you have to have different stuff, like my aunt who had a few years off to have kids now has to go back and to another year at Uni to get qualified again.
Dont quote me on it, but I think all the teachers who were already in teaching didnt have to upgrade or anything, thats why their degrees seem so low. Most newer teachers should have like double degrees or at least Dip ed's.

 

[MiuMiu]

yeah its different cos all of the older teachers (about 40+) would have gone to teachers college and now they have to go to uni so qualifications have changed

 

[kini mini]

There was a whole range of qualifications at my school - all the way from a simple BA to masters + doctorate + professional qualifications (my chem teacher). Interestingly my school didn't require a teaching degree.

I think that paper qualifications are important, but experience is equally so. I've always found that new teachers, whether they have that Dip.Ed or not, invariably fail to control the class. Some cry, some scream, some do both. After the basic control stage comes communication skills - no god having the knowledge if you can't pass it on. I found that some teachers who had plain BAs were great, some were awful...there was little correlation between competence and paper qualifications. All the same age didn't bring wisdom to all

 

[McLake]

Originally posted by kini mini
there was little correlation between competence and paper qualifications.

I found that too. Some of our teachers had masters, and they were the worst in their department. I think experience and personality are more important factors than qualifications.

 

[tooheyz]

Originally posted by flyin'
teaching isnt so bad ... considering the holidays ... its probably pay which is the greatest disincentive ...

yeah teaching isnt that bad... first year you get $40000 and it increses with the years... i think by 3 or 4% a year... its good money for the amount of holidays and breaks... but you have to be doing alo of stuff outside of skool... eg. marking and planning and stuff.. and putting up with the students b*itching about u...

i would never become a teacher.. even though its good money

 

[MiuMiu]

Teaching is SHIT money!
Sure you get millions of holidays and thats great, but you trying living on $40 000 a year (and thats before tax), it aint that easy.
Also, with the amount of CRAP teachers get from bitchy teenagers who think they are king shit (more so at public than private schools where teachers are more respected by students) teachers aint got it very good it all.

 

[Ultimate]

Originally posted by YEAR12
Teaching is SHIT money!
Sure you get millions of holidays and thats great, but you trying living on $40 000 a year (and thats before tax), it aint that easy.
Also, with the amount of CRAP teachers get from bitchy teenagers who think they are king shit (more so at public than private schools where teachers are more respected by students) teachers aint got it very good it all.

yeah I agree, you can only just get by being a teacher, the only good thing about it is the holidays

 

[Minai]

It sux I reckon
my Economics teacher is the head teacher of social science, with a Commerce degree and 20 yrs experience, and he's getting like $60 000, which is basically nothing after tax

 

[flyin']

with all things being said, i must ask the question - what were the people thinking when they choose teaching for uni (considering many people did so and made the teaching uai jumpe quite a bit) ...

 

[chait]

Originally posted by kini mini
There was a whole range of qualifications at my school - all the way from a simple BA to masters + doctorate + professional qualifications (my chem teacher). Interestingly my school didn't require a teaching degree.

It mostly comes down to the individual in the end. If you aren't suited for a teaching job, all the training and qualifications couldn't help you. Some of the teachers at my school don't have teaching degrees either - some teachers can be hired straight out of industry. eg. my business studies teacher used to work in banking. Teachers in IT can find non-teaching jobs relatively easily.

teachers are quite lucky - look at the holidays. That should be taken into consideration when setting the remuneration package.

 

[chait]

Originally posted by flyin'
with all things being said, i must ask the question - what were the people thinking when they choose teaching for uni (considering many people did so and made the teaching uai jumpe quite a bit) ...

i think the obvious answer would be that they're interested in teaching. some people value job satisfaction more than $$$. it's a short life, why not spend it doing something you enjoy?