Differences in teaching by state

[Jacen McCullough]

Hey all,

I've been curious about this for a long time. How different is teaching from state to state? What kinds of requirements do you have to fulfill in order to gain certification? What kind of kooky state program do they want you to follow? How's the pay?

I'll start, since I'm the bum that asked the question! I'm here in Maryland, and the certification requirements are said to be more involved than most. We take the Praxis one, two and three, have to put together a Professional Development portfolio showing how we've mastered the ten INTASC principles, we have a full year of student teaching (though we are eased into it more than some states), and then we have the standard education courses (Foundations, Teaching major subject, Using reading and writing in the secondary classroom, Intro to special Ed, Ed Psych, Instructional tech, etc).

Right now, the big thing is the "Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum." This is voluntary only in name. It's designed to get every school on the same page with the curriculum, though some folks are getting creative with it.

Teachers I've spoken to are watching the election closely, but nobody seems sure if NCLB will stay or go if Kerry wins, so everything is still pretty much up in the air.

Pay is pretty low in MD (Ranges from 28-33k in most counties. Mongomery County pays 37k, but you have to make twice that just to afford a studio apartment in that county. All numbers are first year numbers), but the benefits are pretty good.

Most counties require that new teachers earn their masters by the end of their third year teaching. I'm not sure if that's a masters in education or if it can be a masters in a content area (I'm hoping that the latter is a possibility, as I have no real interest in doing education grad work).

So, what are other states like? Any teachers from NY? I heard their certification program is brutal.

[JoseP]

I teach in a Catholic school in Montgomry county. I don't have any kind of certification. I do have a Masters, not really education related though.

The pay is less - starts at 32k. But, the kids are managable and you don't need to be continually taking classes to stay legit.

[Iceblink]

I think Illinois is one of the easier states in which to get certified.

All you really need is a bachelors degree.

I think only 15 credit hours in a subject!!! It might be 21 for your main subject. I think that's it though. Someone could pretty easily do that in a semester!
You need to take some education classes, of course... especially to get an endorsement for middle school, which is required now.
Wow. It wasn't even that long ago, and I'm having trouble remembering! Did I need 100 hours of observation? That sounds like more than I did.
I also did ten weeks of student teaching. Well, that's not true. ten weeks were required. I did 12, as I wanted to finish out the semester, do parent-teacher conferences, and finish up our unit.

I still can't believe that this was the subject matter in a 21st century classroom, but I taught the novel Shane by Jack Schaefer.

Anyway, Illinois is easy! Wisconsin is a little tougher. I think they add 9 semester hours of cheese appreciation. Hehe. Actually, I think it's just another couple weeks of student teaching.

Oh.... I had to take a basic skills test to get into my program... and the miller analogies test... and then I had to take a subject matter test before I could start my student teaching.

Funny thing... there are something like 20 reciprocal certification states with Illinois... so most places are pretty easy, I guess.

I do have a masters degree, but it is certainly not a requirement. It's funny. In a lot of districts, principals won't even consider applicants with masters degrees!!! Too expensive. Whoop-de-doo... an extra couple thousand dollars. Schools are so corporate these days! They all have businesspeople running them. I guess that's why big corporations (Coke, McDonalds, etc.) have recognized the potential!

That's for another thread though!

[pething101]

North Carolina is not too bad to get a teaching license. A double degree with one being your major and the other being in education. Pass the Praxis I and II and I think that is it. I went the long way around, going back to get certified after five years out of college. I had to take some history classes and all my education classes which were a joke. 12 weeks of student teaching and then I was done.

Second year teachers were supposed to do a portfolio for the state. Lucky for me, this past year was my second, the state did away with that so I got out of it.

[Courtney]

North Carolina is not too bad to get a teaching license. A double degree with one being your major and the other being in education. Pass the Praxis I and II and I think that is it. I went the long way around, going back to get certified after five years out of college. I had to take some history classes and all my education classes which were a joke. 12 weeks of student teaching and then I was done.

Second year teachers were supposed to do a portfolio for the state. Lucky for me, this past year was my second, the state did away with that so I got out of it.


I am moving to NC in January with a bachelors in Sports Management and a minor in Business, but I want to teach K-5 one day. What is the best way to go about getting certified?