I want to be a teacher. What is a good teaching college within 300 miles from KCMO??

Question

I graduate next fall from high school but i need to knwo now. pleaz?? thanks!

Answer 1

It is not necessary to go to a teaching college to become a teacher. It is not necessary to have a degree in Education to become a teacher. In fact, it is desirable to have a degree in something, anything, else in case you decide that teaching is not for you. New data suggests that a majority of new teachers leave the field within five years... do you want that to happen and not have a back up plan?

All you need to be a teacher is a degree (in anything) and the ability to pass the teacher certification test, which any college graduate should be able to handle.

I would suggest choosing a college that you want to go to and choosing a major that interests you. Use your elective courses to take a couple of education classes for experience in the field.

The teaching "experts" will tell you that you need the Education degree... this is bunk and is only used to prop up the teacher's union and the myth that only "certain" people can be teachers and only "certain" methods are "correct". Do not allow them to snow you with this... do all the research. Aren't there plenty of colleges in KCMO that would teach you well?

Answer 2

If you're willing to go further north, Illinois State University has excellent teacher education programs. They offer bachelor's, master's and doctorate programs in both general education (el. ed, high school) and in special education. Their special education department is fabulous and they offer degree prorams for those interested in working with students with visual or hearing impariments, as well as those who would like to work with students with learning disabilities, emotional disabilitites, etc. They also have a Special Education Assistive Technology lab.
The regular education department offers the chance to a do a one year internship which would encompass your student teaching and is at one school. The participating district focuses on a specific area, such as technology in the classroom, and offers very different learning experiences than the traditional student teaching experience.
Metcalf School is a lab school which works with the university.
Both areas of education have wonderful professors who are very supportive.

Look into it at www.ilstu.edu for more information. It would be worth the extra distance.

And by the way, No Child Left Behind states that ALL teachers be highly qualified in the area they are teaching. So you cannot major in business, then go take (and pass) the state exam in math and expect to teach. That tests only shows you know WHAT to teach. You must also pass the teacher competancy exam which tests your knowlege of HOW to teach. You do not get your teacher certification until you have done that. If you can't pass both tests it won't matter that you did student teaching as a fall back.

Answer 3

Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO; University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri

Answer 4

This site will tell you all you need to know about the licensing requirements to become a teacher in Kansas.

http://www3.ksde.org/cert/cert.html

This site tells you the requirements for all other states:

http://www3.ksde.org/cert/approvedprogs.html

This site tells you about the schools in Kansas:
http://www3.ksde.org/cert/By%20Institution.HTM

The general education courses you take as a education major are often quite different then if you were going to go into another discipline. You have to focus on a specific discipline (ie: math, science, reading) as well as specify a grade level (in ranges) that you want to teach.