Re: teaching degrees
Barbara Armenta (BARMENTA@PIMACC.PIMA.EDU)
Tue, 16 Apr 1996 16:52:59 -0700
Sorry I am back a discussion, but whew a lot of messages over one weekend!
Just to throw a wrench into the deal. Elementary teachers in AZ are certified
to teach K - 8. Secondary 8 - 12. The concept of middle school is in the
overlap. I believe the middle school concept was used by school districts to
allow elementary teachers to teach in the middle schools. I wasn't aware of
this until I had a current 8th grade middle school teacher who was assigned to
teach pre-algebra and several 7th grade math courses the following year. Their
certification was K-8 (they were an elementary ed. major). To his credit, he
realized that he didn't have the background and was taking Beginning and Inter
mediate Algebra in preperation for the fall schedule. The "middle school"
certification stamp on the certificate does not have any relationship to the
subject taught.
Just curious, but do you know if elementary ed. majors or secondary
majors (in the subject) are the majority in your state's middle schools?
Barbara C. Armenta
Pima Community College - East Campus
P.S. This is NOT a slam on the teachers themselves but on the system that
allows the adminstrators to fill teaching positions in math with non-math
people. There is only one course at the college level in mathematics that is
required for elementary certification.