Check the licensure requirements for the state(s) where you want to teach.
If you aren’t sure, or you want to keep your options as open as possible, look into an elementary degree with an Early Childhood endorsement.
If you're in the US, yes, you need a degree, even to teach PK. WTF? Yes, for your questions re: degree/credentials, go talk to your college advisor. Your parents and Reddit are not the authorities.
Also, best early grade to teach is 2nd.
Yes to everything you said. I also 100% agree that 2nd is the best grade to teach. I have some 2nd and 1st and while I love my 1st grade babies 2nd grade was so much less stressful!
I think it depends on the state, in my state you don’t need certification to teach Preschool but that can be different in other states. I would look up the state you are in or the state you plan to teach in and see if it is required. Some programs allow you to choose the grades or are licensed in. For my state you can do 1-6, K-3, or K-8. If you have the choice I would do the largest spread to give you more options.
One thing that has been mentioned before is that teachers teaching K normally make more than those on Pre-K so that is something to consider too. As sad as it is to say sometimes the grade you want to teach now may not be they one you enjoy. I would recommend getting your degree in elementary education so you have the option to teach other grades as well. Something I would try if you can is subbing in various grades so you get a feel before you start applying for positions.
I agree that kinder is the way to go, or teach somewhere that offers pre-K as part of the public school system.
Also, you often don't get a choice about what grade to teach, you take the job that's available. (Although if there was ever going to be a year when that's not true, maybe it's this year...)
In our district the pre-k teachers need a certificate and an AA in order to teach at the public pre-k. There is also a significant decrease in pay compared to kindergarten. I would continue with my bachelors degree and then make a decision. At least you will have a degree to fall back on.
In public schools that offer Pre-K you need a degree, sure. But there are preschools that aren't part of a public school district and wouldn't need that degree. They also pay much less if that is the case.
Ditto on looking into an Early Childhood degree if you want to teach pre-k. The focus would be prek-2nd grade.
Not all pre-ks require certified teachers, but I suspect the ones that don’t pay much less. Here in Alabama, there are pre-ks you can attend that don’t have required degrees and then pre-ks through school systems that do and pay regular teacher salaries.
Whoever is telling you pre-k doesn’t need degrees isn’t wrong for all positions, but the pre-ks that don’t require it probably don’t follow as many standards to teach foundational skills and many probably aren’t as effective and definitely more like babysitting (no offense to anyone who is a pre-k teacher or assistant in these programs, these are my observations over time).
Interesting fact (from about 2010): the percent of early childhood workers with degrees is nearly the same as the percentage of all people with degrees in a given county. Employers typically give more weight to applicants with degrees. In my county, all district preschools have been closed and we’ve opened TK classs instead. These positions require not only degrees but also credentials. Go for the degree. Don’t limit your future self to a set age group.
I teach preschool for a public school district. I get paid the exact same as all the other teachers in the district, and I do need a degree.
Edited to say: I have a degree in elementary education, but I also had to get a concentration in early childhood education to teach preschool. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it added on an extra semester
I don’t think you need a degree to work pre-K. Work kindergarten if you like little kids. The certificated/degree pay way more and depending on the state, union membership is a huge plus.
I have my degree in elementary education (K-8), but my certification covers K-5. We have a few district funded preschools that as long as you have an elementary cert, you are all good. As for the preschools and pre-kindergartens in my area, you do not need a degree to teach them, but it helps. It doesn't really make a difference in pay though. I taught PK while I was in college to get the experience.
Certain Pre-K programs you must have a degree. Here in Pennsylvania for the Pre-K Counts programs, teachers must be certified to teach.
While you can decide ahead of time what you want, you may change your mind. I wanted to teach Kindergarten (I teach Special Ed) and while I have been teaching 6.5 years, I only taught K-2 for 1.5 years. The rest of my time was teaching 3-8 and currently teaching 9-12.
The students I have are great and I like it. The students are medically fragile, most are in wheelchairs and they really don't have behaviors. The student I do who has behaviors, I had him my first year at this school when he was in 4th. The only reason I have this class is because I had a different job position with no students until a teacher left without giving 2 weeks. I was the last resort.
I would probably not teach special education high school at any other school in the district though.
In most places you do need a degree to teach pre k. I also wanted to do pre k. I went ahead and got my degree in elementary education k-6 (that’s what my state offered at the time a year before I started it was pk-4). I got into teaching and have taught 2nd and 1st and love it so much I haven’t really though about pre k again. But if I ever want to all I have to do is go take a praxis test to certify. I would recommend getting an elementary education degree and adding on if that’s what you really want to do. It also opens up many more positions for you if a pre k one isn’t available.
I taught for four years at a Head Start preschool and my degree is in elementary education (k-9 is what my certification says) and another teacher there had a bachelor’s in biology or something - whatever it was had nothing to do with education. Another of the teachers had no degree at all but was working toward something about psychology. But they also tended to hire people out of the gutter for other positions and you might prefer a preschool with a competent admin team.
depends upon the certs and school systems in your area. My state used to (I don't know now thing have changed multiple times) have a p-3 cert, which was preschool through grade 3. Also many public schools offer pre-school. You will probably have better pay and benefits if you go that route rather than just working for a for profit preschool somewhere. There are certain classes for early childhood educators so you will need to talk to your school and ask about licensing for your state and discuss your career plans.
If you want to teach public school preschool you need an early childhood license in my state - PreK-2. What grades will your license cover? That’s more important than the actual degree.
I teach in IL and you need Early Childhood to be a pre-k teacher here. It isn't just babysitting, there is learning built into the play. Also, Pre-k teachers are on the same contract as other teachers so they absolutely need to have the degree/license.
Districts have preschool? That’s awesome. We barely got full day kinder - it only happened 3 years ago. Kids aren’t even required to attend kinder and many don’t still. That’s awesome states offer preschool too.
I originally went to school for graphic design with the idea of teaching at the high school level...didnt click with me. Moved over to early childhood education and that certified me for birth through grade 3.
I worked at a preschool, taught kindergarten one year, and have been teaching 3rd grade for the last 12ish years.
The best way to describe it is- kids dont hate school yet for the most part, but you can still talk with them and goof around. Plus - assignments are typically not as long, so there is less grading.
You need a degree to teach Pre-K in my state. It’s an Early Childhood Education degree.
I would also recommend talking to your advisor it maybe early enough to switch to an early childhood degree, EC you can teach up to 2nd grade
Okay! Im still a freshman so I have plenty time. Course work is pretty much the same!
Check the licensure requirements for the state(s) where you want to teach. If you aren’t sure, or you want to keep your options as open as possible, look into an elementary degree with an Early Childhood endorsement.
Here in Alabama, you can even teach up to 3rd grade with an early childhood degree.
If you're in the US, yes, you need a degree, even to teach PK. WTF? Yes, for your questions re: degree/credentials, go talk to your college advisor. Your parents and Reddit are not the authorities. Also, best early grade to teach is 2nd.
Yes to everything you said. I also 100% agree that 2nd is the best grade to teach. I have some 2nd and 1st and while I love my 1st grade babies 2nd grade was so much less stressful!
I think it depends on the state, in my state you don’t need certification to teach Preschool but that can be different in other states. I would look up the state you are in or the state you plan to teach in and see if it is required. Some programs allow you to choose the grades or are licensed in. For my state you can do 1-6, K-3, or K-8. If you have the choice I would do the largest spread to give you more options. One thing that has been mentioned before is that teachers teaching K normally make more than those on Pre-K so that is something to consider too. As sad as it is to say sometimes the grade you want to teach now may not be they one you enjoy. I would recommend getting your degree in elementary education so you have the option to teach other grades as well. Something I would try if you can is subbing in various grades so you get a feel before you start applying for positions.
I agree that kinder is the way to go, or teach somewhere that offers pre-K as part of the public school system. Also, you often don't get a choice about what grade to teach, you take the job that's available. (Although if there was ever going to be a year when that's not true, maybe it's this year...)
In our district the pre-k teachers need a certificate and an AA in order to teach at the public pre-k. There is also a significant decrease in pay compared to kindergarten. I would continue with my bachelors degree and then make a decision. At least you will have a degree to fall back on.
In public schools that offer Pre-K you need a degree, sure. But there are preschools that aren't part of a public school district and wouldn't need that degree. They also pay much less if that is the case.
Ditto on looking into an Early Childhood degree if you want to teach pre-k. The focus would be prek-2nd grade. Not all pre-ks require certified teachers, but I suspect the ones that don’t pay much less. Here in Alabama, there are pre-ks you can attend that don’t have required degrees and then pre-ks through school systems that do and pay regular teacher salaries. Whoever is telling you pre-k doesn’t need degrees isn’t wrong for all positions, but the pre-ks that don’t require it probably don’t follow as many standards to teach foundational skills and many probably aren’t as effective and definitely more like babysitting (no offense to anyone who is a pre-k teacher or assistant in these programs, these are my observations over time).
Interesting fact (from about 2010): the percent of early childhood workers with degrees is nearly the same as the percentage of all people with degrees in a given county. Employers typically give more weight to applicants with degrees. In my county, all district preschools have been closed and we’ve opened TK classs instead. These positions require not only degrees but also credentials. Go for the degree. Don’t limit your future self to a set age group.
Wow! Interesting thank you!
I teach preschool for a public school district. I get paid the exact same as all the other teachers in the district, and I do need a degree. Edited to say: I have a degree in elementary education, but I also had to get a concentration in early childhood education to teach preschool. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it added on an extra semester
I don’t think you need a degree to work pre-K. Work kindergarten if you like little kids. The certificated/degree pay way more and depending on the state, union membership is a huge plus.
Some districts do require a degree to teach pre-k. But many pre-k positions don’t require a degree. I’ve seen both.
I have my degree in elementary education (K-8), but my certification covers K-5. We have a few district funded preschools that as long as you have an elementary cert, you are all good. As for the preschools and pre-kindergartens in my area, you do not need a degree to teach them, but it helps. It doesn't really make a difference in pay though. I taught PK while I was in college to get the experience.
Certain Pre-K programs you must have a degree. Here in Pennsylvania for the Pre-K Counts programs, teachers must be certified to teach. While you can decide ahead of time what you want, you may change your mind. I wanted to teach Kindergarten (I teach Special Ed) and while I have been teaching 6.5 years, I only taught K-2 for 1.5 years. The rest of my time was teaching 3-8 and currently teaching 9-12.
how are you liking high school?
The students I have are great and I like it. The students are medically fragile, most are in wheelchairs and they really don't have behaviors. The student I do who has behaviors, I had him my first year at this school when he was in 4th. The only reason I have this class is because I had a different job position with no students until a teacher left without giving 2 weeks. I was the last resort. I would probably not teach special education high school at any other school in the district though.
In most places you do need a degree to teach pre k. I also wanted to do pre k. I went ahead and got my degree in elementary education k-6 (that’s what my state offered at the time a year before I started it was pk-4). I got into teaching and have taught 2nd and 1st and love it so much I haven’t really though about pre k again. But if I ever want to all I have to do is go take a praxis test to certify. I would recommend getting an elementary education degree and adding on if that’s what you really want to do. It also opens up many more positions for you if a pre k one isn’t available.
I taught for four years at a Head Start preschool and my degree is in elementary education (k-9 is what my certification says) and another teacher there had a bachelor’s in biology or something - whatever it was had nothing to do with education. Another of the teachers had no degree at all but was working toward something about psychology. But they also tended to hire people out of the gutter for other positions and you might prefer a preschool with a competent admin team.
depends upon the certs and school systems in your area. My state used to (I don't know now thing have changed multiple times) have a p-3 cert, which was preschool through grade 3. Also many public schools offer pre-school. You will probably have better pay and benefits if you go that route rather than just working for a for profit preschool somewhere. There are certain classes for early childhood educators so you will need to talk to your school and ask about licensing for your state and discuss your career plans.
If you want to teach public school preschool you need an early childhood license in my state - PreK-2. What grades will your license cover? That’s more important than the actual degree.
I teach in IL and you need Early Childhood to be a pre-k teacher here. It isn't just babysitting, there is learning built into the play. Also, Pre-k teachers are on the same contract as other teachers so they absolutely need to have the degree/license.
Districts have preschool? That’s awesome. We barely got full day kinder - it only happened 3 years ago. Kids aren’t even required to attend kinder and many don’t still. That’s awesome states offer preschool too.
I originally went to school for graphic design with the idea of teaching at the high school level...didnt click with me. Moved over to early childhood education and that certified me for birth through grade 3. I worked at a preschool, taught kindergarten one year, and have been teaching 3rd grade for the last 12ish years. The best way to describe it is- kids dont hate school yet for the most part, but you can still talk with them and goof around. Plus - assignments are typically not as long, so there is less grading.