willirp0

Hi there! I am planning on pursuing either a M.A.T in Social Studies Education or a Terminal M.A in American History in the fall of 2014, with the intention of teaching at the secondary level. I've been driving myself crazy trying to flesh out the advantages/ disadvantages of each degree and thought I might reach out for some feedback.... I know the MA is commonly considered a stepping stone en route to a PhD, and a career in Academia and that the Social Studies M.A.T is ostensibly the most practical degree for secondary school teachers-- BUT I find myself gravitating toward terminal MA programs, primarily b/c I'd like to forgo the education/pedagogical coursework subsumed by the M.A.T in favor of a more cogent focus on topical and historiographical content-- in short, I'd rather learn to think like a historian than a high school teacher, and believe a MA, if properly designed, could be equally as useful as a M.A.T. Does this line of reasoning make any sense at all???? Other than the obvious disadvantages of limited funding, and limited access to student teaching/education classes, would a terminal MA be a good fit if I want to teach in secondary schools? I'm primarily interested in the independent /boarding school route, so official teacher licensure doesn't really matter for me... I should also note that I have a year of teaching experience under my belt (Latin, not History), but majored in History with a Classics minor and finished with a solid undergraduate GPA at a fairly small liberal arts college. Any insight would be awesome!!