Teaching Certification/Degree - no undergrad experience

[seinfeld74]

Hey everyone,

 

I have a question for the education folks on this forum.  I am going to be a college senior in the fall. I will graduate with a Bachelor of Music, BA in Public Policy and history minor. One idea I've thrown around for after college is to become a high school social studies teacher (I've done some music teaching in the past few years, and while I enjoy teaching, I am not really interested in doing music education).

 

I'm looking for a program where I won't be judged on my lack of BA in History (I have enough college coursework in econ/poli sci/public policy/history to meet most states' licensure requirements for high school social studies teachers) and that will allow me to get inside the classroom/learn how to teach. The program doesn't have to yield a degree.

 

I was wondering if people know of programs that would be suited for me. I've been doing some research and I've come across three programs:

-Boston Teacher Residency

-Harvard Teacher Education Program

-Teach for America

 

Are there any similar programs/advice for me about getting from point a to point b here?

 

Thanks!!

Edited June 18, 2013 by seinfeld74

[ctcpx084]

Whatever you decide on should include student teaching. Many alternative certification programs do not, and this makes the first year of many new teachers much more difficult than it has to be. I did alternative certification in New Mexico and had zero observation hours or student teaching. I vividly remember nearly soiling myself my first week when I realized in school we had learned practically nothing about lesson planning, curriculum development, instructional strategies, differentiation, etc. If I had it to do over again, I would certainly look to participate in a program that really focused on practical teaching and providing experiences that will help prepare me for the actual day-to-day job of a professional teacher.

 

I wish I knew specific programs to recommend. I know I interviewed with the Teaching Residents at Teachers College last week, which appears to be awesome, but they focus on certifying special education and ELL teachers if I'm not mistaken.