Fast Track to Teaching

[gr8teach]

At my school we have a number of substitutes from the local expat community. One of the parents who subs at the school (and is it quite good) is looking to become a teacher. She is currently a trailing spouse, whose husband's business keeps her traveling the world.
Unfortunately, she does not have an undergraduate degree.
She is trying to figure out the fastest way to get a degree and teaching certification. She would prefer an accelerated online program if available and said she could attend a campus for periods of time throughout the year if necessary. She would like to be accredited by an internationally recognized teaching body so that she could work in international schools.
Any advise would be appreciated!!

[MedellinHeel]

For her I am afraid there is no fast track.

She must have a degree which at earliest will take her 3 years assuming she has no credits (in the US). Getting an education degree will mean no more years needed. If her degree is not in Education then you can add another 9-12 months on top of the 3 years.

I could be wrong.

[gr8teach]

Do people know of an online undergraduate education program? I think 3 years sounds reasonable...

[Flyingpigs]

I wonder if there is a quick online way to become a heart surgeon....

[gr8teach]

I'm sorry just looking to help out a friend here- the world of online degrees is a bit daunting and juts wondering if anyone had any experience...

[wayout]

Becoming a teacher is not meant to be easy. If it was that easy everyone would be doing it. There is no "fast-track". Get a undergraduate degree, then get certified. That is as fast as it gets! Unless there is some secret nobody has shared with me.

[gengrant]

If your friend is interested in online courses, a quick Google search provided this link:

http://www.besteducationdegrees.com/top ... -programs/

I'd probably start looking there.

I agree with the other posters - there is no "fast track" as well as there shouldn't be - becoming an educator is not for the faint of heart or something to be done as a fallback. If your friend is indeed committed to the profession, then they're going to have to find a way to do the work to get there.

Best wishes to them - the world needs dedicated and gifted educators!

[auntiesocial]

Flyingpigs wrote:
> I wonder if there is a quick online way to become a heart surgeon....

No, there isn't; because heart surgery requires a specialist skill set, knowledge and ability which far surpasses that of your average teacher. This is one of the reasons why I could pretty much guarantee that there are far fewer mind-numbingly stupid heart surgeons in the world than there are teachers - also evidenced by the standard of some of the posting on this forum.

It's amusing how precious teachers are about their profession. It really isn't 'heart surgery'. That being said, it seems that there are fewer options in North America to hasten your route into the profession than there are in the U.K. Seems like an undergraduate degree is the first step in any instance. It depends on how quickly this can be achieved.

[jesatlarge]

With all due respect to the previous posters, there are, and always have been, fast track programs for teacher certification. I am "alternatively" certified through the state of Fl and it was fast (one school year long once or twice a week for like two hours), cheap (less than 1,000) and a total no homework, no reading, no brainer waste of time. But I got the certification and have proceeded on to supposedly very top of the heap tier one schools. If one can teach, one can teach. Certification is not worthless, bit it is neither sufficient or necessary for good teaching at any level (except perhaps for district rules). Many of my international teaching friends, again at top schools, are also alternatively certified. One picked up a U Michigan certification in one month in Thailand...alas that program is no longer offered. One 9 month, all internet (except for the internship which could be done at the current school) is called teacherready through the Univ of West Florida.

But one needs a bachelor degree first. Check out Charter Oak State College and Thomas Edison. Both Accredited and internet based, perhaps exclusively. Both allow tons of ways to get credit w/o coursework, ie by challenging AP exams, GRE general and subject exams, CLEP exams and the like. Smart folks can jump thru the hoops and get very quick (one year or so) degrees. Check out degree info.com for lots of nuts and bolts info on these options. Very fast track indeed. And then there tons of fast track Masters as well.

[Flyingpigs]

I am not making a judgement call on the OP or the OPosters friend. I have no idea of whether or not she will be a good teacher. I dont know her, so who am I to make that call?
My point is this-- I got my degree the old fashioned way--going to University for my undergrad, then teachers college....it was tough to get into teachers college back then. In fact, at any reputable teachers college in Canada it is STILL pretty tough--in fact MORE tough to get in
Does getting a degree the old fashioned way, achieved in about 4 or 5 years make that person a better teacher? Nope. But going through the hoops to get in, and putting in the work required indicates a certain passion for the sport.
At any school I work at, I can pick out the truly good teachers who are meant to BE teachers in a heartbeat. The others, who are there for the pay cheque--and yes July and August...are pretty miserable, hate the job, hate the kids and really have a tough go. Teaching is not for everyone. Today's teenagers can be a pretty frightening lot. ( take a look at the most recent blog posting) http://internationalschoolsreviewdiscus ... do-part-2/ Getting certified, just to get a job, without wanting to be a teacher because you want to TEACH first and foremost, might mean you really hate going to work each morning--cause the kids will eat you alive.
Again--I am not making a call on the OPosters pal....I am speaking generally.

[MedellinHeel]

The OP is talking about fast track for both degree and certification. Yes there are fast track programs for certification but there are no fast track programs to getting a full blown undergrad degree. At earliest it would take 3 years and that is with taking a boatload of hours and going to summer school (stuff I dont think you can do online). At minimum she is looking at 3-5 years. Unless there is something I dont know about.

jesatlarge wrote:
> With all due respect to the previous posters, there are, and always have
> been, fast track programs for teacher certification. I am
> "alternatively" certified through the state of Fl and it was fast
> (one school year long once or twice a week for like two hours), cheap (less
> than 1,000) and a total no homework, no reading, no brainer waste of time.
> But I got the certification and have proceeded on to supposedly very top of
> the heap tier one schools. If one can teach, one can teach. Certification
> is not worthless, bit it is neither sufficient or necessary for good
> teaching at any level (except perhaps for district rules). Many of my
> international teaching friends, again at top schools, are also
> alternatively certified. One picked up a U Michigan certification in one
> month in Thailand...alas that program is no longer offered. One 9 month,
> all internet (except for the internship which could be done at the current
> school) is called teacherready through the Univ of West Florida.

[escapeartist]

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education

US News and World Report collected a list of online education programs. It would be a good place to start.

Best of luck.

[josephine]

She should also consider where she wants to work as some countries require a degree attestation which does not accept online degrees. Some western universities have divisions based in foreign countries, and some have online education programs. Good & affordable online options: University of Nottingham (if you want a UK degree) and University of West Florida (if you want a US degree).

[gr8teach]

Thanks for all the information. The dialogue has been very rich. Does anyone know if any of these programs allow for direct from HS graduation or do they require previous undergrad/ associate degrees? Does anyone know of schools that allow them to do their practical teaching internationally?

[prince15]

I remember someone posting that the teachready program allows you to do your student teaching internationally. Double check though.