The International Schools Review Forum

I'm a grade 7 (12-13 year olds) generalist with a degree in a human geography subjects. My school is thinking of turning grade 7 into more of a middle school environment with teachers teaching specific subjects. I have been asked if I would teach math and science, which is fine and probably what I enjoy the most. I'm just wondering how this positions me when I want to move on, as I will be teaching two subjects for which I do not have a degree (although I already teach the material as a generalist). Will this be an issue when I want to move on ( to an IB, British, American curriculum school)?

Certified in English and History/Socials (double major). In my overseas teaching career I taught English for about half a semester. I have never taught Socials overseas. However, I have taught computer programming, etc etc, despite no certification. I was asked to teach a math class (again, with no certification) but at the last moment they got a teacher and I didn't have to.

If you have the background and feel comfortable that you could do a good job for the students, go for it! One posting I had (in my home country) I taught everything except French and Music to my home class. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot about different aspects of the curriculum and how it all ties together.

However, if you DON"T feel comfortable doing it, then don't.

I had a few schools interested in me at the fair because I could be slotted in many places, or assigned several quite different preps. Not all schools will have exactly the same number of classes to fit a full teacher load in each class/subject.

At the 7th grade/middle school level it wont really matter. being able to put math/science in the title of your job description will catch a recruiters eye, but will quickly vanish when they see it was only 7th grade.
Youd really be more marketable as a generalist if you kept reporting your experience as a generalist (who just happens to be assigned to teach math and science), since thats what your certification is. This will give you more years of generalist experience, compared to minimal experience as a grade 7 math/science teacher, which is the most important factor in recruiting and evaluating a resume.