Teaching Alternative Certification help?

Question

this is kind of a complicated situation and I need some advice if you can genuinely help.

Ok, I currently go to a university in Missouri, and my major is Criminal Justice. I have just one short semester left and I can finally graduate! But my dilemma is that I would like to teach, either history or social studies in secondary education. Also, I would like to teach in the state of New York to make it more complicated.

Basically, I will have a criminal justice degree from Missouri and I'd like to teach in New York. How hard would it be to find a school that would hire me while I work for an alternative certification?

I was contemplating switching my major to Secondary Education with a history emphasis, but I would have to go back to school for TWO WHOLE YEARS! Surely you can feel my pain, being so close to graduating then going back for two years. So I would really like to get the easiest way into the classroom I can, as bad as that sounds.

Please help with any advic

Answer 1

Check out the "Teach for America" program.  They hire people with college degrees in anything, give them some quick summer training to be a teacher, and then send them to where they need teachers the most.

Answer 2

Hello fellow future teacher!

As hard as it may sound, it really isn't that hard to find a teaching job in most cities. You will, however, need to be aware that Social Studies in not in the teacher critical shortage area.  What you will need to do is go to the State of N.Y.'s website: http://usny.nysed.gov/teachers/, and find out about the ways in which you can teach under a provisional or temporary license. Usually most states give you 2-3 years to complete an alternative cert. program and pass the state educator examination in your subject area. It differs state to state. Good luck!