Secondary Education Degrees in Alabama
The field of secondary education is extremely important in Alabama. High schoolers are facing some of the most important decisions of their lives, from their career path to where they will spend their adult years. As a high school teacher, you can have a major impact on students at this stage of life.
As education goes through major changes in Alabama, this could be an excellent time to become established in the field and start enacting new education standards. The Alabama state government is attempting to repeal Common Core standards and use their own assessment standards for students. No matter which subject you teach, this could affect your teaching methods and subjects.
The Department of Education, according to AL.com, is attempting to improve performance at the secondary school level. 32 percent of college students in Alabama currently have to take at least one remedial course, a number that the state hopes to bring down to 23 percent.
If a career in secondary education is in your future, get started by contacting secondary education programs in Alabama today.
Overview of Secondary Education Programs in Alabama
To teach high school in Alabama, you need at least a Bachelor’s degree. You may major in a field of study like history, mathematics, chemistry, or biology. You minor in education while taking courses that teach you how to connect with adolescents, bring your advanced knowledge of a subject to their level, and present information so students retain it. If you already have a Bachelor’s degree in a subject area, you may attend an alternative certification program to get your teaching license.
As a secondary education student, you can take courses in various aspects of teaching. Your curriculum may include classes like Fundamentals of Teaching, Secondary Field Experience, High School Curricula, and Trends and Practices in Teaching. In addition to an early field experience, you must student teach at the end of your degree. This is a semester-long experience that keeps you in the same classroom for the entire semester.
Alabama has many scholarship programs for those who wish to teach at the high school level. The Alabama Commission on Higher Education offers scholarships to those studying secondary education. There are also many school-specific scholarships.
Working in Secondary Education in Alabama
After completing your degree, you must get your teaching license from the Alabama State Department of Education. With your teaching license, you may benefit from a fairly solid job outlook. O*Net anticipates a 5 percent increase in jobs through 2022. The average salary for a secondary school teacher in Alabama is $50,400 per year (O*Net, 2013).
Your dedication to high school education can help students get more from their high school years, strengthen Alabama’s teaching system, and help you find a career you love. It all begins with an education from one of Alabama’s secondary education programs.
