Hi Kristen,
My advice would be to obtain a teaching position if at all
possible, teach for a year or so, and then begin pursuing your
Master's degree. First off, after you have begun teaching and
really experience what the job requires (very different from
just student teaching!) you will have a better idea of what you
might want to study for your Master's. ( After 3 years of
teaching, I decided I wanted to study Curriculum Development
but not limit myself to the k-3 arena just because those where
the grades I had taught. I realized that I really wanted to
teach upper elementary, and wanted to be sure my Master's in
Curriculum would really give me a better understanding and not
be too limited. Secondly, many school systems help teachers
with the cost of courses through "Professional Development"
money. This will take some of the expense off of you. I was
lucky that my school system paid for my Master's degree!
I also think that there is so much that you can only learn
through actually being in the profession, that you will
contribute more and learn more in your graduate courses if you
are actually teaching at the same time, rather than just
relying on what books and theory tell you are "supposed" to
happen in the classroom. Good luck to you!

On 8/05/09, Kristen wrote:
> Hi!
> I will be student teaching this Fall and of course look up
> to those who already have achieved the role of being an
> elementary education school teacher. Hence, I'm asking all
> of you... when should I go for my masters? Should I get a
> job teaching first and eventually go nights? Should I not
> get a job teaching and go for my masters full time?
> I appreciate all of your advice!
> Thanks,
> Kristen

Share This Post | Report This Post

Next Post >>

Posts on this thread, including this one