Question About Becoming a Speical Educator

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Question About Becoming a Speical Educator

by Kristen Smith

Oct 8, 2013

Hello Everyone,

I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my question so I figured this would be a good place to start.

My major is in special education and I'll be certified to teach k-12 students with cognitive impairments. I'm on the secondary track which means I'll be certified to teach general education in my chosen minor which is biology.

I am not happy with the biology minor and even though I'm doing well, its not something I'm comfortable with. I would like to switch to a health minor but I'm worried it will effect my chance at being hired.

My question is when you get hired as a special educator, do they look at your general education endorsement when making a hiring decision or does your special education endorsements only matter, which is CI in my case?

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special edu On 10/08/13, Kristen Smith wrote: > Hello Everyone, > > > > I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my > question so I figured this would be a good place to start. > > > > My major is in special education and I'll be certified to > teach k-12 students with cognitive impairments. I'm on the > seco...See More

Oct 9, 2013

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Kristen smith On 10/09/13, special edu wrote: > On 10/08/13, Kristen Smith wrote: >> Hello Everyone, >> >> >> >> I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my >> question so I figured this would be a good place to start. >> >> >> >> My major is in special education and I'll be certified...See MoreOn 10/09/13, special edu wrote: > On 10/08/13, Kristen Smith wrote: >> Hello Everyone, >> >> >> >> I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my >> question so I figured this would be a good place to start. >> >> >> >> My major is in special education and I'll be certified to >> teach k-12 students with cognitive impairments. I'm on the >> secondary track which means I'll be certified to teach >> general education in my chosen minor which is biology. >> >> >> >> I am not happy with the biology minor and even though I'm >> doing well, its not something I'm comfortable with. I would >> like to switch to a health minor but I'm worried it will >> effect my chance at being hired. >> >> >> >> My question is when you get hired as a special educator, do >> they look at your general education endorsement when making >> a hiring decision or does your special education >> endorsements only matter, which is CI in my case? > > What matters is what you're highly qualified in on the special > ed side, not so much what you're certified in on the regular > education side. > > Likely a minor in Biology would get you highly qualified in > Bio, but I don't exactly know why you're getting a Bio > endorsement when you are majoring in CI. You're unlikely to > have a CI Bio class. Maybe if you were LD, but CI will be much > more basic. I don't know if it will be a benefit to you. > Honestly, if you want to teach special ed, you might look to > see if you can earn at least one more special ed endorsement > like AI or LD. AI would be very valuable in getting a job. > > Special education teachers get 2 years to become HQ in a core > subject, and most use the HOUSSE process to do so. It's > relatively easy to do so. You don't need a minor in every > subject to become HQ in a secondary subject, and that is what > is important in special e

Thanks for responding. So at my school, when your on the secondary track for special ed you have a k-12 endorsement for your chosen disability area which is CI for me. But then you also have to pick a general education teachable minor. My advisor didn't say anything against biology but didn't explain how you have to become highly qualified in a core subject either.

They don't give the option to get endorsed in another disability area or I would of chosen AI. I want to switch to a health education minor, would that not be a good idea?

Oct 14, 2013

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special edu On 10/14/13, Kristen smith wrote: > On 10/09/13, special edu wrote: >> On 10/08/13, Kristen Smith wrote: >>> Hello Everyone, >>> >>> >>> >>> I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my >>> question so I figured this would be a good place to start. >>> >>&g...See MoreOn 10/14/13, Kristen smith wrote: > On 10/09/13, special edu wrote: >> On 10/08/13, Kristen Smith wrote: >>> Hello Everyone, >>> >>> >>> >>> I know I'm not a teacher yet but I have no one to answer my >>> question so I figured this would be a good place to start. >>> >>> >>> >>> My major is in special education and I'll be certified to >>> teach k-12 students with cognitive impairments. I'm on the >>> secondary track which means I'll be certified to teach >>> general education in my chosen minor which is biology. >>> >>> >>> >>> I am not happy with the biology minor and even though I'm >>> doing well, its not something I'm comfortable with. I would >>> like to switch to a health minor but I'm worried it will >>> effect my chance at being hired. >>> >>> >>> >>> My question is when you get hired as a special educator, do >>> they look at your general education endorsement when making >>> a hiring decision or does your special education >>> endorsements only matter, which is CI in my case? >> >> What matters is what you're highly qualified in on the special >> ed side, not so much what you're certified in on the regular >> education side. >> >> Likely a minor in Biology would get you highly qualified in >> Bio, but I don't exactly know why you're getting a Bio >> endorsement when you are majoring in CI. You're unlikely to >> have a CI Bio class. Maybe if you were LD, but CI will be much >> more basic. I don't know if it will be a benefit to you. >> Honestly, if you want to teach special ed, you might look to >> see if you can earn at least one more special ed endorsement >> like AI or LD. AI would be very valuable in getting a job. >> >> Special education teachers get 2 years to become HQ in a core >> subject, and most use the HOUSSE process to do so. It's >> relatively easy to do so. You don't need a minor in every >> subject to become HQ in a secondary subject, and that is what >> is important in special e > > Thanks for responding. So at my school, when your on the > secondary track for special ed you have a k-12 endorsement for > your chosen disability area which is CI for me. But then you > also have to pick a general education teachable minor. My > advisor didn't say anything against biology but didn't explain > how you have to become highly qualified in a core subject > either. > > They don't give the option to get endorsed in another disability > area or I would of chosen AI. I want to switch to a health > education minor, would that not be a good idea?

I can't say that Health would be a bad idea, but I don't think it will open any doors for you either. I don't think I've ever seen a job posting looking for a CI teacher that can teach Health as well.

Also on the secondary side, Bio would make you HQ in science, where Health wouldn't do much for you. Keep in mind, a lot of CI teachers teach all 4 core subjects in a self-contained class, so science would just be another subject you will have to become HQ in through the HOUSSE process.

If you really want to do health... cool. But, if it is going to require you to take a lot more classes or spend more money, I wouldn't bother.

Oct 15, 2013

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