Wanting to become a High School Math teacher [Advice needed]

[MelvinDL86]

Hello,

I graduated from University in 2009 with a business degree but have decided that wasnt for me. I want to be a teacher and secondary math seems like the best path to take [higher demand & tutoring opportunities]

While I never was a genius in school, I did alright (mostly B's with a few A's & C's here and there) with never really trying, caring, or studying.

I understand this will not be easy and will take a lot of studying and work, but I am confident in my abilities and when I put my mind to doing something I do it.

With that said, I going to be starting from the ground up and going back over EVERYTHING. I am looking for 2 books on each subject. 1st book that covers all the basics and explains things easily and clear (Practical Algebra?). Then a 2nd book that goes into a lot more depth. Which books would you recommend?

Any other advice will be much appreciated as well.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Books - you should obtain copies of the secondary curriculae for the areas of interest.

Other advice:
Go to college and obtain a secondary teaching qualification.
The jurisdiction in which you want to do this is very important - different countries etc have different expectations and rules. Without this, specific advise will be questionable at best.

 

[MelvinDL86]

Books - you should obtain copies of the secondary curriculae for the areas of interest.

Other advice:
Go to college and obtain a secondary teaching qualification.
The jurisdiction in which you want to do this is very important - different countries etc have different expectations and rules. Without this, specific advise will be questionable at best.

I am doing an online Alternative Certification Program through the University of West Florida. I finish it this summer and then plan to start studying for 8 months until I take the state of Florida's teaching licensing exams in December / January.

However, I will not be teaching in the US. Will most likely be teaching at an IB school abroad.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Does the online certification course include practical teaching sections - this is where you spend some months supervised teaching an actual class? Few schools will hire you without documented and reviewed teaching experience.

By "IB schools", you mean http://www.ibo.org/school/ schools right?
These schools offer an international standard program within their country's own education program.
You must still be qualified to teach in that country. eg. to teach in a secondary school in New Zealand you must hold a NZ Diploma in Teaching with your existing degree - minimum. Last I looked, US teacher certifications were not usually accepted. Minimum requirements will differ by jurisdiction.

 

[MelvinDL86]

The program has a placement and field part of it where I must do interviews, observations, subbing, and student teaching. Its not nearly as much as one for a conventional degree though.

When I talk about teaching abroad and IB, I am talking about private schools in areas like the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. You only need to hold a certification / license from your home country.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Well fair enough... you have decided on a specific career plan.

There's a whole forum covering textbooks on any subject covered here, however, for secondary level, there is gratis information online.

For a primer, I had the best mileage out of student exam reviews and primers for the country I'm going to.
Let exams be your guide.