Update: Transfered to Dowling today

Right now I have 2 semesters left at St. Joseph's for my bachelors. (English major - Secondary Ed)

I have my thesis and 1 class this fall....then I am taking off until next September because I am having twins this November. I changed my major and am a little behind. Time is really not an issue at this point since I am behind already.

I want to teach special ed, so after St. Joe's I was just planning to get my masters in special ed. I just realized Dowling has a bachelors program for secondary ed, special ed.

Transferring would mean I would not have to write a thesis at St. Joe's (which I am about to start in a couple of weeks). And it means I can get my masters in something like literacy and have even more certification in a different area.

What should I do?

Stay at St. Joe's and just get my degree in English and Sec. Ed? Or transfer to Dowling and kinda kill 2 birds with 1 stone by getting special ed in my bachelors and not my masters.

Any info or thoughts will help!!


*****************

Just in case anyone was wondering....

I transfered to Dowling today. They took ALL my St. Joe's credits so now I am only 9 credits away from getting my BA in English, without having to write a thesis.


After a couple of classes i'll go right into my masters in special ed and be done with both by BA and MA before I would have been done with my BA at St. Joe's!

Also, since i'll be graduating from Dowling, I will do their option 1 masters in special ed and only have to take 30 credits instead of 45.

Message edited 8/22/2008 6:14:36 PM.

Re: Please help me out! Give me some advice...

Have you looked into if all your credits would transfer from St Joe's to Dowling? It would stink if you transfered and then had to take more than 2 semesters at Dowling.
I would also try to talk to people that have taken the courses at Dowling and find out if they liked them. I don't know much about their undergrad programs.

St Joe's has a really good reputation for teaching. Some of my best student teachers have come from St. Joe's. If you want to teach only special ed you might want to get your master's in special ed, the classes will be more in depth and give you great training.
I have my Master's in special ed and am a special ed teacher so feel free to ask me more questions. HTH!

ETA- If you want to teach HS special ed- most districts want you also to be certified in a content area

Message edited 8/18/2008 4:42:39 PM.

Re: Please help me out! Give me some advice...

I have a meeting with Dowling this Friday to see if all my credits transfer.

Re: Please help me out! Give me some advice...

I would continue with your current major and get your masters in special ed. Once you have a teaching degree you can pursue other certification areas through alternate pathways which will still give you the opportunity to get literacy certification or other certifications.

Another option is this:
It would be the quickest, I think.
Once you have your bachelors in English 7-12 you can apply for your special education 7-12 certification. You would only need to take 12 hrs in Special Ed and the CST. Look below, you will have already completed all the other requirements. Im in the process of doing the same thing as you.

This way you will get your bachelors soon and you can take the 4 classes to get your special ed certification. Then at your leisure, go for your masters in something else.

The following are the requirements you would need to complete (taken from the state website)

HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL!!

Pathway: Individual Evaluation for Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate
Requirements:
Hold a Valid NYS Teaching Certificate
Content Core - English - 30 S.H.
Pedagogical Core
College Coursework at Student Developmental Level - Adolescent - Grades 7-12 - 6 S.H.
College Coursework - Teaching Literacy Skills Methods - 3 S.H.
Additional Pedagogy - Students with Disabilities - 12 S.H.
College Coursework - Foundations of Special Education - Students with Disabilities
College Coursework - Assessment, Diagnosis and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities
College Coursework - Curriculum, Instruction & Managing Environment for Students w Disabilities
Content Specialty Test (CST) - English
Content Specialty Test (CST) - Students With Disabilities
Workshop - Child Abuse Identification
Workshop - School Violence Intervention and Prevention
Fingerprint Clearance

Message edited 8/18/2008 4:51:44 PM.

Re: Update: Transfered to Dowling today

bump for update!

Re: Update: Transfered to Dowling today

Congrats! Glad to hear it worked out for you and they took all your credits

Re: Update: Transfered to Dowling today

glad things worked out, but i would make sure Dowling can give you not only the special ed. but the secondary ed. English certification. you really need both nowadays.

Re: Update: Transfered to Dowling today

Re: Update: Transfered to Dowling today

Posted by MrsGraz

Posted by donegal419

glad things worked out, but i would make sure Dowling can give you not only the special ed. but the secondary ed. English certification. you really need both nowadays.

yes, it's for both