Education Careers >> Ask a Teacher >> MAT Program
MAT Program
|
Posted 2 months ago Hi, I'm new, so be nice. My husband is a teacher, he left graduate school to go back and get his teaching certification (where I met him). I had been on a grad school or law school track until last year (his first year of teaching) I went in and observed, and eventually, I decided it was what I wanted to do. So, I'm considering getting my MAT, I graduate with my undergrad degree this year (BA History). What do you think of MAT programs? Has anyone completed one? I would like all thoughts and opinions, just please try to be tactful. Thank you |
|
| Posted 2 months ago Why so defensive? Have you been offended? |
|
|
| Posted 2 months ago Well, I'm very nervous about the program. A lot of individuals believe that an MAT program is like cheating, compared to M ed programs and it kind of makes me a little defensive. I don't really know a whole lot about MAT programs (just what I read on the schools websites but it doesn't really explain much) so I dont want to be stumbling into something that might not be a good idea. I'm also not one of those people who doesn't know what else to do with a BA in History, so they get their MAT because it is easy. (I met probably 50 ppl at the school I transfered from that were like that). It's also not that I can't get into a top notch PHD graduate program for history (I already have spoken to people and could get into a number of top ten schools in the country for my field), I just... have chosen not to, I want to teach and the MAT programs I am looking at (one particularly) is at a southern "ivy" school. I'm just nervous about it because you get your certification and a masters in one year? I'm trying to be cautious, I guess. Okay thats the long winded answer, sorry! |
|
|
| Posted 2 months ago Excellent answer - I think you should take your own advice so welllaid out. |
|
| Posted 2 months ago Maddie, don't be ridiculous. Be proud of the work you are doing and the degree you are working for! Children are the living messages we will send into a time we will not see. – John W. Whitehead |
|
|
| Posted 2 months ago Well in order to get certified quickly and cheaply I have no other choice. I'll be getting paid for my work, I wil also be going to a great school that is more comphrensive and has much more coursework/internship involved. I have a friend in the program, who has said great things, and after I am certified and teaching, I will be able to get my M. ed. I really think it is all about how you view what you are going to use and how you use it, rather than the program itself, but I wanted other's experiences. Thanks for making me more secure in my choice! |
|
| Posted 2 months ago I have a MAT (though it was an MST when I got it) from Fordham University in NYC and no one (other than me) has ever questioned my training. I went the MAT route when, at 50 years of age, I decided to become a teacher after a wide variety of different prior careers. When you apply for jobs no one will care what degree you have as long as you have the right degree to be certified and can teach. "Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." ~~ Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818) |
|
| Posted 2 months ago I went through a MAT program a year ago, because I wanted to teach and it was the option that left me with the least amount of debt. I'm a dedicated student, but I felt like I might as well have bought my degree on eBay - I recevied good preparation for teaching, but it definitely wasn't rigorous in any way. Anyway, it seems like that hasn't deterred any employers; the folks I went to grad school with all received jobs pretty handily. |