Dear Deb,

What does one need the most: to know about what he/she is supposed to teach or
to know how to teach? If anyone could "pick up" a subject matter this easily
along the way, there would be no need for formal education at all. We could all
go our jolly way trying to keep just a bit ahead of the people we're supposed
to educate. On the reverse, why don't all master's degree holders just "pick
up" pedagogical material along the way?

As far as I'm concerned, a good educator is 1) someone who is trained in the
subject-matter he/she is supposed to teach; 2) someone who also has training in
education and can establish an effective bridge between both trainings; 3)
someone who considers education as a means, not an end.

Hervé Gagnon, Ph.D.

Deb Fuller a écrit:

> Hi all!!
>
> I'm probably going to open up a big can 'o worms here but there's something
> that's been bugging me as I plow through all these job announcements.
>
> Why are advanced degrees required?
>
> I'm curious about the recent trend for more education.  It used to be that
> one got a bachelor's in a field, worked for several years and then
> considered getting a master's, unless one was in a research/academic field
> like the hard sciences where one just went straight through and got a Ph.D.
>  But now it seems like to be competitive, a master's is the norm with extra
> certificates and qualifications tacked on.  Instead of working between
> degrees, people are going straight through and getting advanced degrees
> which produce a whole lot of highly educated people without experience who
> still can't get jobs.
>
>  I also get grumbly when I see education positions requiring an advanced
> degree in the subject matter (like art or science) but coursework in
> education not being required.  I personally think that a master's in art
> history does not qualify one to teach art to school groups.  A master's in
> art education would however.  The reasoning behind this is that education
> is the key skill in education jobs, not subject matter, which a good
> educator can pick up pretty quickly in most cases.
>
> Comments from the peanut gallery would be appreciated.
>
> Deb, just shy of an M.Ed.  :)
>
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