Majoring in Theater Education

[actorgeek]

Alright, my dream in life is to teach theater. Maybe in a high school, maybe in a community organization. As of now, my current plan is to get my BA in Theatre, and take the necessary courses in Secondary Education to obtain my teaching certificate. Sounds good for the time being, right?

If I go to teacher in a school system, will it be more important that I double majored in Education and Theatre? Is not having a degree in Education going to hurt my income?

I do plan to eventually go to grad school for theatre, but that will be several years down the road...

Looking for advice,
Matt

 

[Footer]

Read this: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/education-career-development/14697-thinking-becoming-teacher.html

After you have read that... which you read that, right?

Depending on where/if you get a job, it can mater if you have a teaching degree. The biggest factor is that in many education programs you get your teaching cert along with your degree. Depending on where you teach, some places will give you a temp. cert while you work to get your real cert. Where I taught I was paid less because I did not have a full cert. Its a lot of work to get certified and teach and do a production load. If you hit it hard, it is possible to get a certification over a summer in some states. As far as the need for the education degree goes beyond the cert, its a double edged sword. I taught at a program performing arts high school. None of the faculty had degrees in education, including myself. However, all we did was theatre/dance/vocal. In the real wold at 99.9% of high schools you will be teaching theatre one period, two periods max. You will need that education degree in english/history/math/whatever to fill in the rest of your day.

 

[zmb]

In the real wold at 99.9% of high schools you will be teaching theatre one period, two periods max. You will need that education degree in english/history/math/whatever to fill in the rest of your day.

Really? At my former junior high, there was a drama teacher that taught 4 drama classes, a social studies class, and a prep period. This is a 700-800 student school and I think it works the same way of teaching a traditional subject at the high school of around 1400 students

 

[cpf]

It depends entirely on the school and the demand for programs: I know a drama teacher who teaches 3 drama classes and 1 stained glass, but if the same teacher taught at the school down the road they'd have 1 drama class and spend the rest of their time in LA/Social, just because no one signs up for drama so one class is all they need.

Moral of the story: be flexible. Just like any career you can't expect to forever be doing thing X just because that's what you studied in school.

 

[Footer]

Really? At my former junior high, there was a drama teacher that taught 4 drama classes, a social studies class, and a prep period. This is a 700-800 student school and I think it works the same way of teaching a traditional subject at the high school of around 1400 students

....and your in the Northwest in a state that supports the arts and actually has money to spend. It is not the same everywhere. In many states theatre ed is an elective that is lumped in with shop, art classes, and a load of other stuff. It is in no way a requirement. Therefore, districts only offer it if there is a reason to. Theatre Arts classes are not even close to the norm. Most schools theatre programs consist of an english teacher who sponsors the drama club. They perform in a gymatorium if they are lucky putting on one or two plays a year.

Theatre education degrees are kind of a pit. If you get a job teaching theatre, that is great, your degree will take you far. However, you still need to have a backup. Unfortunately, many people in professional theatre won't take a second look at many people with theatre ed degrees.

 

[LXPlot]

Our school has a theatre teacher who teaches 4 theatre classes daily in addition to two tech classes. He has a degree in theatre ed, but he says he's the only one from his degree program actually teaching theatre now. We also have a venue manager who does not have a degree in theatre or education but has been a well now actor and was in a leadership position in community theatre for a while. He is pursuing a cert. so he can teach theatre full time. I think he makes less as well.

 

[mstaylor]

That question is double edged. Unless it is a performance school it is unlikely you will teach just theatre so the education degree is going to be essential. It is important to find a second subject that interests you in case you need a fallback. One course of action is to major in education and take some classes in theatre, both acting and tech.

 

[Tex]

That question is double edged. Unless it is a performance school it is unlikely you will teach just theatre so the education degree is going to be essential. It is important to find a second subject that interests you in case you need a fallback. One course of action is to major in education and take some classes in theatre, both acting and tech.

This is really dependent on where you are. In Texas, all students are required to have a fine arts credit to graduate. The music programs have very little to offer students who have not had prior music classes. The majority of students seeking a fine arts credit are enrolled in Art I, Theatre I, or Tech Theatre I. Most of the 4A and 5A high schools in the state employ two full-time theatre teachers. Except for the semesters that I requested to teach Web Mastering, I have had a full-time theatre schedule for 17 years. I am the rule, not the exception in Texas. Most of the 3A schools have one full time theatre teacher.
In terms of what I use daily in the classroom. I have found that the knowledge I gained as a theatre major FAR outweighs the knowledge that I gained in post-bac education classes for certification. For that matter, the things I've learned on CB are more useful than my education classes...

 

[mstaylor]

I agree that is specific to the area where you live. It is the same requirements in our area but the teachers that teach American Theatre history and couple of other classes teach other things. They are either choir or band directors or English teachers. They do not teach anything tech at all. But whether an area like mine or one like yours, you still have to have the teaching cert to get the job. Other than how to do lesson plans it may not help you much but you still need it. In my area, 2A schools are as big as you get. 3A and 4A schools are on the other side of the state.
My point about the preformance school was it may be possible to get a job teaching without a teaching cert.

 

[Tex]

I agree. Part of my point is however, that it is not necessary to get a degree in education in order to get a teaching certificate. Most states have a "post-bac" program and some universities have degree programs that combine a degree in theatre with a teaching certificate. In my opinion, that is a better route for a theatre teacher than an education degree and a teaching certificate for theatre.

 

[Sayen]

A secondary teaching area - I teach English along with theater - also makes you more marketable, and the difference in degrees is not significant. The English Education Minor and endorsement on my certificate wasn't much extra work, and regardless of what my state does to arts education I'm still employable. It also gave me more options when looking for a full time job teaching.

Make sure you have a strong technical background. That's about 80% of my time at the school, and it makes me indispensable. My students and I now handle all professional rentals at the school.

By the way - I started out with three theater classes and two non-theater, and after six years we're looking for a second teacher because there are too many theater classes for me, and this is a 1500 student school. Just because a school's program is small, doesn't mean you can't grow it.