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I was also lucky enough to have access to one of the few available one-year programs in the US when I switched from TEFL to secondary English. I wouldn't have considered a two-year program. Two years of extended study is a very, very long time for an established professional, especially when it ends with a pay-cut and lots of university credits of dubious value. The research consensus on teacher training was definitely true in my case: most of the content wasn't helpful, and I learned far, far more from student teaching under a master educator.

Apprenticeships in general seem very under-funded and under-explored, at least in the United States, even though every teacher I know seems to agree that hanging out in the classroom and practicing with an expert is the best way to learn the job.

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My teaching degree (a masters) was absolutely useless. Ironically, it made me appreciate how, to some degree, my bachelor of arts was quite rigorous.

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Dec 7, 2022Liked by Rebecca Birch

I returned to uni at 45 this year, to do primary teaching. I am passionate about the teaching of reading, so I chose La Trobe University. I have two children and the only reason I can take this time out of paid employment is that my husband’s wage can support us and we are dipping into our slowly receding savings. Three more years of uni feels daunting at the moment, even though I (mostly) enjoy it.

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