squeeze berry
Gold Member
I believe there is more going on here than first meets the eye.
If NC is like most states, teachers are required to get some number of graduate credits in order to obtain permanent certification as a licensed teacher. What some colleges do is to create a "masters degree" (small "m") program that allows a teacher to obtain the degree with only a few more courses than they are required to take anyway for permanent certification. So the teachers get a salary bump for very little extra effort above what is required by law.
Furthermore, these "masters" programs are loaded with "methods" courses and seminars that require minimal work and everyone gets a B just for showing up. There is no comprehensive examination or thesis required. In short, it is a bullshit master's degree that no one with any integrity would even want.
Many of today's principals and top administrators around the country have similar PhD degrees that are awarded on a similar basis - sometimes even by mail order. They are in no way comparable to PhD's in the hard sciences or even social sciences and humanities, where dissertations are evaluated critically and take as long as a year to complete.
No one begrudges a teacher a "bump" in pay if they get a "real" masters degree in a subject that is related to the subject they teach. But it is the bullshit degrees that brought this on.
I have several friends who are Pennsylvania teachers, and who all have "masters" degrees exactly like the ones I'm describing.
you are friends?
show them this comment and that will change in a hurry