Thread: "Science teacher"

Ok, this is more of a cultural thing, but... What exactly a "science teacher" does in an American school? Do they teach some kind of "general science" class with physics, chemistry, etc. all lumped together or are those still separate subjects, just all taught by the same person? Or am I missing the point completely? (In Soviet/Post-Soviet schools we had "природоведение" (natural history) in 3rd grade or so, then it was always separately "physics", "chemistry" etc. taught by different teachers, at least in larger schools. In smaller ones, a chemistry teacher might also teach biology, or a physics/math teacher or something else like that, but such a school would have been considered understaffed. )

In high school (14-15 yrs old, grades 9-12.) you start taking separate sciences. I took biology in 10th grade and chemistry in 11th. The science teacher teaches general science to kids before high school. To be honest, I don't remember what the heck they taught.

Thanks. So it appears to be more similar than I thought... It`s just that in American schools this separations starts a bit later.

ac220,

Hi there! The seperation actually starts in middle school or junior high which is 6th or 7th grade depending upon where you live. I live in the Washington, D.C. area (that is Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.) Teachers must be certified in their subject area to teach that subject. So one teacher can teach Biology and Physics and Math if that teacher is certified to teach all of those.

We also have teachers who teach language Immersion students in French, Spanish and Chinese. Those teachers must be native speakers (or near native) and be certified to teach that language and also be certified in the subject as well. Example, the students are being taught Algebra in French, however the students are native English speakers.

Here is a link to the course guide to Middle School that will show you all the courses including Science for Middle School students in our school system http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/c...seBulletin.pdf

And here are teh high school ones:
High School

•Biology http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...Biology%20.pdf
•Chemistry http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...-Chemistry.pdf
•Earth & Space Sciences http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...mework-ESS.pdf
•Matter & Energy http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...tterEnergy.pdf
•Physics http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...rk-Physics.pdf

There are also special magnet schools which offer higher and more specific science classes like aerospace technology that start at the middle school level.

Let me know if you have any further questions!

ac220,

Hi there! The seperation actually starts in middle school or junior high which is 6th or 7th grade depending upon where you live. I live in the Washington, D.C. area (that is Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.) Teachers must be certified in their subject area to teach that subject. So one teacher can teach Biology and Physics and Math if that teacher is certified to teach all of those.

We also have teachers who teach language Immersion students in French, Spanish and Chinese. Those teachers must be native speakers (or near native) and be certified to teach that language and also be certified in the subject as well. Example, the students are being taught Algebra in French, however the students are native English speakers.

Here is a link to the course guide to Middle School that will show you all the courses including Science for Middle School students in our school system http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/c...seBulletin.pdf

And here are the high school ones:
High School

•Biology http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...Biology%20.pdf
•Chemistry http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...-Chemistry.pdf
•Earth & Space Sciences http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...mework-ESS.pdf
•Matter & Energy http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...tterEnergy.pdf
•Physics http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploa...rk-Physics.pdf

There are also special magnet schools which offer higher and more specific science classes like aerospace technology that start at the middle school level.

Let me know if you have any further questions!

Wow, that's a lot of information. Thank you very much.

For me, and for a lot of people, "science teacher" is just a teacher who teaches science, whether it be a mix of subjects when students are very young (in elementary school), or a more specific biology, chemistry, physics, or environmental science class in middle or high school.

For example, my sister wants to become a high school (14-18 years old) biology teacher. It would be equally correct to refer to her as a "science teacher" or a "biology teacher." The "biology teacher" is simply more specific. She is a science teacher who teaches biology.

But it sounds as though there are regional variations on this.

Thanks. Very clear explanation. Russian seems to have no standard way of expressing the concept, that's why I wondered.

There was 'естествознание' or 'естествоведение' before some [s:2t312hl2]old[/s:2t312hl2], no - ancient school reform in Russian schools.

Originally Posted by rockzmom

The seperation actually starts in middle school or junior high which is 6th or 7th grade

Isn't it a bit 'late'?
I remember it was like this in my case (10 grades):
Grade: Disciplines
1 Russian language (till 8), math (till 10), penmanship (till 2)
2 Nature study (till 4), Literature (till 9)
4 Foreign language (till 10), Math is split to Algebra and Geometry separatedly (till 10)
5 History (till 8), Biology (till 7), Physics (till 9)
6 Chemistry (till 10)
8 Sociology (till 9)
10 Astronomy, Family ethics

Originally Posted by Ramil

There was 'естествознание' or 'естествоведение' before some [s:k5hh7rhb]old[/s:k5hh7rhb], no - ancient school reform in Russian schools.

Originally Posted by rockzmom

The seperation actually starts in middle school or junior high which is 6th or 7th grade

Isn't it a bit 'late'?
I remember it was like this in my case (10 grades):
Grade: Disciplines
1 Russian language (till , math (till 10), penmanship (till 2)
2 Nature study (till 4), Literature (till 9)
4 Foreign language (till 10), Math is split to Algebra and Geometry separatedly (till 10)
5 History (till , Biology (till 7), Physics (till 9)
6 Chemistry (till 10)
8 Sociology (till 9)
10 Astronomy, Family ethics

hmmm... this time you have lost me my friend. We attend school here in the states from k-12 grades. k is age 5 and 12th is about 18 years old.

So, for grades k-5 you "usually" have one teacher who teaches you all of your subjects, whatever they might be. There "might" be a teacher for a special subject like art, PE, music or a language (French, Spanish), but your main subjects.. math, history, science, English and so on... are all taught by one grade level teacher. There might be 2-4 teachers per grade level depending upon how many children are in the school. There also might be a mixed grade level class. Say a 4th and 5th grade combination class if there are not enough students in each grade to make one complete class. Then one teacher will teach both classes together at the same time.

Then when you move to junior high or middle school grade 6-8 (some places it is grades 7-9) they start to have subject assigned teachers until you finish school in 12th grade.

Is that clearer?

Now a word about our Foreign Language... we here in the states are known for being "backwards" about it. We usually DO NOT start teaching that until HIGH SCHOOL. It is only recently that it has become an option in SOME elementary schools (k-5). It is not even mandatory to take in middle school. It was not mandatory for me to take it to graduate high school or college. It is NOW mandatory for my daughters to take 2 years to graduate high school.