Majors and Minors Home
About the Major
South鈥檚 secondary education programs prepare students to teach English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies to students in grades 6-12 through rich experiences both on the college campus and in local classrooms under the guidance of mentor teachers.
Jobs in Secondary Education
- English language arts teacher (including English, drama, journalism)
- Mathematics teacher
- Science teacher (including general science, biology, chemistry, physics)
- Social studies teacher (including history, government, economics, sociology)
Related Programs
South Experience Leads to France
Raven McShan, the daughter and granddaughter of Mobile school teachers, started her career as a reading intervention teacher at Hankins Middle School in Theodore, Alabama.
She lived at home, so it was easy to talk shop with her mom, who鈥檚 a literacy coach.
鈥淢y dad is like, 鈥極K, I guess you鈥檙e going to talk about your students for the next two hours,鈥� and that鈥檚 what we do,鈥� McShan said. 鈥淚鈥檒l tell her about a student with problems, and she鈥檒l say, 鈥榊ou ought to try this.鈥� And then I鈥檒l come home the next day and say, 鈥業t worked.鈥欌��
At South, where her older sister and younger sister also enrolled as students, McShan was a member of the Honors College. She spent a lot of time in the historic Seamen鈥檚 Bethel, the college鈥檚 headquarters. Her honors thesis was a poetry collection called 鈥淲riting Nooks and Reading Crannies.鈥�
After graduating from South in 2019, she traveled to Europe through the French Embassy鈥檚 Teaching Assistant Program in France. McShan spent a school year teaching English in Domfront, a town of about 3,000 people in Normandy.
"It鈥檚 all about stories and helping people get comfortable with learning.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檇 be surprised,鈥� she said, 鈥渂y the similarities between Southern people in America and countryside people in France.鈥�
Speaking French was part of teaching English. Local slang included 鈥渂ah oui,鈥� which, depending on the situation, means 鈥渙h, yeah,鈥� 鈥渙h, no鈥� and several other things.
McShan is vegan, as well as lactose intolerant, so enjoying the local cuisine was problematic.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 escape cheese 鈥� it鈥檚 part of every meal, every course, practically,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y apartment was down the street from a Camembert factory.鈥�
When McShan returned to Mobile and began teaching, she used her experience in France with those struggling to read.
鈥淭he beauty of spontaneous conversation,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I started with nouns and verbs, I would get stares, but if it was a news clip, boom, we鈥檙e having a conversation. It鈥檚 all about stories and helping people get comfortable with learning.鈥�
Did You Know?
- Secondary education majors at South spend more time in local classrooms getting mentorship from teachers than those at any other secondary certification program in the state.
- Online courses in the program combine synchronous and asynchronous learning so students get face time with instructors and classmates even in the digital environment.
- Students who complete a secondary education program at South graduate with a double major in education and in their content area of focus.
Contact:
Dr. Susan Ferguson
Associate Professor, Program Coordinator
Leadership and Teacher Education Department
(251) 380-2797
Curriculum and Degree Requirements