Looking to eventually wind up in curriculum studies. Education is a double major, so which undergrad major would serve my goals best?

Hello out there, I'm a non-traditional student. The pandemic pushed me to go back to school to chase my dreams of working in education.

I enjoyed many aspects of my previous career, but I've come to the personal view that smart, passionate people dedicating themselves to reforming our deeply flawed educational system is the only way society can think about surviving and thriving into a better future. As someone who slipped through the many cracks in the system, I know I can offer useful and creative insights eventually.

Trouble is knowing where to start and finding mentorship, especially when so much of the current system is so messed up. From what I've seen, most programs that get deep into pedagogy and curriculum studies are masters level.

I've just wrapped up my AA gen-ed credits and am transferring to a 4 year in the fall, and their education program is a double major. At this point the plan is to make it into the education department, at which point hopefully I can connect with more people in the field who can help guide me in the right direction. Of course, education is very specifically subdivided into the grade levels you plan to teach, instead of offering programs that study education and pedagogy as a field of study in and of itself. I've selected 7-12 history/SS.

In the meantime, I need to select a major for my Bachelors of Art and Sciences and feel like shutting down entirely when it comes to making that choice for whatever reason. Everything seems equal parts fascinating and limiting. I worry that the areas in which I show the strongest natural aptitudes are traditionally undervalued (English, Gender and Women's Studies, History, Sociology, etc). Just like education! Hah.

Anyone here have pointers for someone looking for a curriculum focused career path that doesn't wind up dead-ending in teaching? I'd love to teach, but the way we devalue educators in our society has traditionally kept me from the field, I know there is only so much I could take of classroom based practice with kids when I know the overarching system is still failing them, myself and my future colleagues. I know there's a time limit on my classroom years, and what I really want to do is examine/study how and why we teach what we teach or write curriculum. I would so deeply appreciate any insight to how curriculum development and research works, and advice on which academic paths have helped people achieve similar goals. Thank you!

Submitted June 05, 2021 at 08:26AM by ItsAll42 https://ift.tt/3x57y8N