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Teaching in New Orleans

 
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:51 am    Post subject: Teaching in New Orleans Reply with quote

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has anything to say about the state of teaching ESL in New Orleans. What is the most profitable part of the industry, and what prerequisites are necessary to break into the business? I'm considering moving there soon and any information would be appreciated.

Cheers in advance!
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Chancellor



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Teaching in New Orleans Reply with quote

shantaram wrote:
Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has anything to say about the state of teaching ESL in New Orleans. What is the most profitable part of the industry, and what prerequisites are necessary to break into the business? I'm considering moving there soon and any information would be appreciated.

Cheers in advance!
Most likely through one of the colleges/universities since that seems to be where the ESL courses (for people who want to learn English) are.

http://www.eslgold.com/louisiana.html
http://www.esl-guide.com/dir/louisiana/index.html
http://thinknola.com/wiki/Hispanic_Apostolate%27s_ESL_Program and http://www.npnnola.com/associations/organizations/view/183/ccanohacs-english-as-a-second-language-esl-services (both of these are through the Roman Catholic Church)





Google is your friend!
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Chancellor, that's golden!
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm now based in New Orleans, and am looking for a job teaching English. To quickly recap my situation, I have a BA in History from a University in New Zealand. I worked in South Korea through EPIK for a year. I taught ESL in Australia for 3 months, followed by a month volunteering at a school in India, followed by another 3 months teaching ESL in Alberta, and 18 months of part-time teaching at Berlitz in Montreal, during which time I learned French to Berlitz level 6. I also have above average scores in Praxis writing, reading and math. My goal is to get into an alternative teacher certification program next year, but in the meantime I've come across KIPP. My question is, has anyone here been through/is going through an alternative teacher cert program, or done KIPP? I would be interested in hearing any stories and/or anecdotes. Kia ora y'all.
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chinagirl



Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 235
Location: United States

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:33 am    Post subject: alt cert Reply with quote

Unless you have desire to work one of the hardest jobs you will ever have, alternative certification and teaching in urban Louisiana is one of the most challenging things you will *ever* do.

It's not for the feint of heart. That said, the kids need good teachers. But it's not something to do just to get a teaching job. I teach ESL in an urban public school in NY now, but years ago began in an alternative cert program in Baton Rouge - I didn't last long there.

You have to really want it and be willing to work in very difficult, stressful conditions. It didn't work for me in Louisiana. I ended up taking the traditional route and going back to school for my certification. Much happier here in NY. Just passing on my experience.
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Chinagirl. I really do have the desire to work in one of the hardest jobs I've ever had- or I would have stayed in one of the other jobs I already had. I don't mean that to sound glib or as if I don't appreciate your caution though. Your caution is noted!
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Symphany



Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 117

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 12:30 pm    Post subject: Shantaram Reply with quote

Good on you, Shantaram, for deciding to teach in New Orleans! Let us know how it goes...this is kind of off topic but I wanted to ask you how teaching in EPIK was, I understand its similar to the JET Program in Japan? How did you find it?
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Chancellor



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:01 pm    Post subject: Re: alt cert Reply with quote

chinagirl wrote:
Unless you have desire to work one of the hardest jobs you will ever have, alternative certification and teaching in urban Louisiana is one of the most challenging things you will *ever* do.

It's not for the feint of heart. That said, the kids need good teachers. But it's not something to do just to get a teaching job. I teach ESL in an urban public school in NY now, but years ago began in an alternative cert program in Baton Rouge - I didn't last long there.

You have to really want it and be willing to work in very difficult, stressful conditions. It didn't work for me in Louisiana. I ended up taking the traditional route and going back to school for my certification. Much happier here in NY. Just passing on my experience.
I don't know about Louisiana but not all alternative certification programs require you to teach in urban schools. I can't imagine why anyone would be happy in New York unless they're sucking off the government teat. The state is on the verge of insolvency. The school district where I live (Buffalo) is talking about laying off hundreds of teachers. We spend more money per student than almost every other state in the nation and aren't getting the results that supposedly should come when you spend more money on education (a leftist mantra) - my own city's school district can barely get a 50 percent graduation rate (and that's an improvement from before the current superintendent came along).
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surprised Holy. So maybe it was a good decision not to go to NY. Thanks, Symphany! I found EPIK to be excellent. I taught in a small town not far from Seoul and really enjoyed it.
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chinagirl



Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 235
Location: United States

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:57 pm    Post subject: Louisiana Reply with quote

I agree with Chancellor about the fiscal state of New York being sucky, but my teaching conditions are MUCH better in New York State than they were in Louisiana because my work conditions are a lot better here. That's not "sucking off the government teat," that's expecting things like a duty-free lunch, and a sufficient planning period every day. I had neither in Louisiana.
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shantaram



Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
Location: Montreal, Quebec

PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2010 11:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chinagirl, did you have to be on-call to help students with their homework assignments in the evenings?
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chinagirl



Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 235
Location: United States

PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2010 6:37 pm    Post subject: homework help Reply with quote

No, I didn't have to be on call in Louisiana. Is that a KIPP requirement?

In my current district, we have a homework help line staffed by volunteer teachers. In addition there is a lot of tutoring available for students before and after school that is funded by NCLB grant monies. I end up helping a lot of students during their lunch period, as well.
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Sadebugo



Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 524

PostPosted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep in mind that New Orleans was a difficult city to live in ref crime, etc. even before the hurricane. I was a student there in the early '90s and was not suprised at all at the chaos that ensued during/after the hurricane. You might want to consider other areas as well as this city. Just something to think about.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon May 17, 2010 4:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Blackboard Jungle" eh ? I think I prefer my students in the Middle East !
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flydragonfly



Joined: 22 May 2008
Posts: 4
Location: New Orleans, LA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:35 pm    Post subject: IELP at UNO Reply with quote

You can teach international students at the University of New Orleans's Intensive English Language Program (IELP--http://ielp.uno.edu/) or at Delgado Community College. These programs are for students from other countries who come to the US to learn English in order to enter American unis.

These programs are for adults and not part of the New Orleans public school system (which is a whole other beast). You don't need to be certified in education to teach at IELP, but may need an MA. They need teachers.
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