Job Discussion Forums

[wildchild]

I thought I would share this with you; this info may be relevant for someone, sometime.

I just signed contracts to teach Spanish at two Catholic, elementary schools (6 - 14 year olds).

Both contracts combined, I'm paid to teach about 17 hours of in-class and 7 hours of prep. per week.

I'll be on salary so I'll have paid holidays, sick days, two months summer vacation.

I'll be paid around 19 k per year, before taxes.

no benefits.

[Snowmeow]

Congrats on your job!

Clearly you won't be living large on the salary but it could lead to a lot of things, and with the extra time there's room for additional opportunities or projects.

[Oreen Scott]

One day, a long time ago, while browsing through a bookstore, I read the title of a book. The title was, "Do What You Love, And the Money Will Follow." I didn't buy the book. Sometimes I regret not buying that book.
However, perhaps the title is all I need.

So, Wildchild, do what you love and the money will follow.

All the best.

[mapache]

This brings up a good question. Are there jobs in the US teaching ESL that pay OK or well? (I would like to go to Canada but my age and lack of French knocks me out of the equation) I have an MBA, a BA (not English), University of Cambridge ESOL TKT certifications (Band 4 in all three modules) and four year experience teaching English in Chiapas (university, prepa, secondaria, private schools).

Doe anyone have any idea what I could make in the US in Austin, TX, for example, teaching English? I know there is a demand for ESL teachers but I don't know the market at all.

This would be good to know if and when my beloved homeland returns to the America I once knew instead of the arrogant Cheneylandia it has become.

Please also let me know if you have any US recruiter contacts for ESL teacher.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[FreddyM]

[john_n_carolina]

....there's also a N.America forum here at Dave's. way, way down at the bottom of the forums. doesn't get a lot of activity, but has some good info.

if you really want to get serious, pick a state and go to each district's dept of education website.

for example, this is the site for Pensacola, Florida schools...which is a part of Escambia County
http://www.escambia.k12.fl.us/Master/Index.asp

of course, there are no ESL positions at this site. that was intentional, or else you or anybody reading this site would find my treasure chest.

[mapache]

Thanks guys. This forum is very helpful and a lot friendlier than it used to be. I appreciate your help

[Jetgirly]

I just signed my public school contract for the 08-09 school year in Canada. You definitely don't need to speak French to teach in Canada, except in Quebec. My contract is full-time, which is 1200 hours per year, of which 900ish are contact and 300ish are everything else: prep, marking extra-curriculars, meetings, etc. It works out to about 30 hours per week, although I know from experience that I'll end up putting in more. In terms of contact hours, it could either be five forty-five minutes periods daily at a junior high, or three eighty-minute periods daily at a senior high. One of the conditions of an early guarantee of permanent employment is that you have to accept whatever school placement you are offered, and you don't find out where you'll be working until late June or early July. Starting salary for someone freshly qualified is $51,500 annually, but there are fairly large deductions for health and dental insurance, the pension plan and union dues. All of this information is available to the public on the school board's website, so it's not like I'm sharing confidential salary information. There are almost no provinces in Canada where you can become certified to teach K-12 ESL, the normal route is to be certified in another field and then pick up ESL classes when they become available. My certification is in teaching English Language Arts, but I am hoping to get lots of ESL work fairly quickly.

[dixie]

[Oreen Scott]

Here in the Great White North, where we depend on refugees and immigrants to grow our economy, to work in the school divisions, a B. Ed. is a prerequisite, even for those teachers teaching adult classes within the school divistion.

When teaching K through 12, the abilty to fluently speak French is an asset. A CTESL as part of a B Ed., or a CTESL as a Post Bac is definitely an asset.

A CTESL is a Canadian certification to teach English as a second language. The minimum requirement to obtain a CTESL is an undergraduate degree and a certificate from an approved University of College with 200 hours of class time that includes 20 hours of practicum.

The school divisions are doing what they can to motivate teachers to get a CTESL. Teachers who have not been trained to teach students whose L1 is not English have difficulty teaching students who come into their classroom without English. It's a mess. And, quite frankly the CTESL doesn't do them much good because the CTESL is geared to adult teaching.

Adult English and literacy classes, which is where I've worked and did my practicum, are generally funded through Employment and Immigration.

A few of the programs take place within the school divisions, but not many. Those adults programs that take place within the school division require teachers have a B. Ed., which is somewhat stupid our B.Ed. programs are devoted to K-12.

I've been told the B.Ed. requirement is primarily a union issue.

Currently, within the school divisions, where a B.Ed. is essential, there is a large pay differential between teachers who teach adults and those who teach children. Those who teach children make a lot more money and have many more benefits.

Many of the people in my CTESL classes were B. Ed. students, or B. Ed. grads teaching in the school system and working toward a CTESL Post Bac. They will continue to teach children, but their pay will increase and so will their opportunities.

Since I have no desire to teach children a B.Ed., from the University of Manitoba, is not of interest, or use. My next step, if I wanted to pursue further education would be a TESL Masters, which I would not take here in Manitoba because we are too small a center to provide a good TESL Masters program.

Hope someone finds this interesting, don't want to bore the forum with useless information.

[john_n_carolina]

[Oreen Scott]

Well, johninmaine, I do declare, although I was long winded and giving regional details that might be considered useless, at least I was on topic, or so I thought.

[john_n_carolina]

...slight error in my previous post: Paul McCartney's first girlfriend Dot Rhone was before Jane Asher, not Cynthia Lennon.

the miscarriage and cancelled marriage had significant importance in Beatle's history. he then went on to date Jane Asher, live at the Asher home, study more piano (wrote Yesterday there) and become more involved in art (hence Sgt. Pepper album).

so, what would've happened if he had married and had a baby in 1962?

anyways, don't want to drag on....

i have lots of info on doing your alternative certification program to teach Spanish stateside. North Carolina and Tennessee are good places to get full funding...

[Writer]

When I moved to Austin late 2006, I checked into two ESL schools downtown. They didn't have any openings at the time and told me if anything came up, it would be part-time work (no need to pay benefits that way). When I asked about other schools, they said I'd probably run into the same scenario.

You can't teach ESL in the public school systems without a teaching certificate - Masters and TEFL certificates don't count.

I looked into the TX Teaching Fellows. Be aware that it's a long application process, I think it costs $5K, and you have to attend summer school. It looked to me like their focus was on recruiting science and math teachers (best if either of those were your majors in college). You don't get paid until you're actually teaching. But if you want your teaching certificate, I think it's a good way to go.

[MELEE]

I know two people who have done the Texas teaching fellows program. One has an MA in TESL (but no K-12 certification) and she was recruited in to teach junior and senior high ESL classes. The other had a BA in Spanish and TEFL cert and a number of years living in Latin America with a very good level of Spanish, we was recruited into the Bilingual kindergarten program. Both are just finishing their first year as full on teachers.