Job Discussion Forums

[Ladybug]

Back to my original question (even if not posted, still have been thinking of this) if ESL teaching in America is a high demand job, will they take people who may not YET have creditation, but wuld be willing to get creditation while working for a school for some amount of time?

[trickee2]

the way it works in the US, in many states, is that if you have a bachelors and are a US citizen, then you can apply for an Alternative certification program through the district. If you are accepted, they give you a teaching job and make you go to AC classes after work. I'm a licensed teacher with Math/ESL licensing so I didn't have to do the AC program. but I did have some friends that went through it. It was a lot of work for them on top of their regular school teaching job, but they really wanted to be teachers so it was worth it for them. The law states you have to be High qualified for certain subjects and ESL is one of them. Highly qualified means you have to have a license. In order to get a license through the state you have to pass a certification test during the year that you are in the AC program. If you do not pass the test, then you will not be allowed to work for the district the following year. I new a substitute teacher who took the licensing test 9 times before she finally passed. She was denied full teacher benefits until she passed. The licensing test vary from state to state. I've only taken tests for two states and they were very different. If you are not a US citizen, it will be very difficult to find a teaching job. If you are a US citizen, you will just have to apply for the AC program through the district. Most big cities will have AC programs since there is a shortage of teachers in Urban areas.

[Ladybug]

Well, cool. That's good to know. Thanks. And yes, I am a U.S. citizen. I'll just have to look into this when I get home (obviously thinking about California.)

[PC]

I returned to the States after two decades abroad and had no certification. I do have an MA from an American university. I landed a job at a well known private university. Many people say my good fortune is rare, but I can only say that it is my experience.

[Belmont]

[NMB]

How steady is substitute teaching? Are you entitled to health benefits, paid vacation, etc..?

Belmont (or anyone), have you any idea how in-demand subs are in the San Francisco area? I'm originally from Southern California but have been considering the Bay Area if I move back to the States (though, I'm also interested in Los Angeles). I'm assuming that you can sub anywhere in CA with only the CBEST?? I'm also curious about your reasons for substituting if you're already credentialed.

Also, someone mentioned urban areas having a high demand. Would this mean probably being placed in less than desirable areas if going through the alternative certification program or substitute teaching?

[Belmont]

Go online find the San Fran public school site. I don't know what its exact name is, but you'll find it. There should be info about subbing there; then send them an email and enquire. All school districts need subs, especially the large, urban ones like Los Angeles Unified where I work. They want you to have a credential, but will hire you with the CBEST under your belt and a BA.

You asked why I'm subbing instead of doing a regular assignment? I don't want the extra work of planning, having meetings with parents, and dealing with tons of paperwork generated by all this accountability madness. As a sub I can work every day if I like. After 100 days (600 hours) you qualify for full medical/dental/vision benefits. (There are 180 working days in a school year.) You also pay into CalSTRS--the retirement system. Five years of service gives you the minimum benefit upon retiring--enough to settle into a nice pelapa on a beach in Mexico.

Subbing is not easy. Some days are fine and the kids are sweet; but other days they drive you nuts. However, for $163 for less than five contact hours--I'll gladly do it. The day goes by really quickly, too. I only do elementary, K thru 3 if possible.

As for the alternative credentialing programs? Yes, you're going to get put into the worst schools and be worked to death. If you're young, you can do it. And if you have a background in math, science or special ed, they'll roll out the red carpet for you. There is a lot of support available, and you'll begin climbing up the pay scale quickly if you are full-time.

Why San Francisco? I know it's a wonderful city, but it's amazingly expensive.

[JZer]

[wintersweet]

As a followup: CATESOL maintains a thorough job list, and many jobs can be found using indeed.com, too. For whatever reason, it seems like most of CATESOL's job listings are SoCal, but there are others.

The credential is only required for K-12 and "adult school." There are lots of jobs that do not require one at all; instead, an MA or certification are what's needed. Based on what I've heard and seen so far: A lot of the jobs are in city colleges and community (junior) colleges; these seem to be pretty good jobs though you'll probably be working 2 or more places until you get enough experience to compete for full-time. You'll need an MA. IEPs are also big here; many private and public universities host a vaguely affiliated IEP, and there are unaffiliated ones, too. Some hire only part-time; some hire full-time as well; requirements vary. There are various other kinds of private language schools, too.

For community college jobs, also check http://www.cccregistry.org/

[choctawmicmac]

Not all of California is prohibitively expensive. The problem is that it feels like that because of teachers' salaries being so low compared with the cost of living.

San Francisco, rents are more like $600 to share a room in a shared apartment. The whole thing to yourself would be $1200 and up per month, and for that you must have four times that in monthly income. Good luck on a teacher's salary. The problem is that even as a teacher, you have to pretty much live like you did while you were a starving student. That's the hard part to swallow.

Other areas, the rents are less, but you are totally dependent on having and maintaining a car to get around. Supporting your car means that you will have to earn even more money which is still hard to do on a teacher's salary.

Personally, I love San Francisco. It has been the only place in the world I've been to so far where I've been treated like I "look" competent in Math and Science, my minor and major fields from San Francisco State University. It's also been the only place I've been able to get other non-teaching "math" jobs either while I waited to sub for SFUSD or instead of. But I don't recommend the City to everyone. Just because they welcome nonwhite women in Math and Science without doing a double-take like everywhere else does, doesn't mean it's for everybody!

[rusmeister]

I'll echo what Trickee said.

I got a regular (not alternative) certificate (called a 'credential' in Californese) and learned that the main point of the state credential program is indoctrination of teachers. It doesn't even matter whether you can spell or not, but it sure matters that you believe what they tell you to believe and extreme pluralism, multiculturalism, tolerance of anything and everything and diversity to the point of anarchy (but you are not allowed to be diverse enough to disagree with the School of Ed's ideology), and that this ideology is reinforced at staff meeting after staff meeting at work.

I later learned that Gatto was totally right - through my own experience.

Teachers, while not making the big bucks, do make reasonable salaries in California, contrary to Teachers' Union rhetoric - in the Bay area they start at no less than 30k and I was making 50k by my third year.

Could say a LOT more, but won't.

[JZer]

[rusmeister]

[mex2005t]

No. Stop. Don't. Unless you really need the money stay away from California public schools - click here http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=49735

[JZer]